Most floorstanding speakers have a certain elegance – but the eight pairs featured here are more than just pretty faces
Surely the bestpiece of advice that anyone who has acheived celebrity status can receive is to make sure they keep their feet planted firmly on the ground. That, of course, is also the defining characteristic of a floorstanding stereo speaker. But while many celebs seem to attract attention by doing little more than look gorgeous, the best floorstanders combine their inherent good looks with a level of performance that delights the ears as well as the eyes.
Aesthetics aside, floorstanding speakers have a number of advantages over their standmount cousins (which we also look at on p44). Their greater internal volume means it is easier for them to produce more bass, plus they offer more flexibility when it comes to the arrangement of their drivers and any bass ports they might have. Floorstanders do tend to be more expensive than comparable standmounters – but then you don’t have to worry about buying stands for them.
At the most affordable end of this market it is not easy to produce the cabinet rigidity required for good sound, but our budget choices – the Q Acoustics 3050i and Wharfedale Diamond 12.3 – have managed it deftly. Further up the price range we have stand-out entries from Fyne Audio, Dali and Triangle, and we round off with the £1995 PMC Prodigy 5. So, when it comes to the best floorstanding speakers, things are looking good.
CONTENTS
Q Acoustics 3050i (page 32) Wharfedale Diamond 12.3 (page 33) Fyne Audio F302i (page 34) Dali Oberon 5 (page 35) Triangle Borea BR08 (page 36) Q Acoustics 5040 (page 37) Fyne Audio F501 (page 38) PMC Prodigy 5 (page 39)
Q Acoustics 3050i
Q Acoustics reaffirms its strong position in the midrange floorstander market
If your love for bass and big sound is greater than your budget, a pair of mid-range floorstanders could be just what your living room needs. And these Q Acoustics 3050i would be a great starting point.
The 3050i are more evolutionary than revolutionary, in terms of both performance and aesthetic – but there are some technical advancements over their Q Acoustics 3050 predecessors.
As with Q Acoustics’ five-star 3010i and 3020i, the standmounters’ cabinet rigidity has been improved – P2P (point-to-point) cabinet bracing gives extra support to the parts that require stiffening to make
