Recent Floorstanding Speaker Reviews

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.

SVS has launched a new flagship of their Prime series in the new Prime Pinnacle tower speaker. The Prime Pinnacle is a beefy-looking three-way tower speaker that uses three 6.5" woofers and a glass fiber 5.25" midrange driver, and a 1" aluminum dome tweeter. This new speaker isn't just simply a more powerful version of the Prime towers; there is also some new innovations in the basic design that sets it apart from any other speaker SVS has released. Read our full review to see what surprises SVS's newest creation has in store.

Dayton Audio has followed up their enormously popular MK402 bookshelf speaker with a floor-standing speaker version: the MK442T. The MK442T is more than just the MK402 with an extra woofer and larger cabinet. Dayton Audio decided to try something different and has used a transmission line enclosure to shore up bass frequencies instead of the standard vented design used by virtually every other speaker in this category. Transmission line designs are not very common, and at Dayton Audio's asking price of $228/pair, totally unheard of. Read our full review of the MK442T to see how Dayton Audio managed to pull this off.

Bowers & Wilkins 603 floor-standing speaker is a culmination of trickle-down technology and ideas from their cutting-edge flagship designs. The 603s are their least-expensive floor-standing speaker at $1,800/pr, but don't let its entry-level status fool you; there is some intensive R&D invested in these things that come from decades of engineering refinement. Read our full review of the 603 loudspeakers to see what Bowers & Wilkins can do at such an accessible price bracket.

Monoprice is at it again: trying to see how affordably they can produce a speaker that sounds legitimately good. In this review, we look at the MP-T65RT floor-standing speakers, a marvel of cost-conscious sound reproduction. This are floor-standing speakers that manage some really cool tricks at an astonishingly low-price of $140 per pair shipped. Read our full review of this intriguing speaker to see what high-fidelity sound looks like at such a modest cost.

The AXPONA show for 2019 was bigger and better than ever, and Audioholics was there to see and hear much of the best that was on display. In this segment of our coverage, we take a look at the more over-the-top speakers on exhibit, the 'dream speakers' that comes to mind when we purchase a lotto ticket. They may not be affordable, they might not be at all practical, but these are some of the most unrestrained, dramatic, and mind-blowing speakers that AXPONA had to offer.

The 2019 AXPONA show had more to offer than just king-size luxury speakers. In this segment of our AXPONA coverage, we look at a selection of the more affordable loudspeakers that were on display. While the massive high-end speakers seem to get most of the attention, there were a multitude of outstanding lower cost speakers that deserve as much attention as any six-figure behemoth. This year's AXPONA proves that you don't have to be rich to get good sound.

Those who want the big sound of a tower speaker but don't have the big bucks that tower speakers normally cost are in luck, because Dayton Audio and Monoprice have just released two new tower speakers at price points that will considerably stiffen the competition for entry-level floor-standing speakers. The Dayton Audio MK442T and Monoprice MP-T65RT both use their well-received low-cost bookshelf models as platforms to create low-cost tower speakers, but they each take some different design turns that may grant them a step up on sound quality along with more sound quantity. Read our preview of the MK442T and MP-T65RT to see what Dayton Audio and Monoprice have done to raise the bar on low-cost tower speakers.

SVS's newest member of their Prime loudspeaker line is aptly named the Prime Pinnacle, because it is most certainly the apogee of the Prime series and the culmination of the design cues used in the Primes while adding a few new tricks to make the ultimate Prime loudspeaker. The 3-way, 5 driver Prime Pinnacle incorporates features of their Ultra series, but in a more placement friendly design. Will this be the new audiophile go-to speaker among SVS's offerings? Read our preview to see what SVS has brought to the table with their formidable new tower speaker.

Wilson Audio’s Sasha DAW speaker is the latest descendant of the company’s iconic WATT/Puppy loudspeakers. Named after Wilson’s founder, the late Dave Wilson, the Sasha DAW sits in the middle of Wilson’s range of expensive, high-end offerings. The new speaker was redesigned from the ground up by Dave’s son Daryl and his team of engineers. Will the Sasha DAW live up to its decades-long legacy?

Loudspeaker manufacturer Klipsch has received a lot of acclaim for their Reference Premier series ever since its introduction, so it is high time that we have given this lauded line a very close look to see if it truly deserved its accolades. In for a full review is the Klipsch RP-8000F, a dual 8" woofer megalith of a speaker that promises a wide dynamic range for lots of punch and impact, but will that come at the cost of sound quality? Read our full review to find out.

PSB Speakers launched an all-new range of their Alpha series of speakers at the 2019 CES show last January. Like their predecessors, the newest iteration of the Alpha line deliver a remarkable value to performance ratio. The new lineup will consist of four models in all: 2 compact monitors P3 and P5, a center channel C10, and a tower model T20. To see what we think of PSB's new Alphas read on.

McIntosh’s 7-foot-tall XRT2.1K loudspeaker now has a smaller sibling in the XRT1.1K. Designed to deliver flagship tech in a less imposing package, the XRT1.1K still stands nearly 6 feet tall and contains 70 drivers, but should be at home in a wider range of listening environments. McIntosh says its line array design provides superb imaging from any seat in the house. Read on to learn more.