Recent Floorstanding Speaker Reviews

As a follow-up to our extremely popular recent article, An Audiophile’s Realization: My Last New Speakers, the least we can do is take a close look at the object of that article, the Legacy Audio Signature SE floorstanding speaker. Will this story have a happy ending? Will the audiophile ride off into the sunset with a smile on his face? Read our review of the 4-way Legacy Signature SE Towers to find out.

Dynaudio has totally overhauled its popular Contour series loudspeakers with new internals. All four speakers in the new Contour i series employ a new tweeter design and updated woofers and crossovers. The flagship Contour 60i floor-standers ($10,750/pair) are almost entirely new from the ground up. And it doesn’t hurt that they sport gorgeous new finishes. Read on to learn more.

Developed alongside the less expensive EVO4 range, Wharfedale’s new flagship Elysian range is now the brand’s top offering. The Elysian 2 stand-mount speaker ($7,000/pair) and the Elysian 4 floor-standers ($10,000/pair) combine an Air Motion Transformer tweeter with custom-designed midrange and bass drivers. Wharfedale claims that these beauties “push the boundaries of capability and performance from a speaker at this price-point.” Read on to learn more about these speakers that were 3 years in the making.

More than two years after Definitive Technology launched their Demand series bookshelf speakers, they have expanded the line to include some tower speakers. However, the Demand tower speakers look to be a lot more than simply larger versions of the bookshelf speakers. They show a significant design departure from past Definitive Technology floor-standing speakers, and that has us interested in this new direction. In our review of Definitive Technology's new Demand D15 floor-standing speaker, we will look at why Definitive Technology has changed their direction in loudspeaker design and see what advantages this new direction holds.

Focal’s Kanta N°2 floor-standing loudspeakers ($10,000/pair) are now available in two new finish options, Carrara White and Black Lacquer/Walnut. The new finishes will come to the rest of the Kanta range next year. One of the most popular speakers in Focal’s extensive lineup, the Kanta N°2 combines the company’s unique flax sandwich cones with its famous pure beryllium tweeter. Read on to learn more.

RBH Sound unveiled a new flagship SVTRS active speaker system that rocked the 2020 Florida Expo show. This large, powerful speaker is truly a sight (and sound) to behold. These titans stand nearly eight feet tall and weigh 310 lbs and offer bass extension down to single digits. RBH claims this new system offers significant advantages over their Status 8T speakers while being slightly less expensive along with including its own state-of-the-art amplifier and DSP tuning. Does Audioholics have a new reference speaker to dethrone the mighty Status 8Ts? Read on to find out!

Definitive Technology has expanded its popular Demand Series of loudspeakers with the addition of the D15 towers ($3,398/pair), the D17 towers, ($4,598/pair), and the D5C center channel speaker ($799/each). These new speakers are designed to “deliver full-range, room-filling sound and elegant styling for enthusiasts seeking a premium listening experience.” The new Demand Series tower speakers feature newly-developed carbon fiber woofers and dual side-firing passive radiators. Read on to learn more.

Yamaha gives a nod to the past while pushing sound reproduction further into the future with their NS-5000 loudspeaker. This state-of-the-art speaker uses a vintage design as a platform for some very modern audio engineering that uses cutting edge technology to solve problems with ingenuity that have traditionally been solved with brute force. At $15k/pair, they ain't cheap, but if you want the latest in speaker science in a gorgeous package that is built to last, the NS-5000 speaker might be the bargain you are looking for.

New speakers from Revel and JBL stole the spotlight at the 2019 CEDIA Expo. Revel added three models to its Performa Beryllium range, including a large flagship tower with an all-new beryllium tweeter. Meanwhile, JBL announced a completely new line of speakers called the HDI Series, featuring stylish curved cabinets and a new compression driver based on JBL’s professional gear. Read on to learn more and be sure to watch our detailed YouTube overview video.

MartinLogan’s updated Motion Series loudspeakers sport a fresh new design while leaving the “proven performance” of the previous generation largely unchanged. There are three floor-standers, two stand-mount speakers, and two center channel speakers in the range, all featuring MartinLogan’s Folded Motion (AMT) tweeters and custom aluminum cone woofers. With prices ranging from $800/pair to $3,200/pair, will these redesigned speakers be the more affordable jewel in MartinLogan’s crown? Read on and be sure to watch our CEDIA 2019 Youtube video interview to learn more.

Monoprice has announced new products that expand their Monolith THX speaker lineup, and do they look to be absolute beasts for the home theater market. The Monolith tower speaker features four 6.5" bass drivers, a 2" silk dome midrange, and a 1" silk dome tweeter that also includes an optional 5.25" upfiring coaxial driver for Dolby Atmos. We absolutely loved the mini-tower Monoliths but they lacked bass by design. These Monolith towers appear to address that concern and promise to be real bruisers.

Polk Audio has announced an all-new flagship line of speakers called the Legend Series. There are six models in the series: two bookshelf speakers, two floor-standers, a center-channel speaker, and a height/elevation speaker for home theater use. The range-topping L800 SDA sells for $6k/pair and features a unique “Stereo Dimensional Array” to cancel out stereo interaural crosstalk and deliver immersive sound with precise imaging. Read on and watch our CEDIA 2019 Youtube interview video to learn how Polk has brought back legendary SDA technology.

Pro Audio Technology has introduced three new multipurpose loudspeakers designed for “ultimate accuracy, resolution, and unrestricted dynamics.” PRO claims that its new S and SR Series speakers can produce surprisingly full-range, visceral sound, despite their relatively modest cabinet sizes. The speakers all feature unique elliptical horns and wide-bandwidth “Ultra-Purity” high-frequency compression drivers, mated with 12-inch woofers. They promise BIG sound, and full performance metrics for better integration.

The price range between $1.5k and $2k seems to be a sweet spot for tower speakers from many of the major speaker manufacturers. There are hundreds if not thousands of choices in this range. Recently, Audioholics reviewed five of what we consider to be some of the better speakers in this category. In this article, we take an overview of these five speakers and look at what each one brings to the table. Read our round-up of tower speakers in this range and watch our related YouTube video discussion to see if one of these makes a good fit for you.