Floor speakers on a small stand for PC use? - Overclock.net

Shiobock · 07-31-09

Hello, first time poster on this board, excuse any newbie-esque behavior and questions I might have for you.

I've built a small nest-egg for myself to buy good 2.0 speakers and a budget amplifier with, and even though I'm nowhere near finished with the choices regarding the said equipment (I loved Wharfedale 9.4's and Proson Conquest 6020 MK2's I listened to at a local brick & mortar store), I would love to get an answer to something I've been pondering for few weeks:

Since most floor speakers are a tad too short to be used with a PC properly, I thought it would look sweet and sound better to the PC user if the speakers were kept on small sturdy shelves, lifting them up with a foot or so. This was my vision of the whole thing assembled:

I know the mini shelves don't look way too "sturdy" but that was a honest mistake and it's too late to do another good render, sorry!
Of course floor speakers are rather big to be used like this, should they be further away from the listener, or is it uncomfortable to listen to them this close? Will the stands hinder the performance of the speakers critically?

BlankThis · 07-31-09

I would go with a nice set of shelf speakers over floor speakers. Will probably be cheaper and you won't have to worry about stands

~B~

legoman786 · 07-31-09

I miss floor standing speakers.

If I can find a pair with a pair of 10" woofers again, I'm booting out my Klipsch ProMedias. Granted, I can find a good amp as well.

For the stands, can't you have a sheet of wood nailed into the back? Maybe fabricate L-brackets for support.

LukeG · 07-31-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlankThis

I would go with a nice set of shelf speakers over floor speakers. Will probably be cheaper and you won't have to worry about stands

~B~

He wants 2.0, not 2.1.... Bookshelfs wont give the bass you want.

To the poster, go ahead, it will work, although it will get loud :P, I currently have my floor standing 2 feet to the front/side of me. Head height on tweeter and mid, low ranges are lower.

On speaker choice, if you were looking for something with bass check the elemental designs A6 towers.

http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_...products_id=96

Of the 2 you listed the pronson....

Shiobock · 07-31-09

I don't have any plans for the stands themselves, I'll grab the first ones I'll find for a modest price, and maybe I'll try decoupling them from the floor with those spiky feet things, and put something relatively soft underneath the speakers legs themselves in order to prevent any vibrations with the stand.

I don't know why but shelf speakers don't look good to me at all, I'm sure there are some drawbacks with the small enclosures too. Not that I'd be THAT hi-fi that I'd hear anything remarkable with shelf vs. floor speakers, I'd just want to have adequate bass from my system without an expensive, mostly useless subwoofer because I'm living in an apartment block and my neighbours would get me evicted if I used the damn thing at all. Am I making any sense, if I presume that most budget floor speakers do low tones better than the shelf speakers?

And regarding the price, I'll spend some 400-500$ on the speakers anyway so for example 100$'s of savings from getting shelves vs. floors wouldn't cheer me up at all if I'll have to stand lesser bass for a ridiculous amount of time for that, I don't buy new stuff unless there's a drastic improvement so I wish the speakers to last me a good while.

tUDJ · 07-31-09

Floorstands go lower in general, yes.

I have my floorstanders either side of my desk (they are about 4-5ft apart) and they're about 2ft ahead of me. Although not ideal, the sound is fine for general listening and there isn't too much of a difference when I move back to my bed.

Here's a pic to give you a better idea of how I'm setup.

Here's a pic of how it used to look with smaller speakers on stands;

I much prefer the floorstanders in terms of looks and sound. I have thought about raising my current speakers up high but I don't think that the difference in sound is worth the effort.

LukeG · 07-31-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by tUDJ

Floorstands go lower in general, yes.

I have my floorstanders either side of my desk (they are about 4-5ft apart) and they're about 2ft ahead of me. Although not ideal, the sound is fine for general listening and there isn't too much of a difference when I move back to my bed.

Here's a pic to give you a better idea of how I'm setup.

Here's a pic of how it used to look with smaller speakers on stands;

I much prefer the floorstanders in terms of looks and sound. I have thought about raising my current speakers up high but I don't think that the difference in sound is worth the effort.

I would raise them and direct them to you. Dome tweeters arnt too bad with directional sound, but I notice I miss a lot of the cymbal with horn loaded.

Nice clean setup.

Mygaffer · 07-31-09

I have a pair of VS-80 floor standing speakers on an entry level Harmon Kadron amp and it sounds better than any computer speakers I've ever used.
the speakers aren't that tall, only about two feet, so I sit them right on my desk, towering over my 22" LCD. Meaning that they end up being about two feet from my head, but I like my sound loud and beefy, which the VS-80's definitely provide.
Since I watch nearly all my media(TV, Movies, Games, Music) on my computer it is nice to have a setup like this. Movies sound especially good.
Maybe I'll upload a pic when I get home from work. Anyway, I think if you are into sound that good floor standing speakers with a good amp is the way to go. Although I've heard some bookshelf speakers that sound really good too. Just stay away from computer speakers.

tUDJ · 07-31-09

I forgot to ask, what size is the room Shiobock?

Floorstanders might be a bit overbearing with bass if the room is too small.

grip_racer · 07-31-09

I used to use my Advent AS2s on upside-down terracotta flower pots. They worked great, haha. For the look you want, check out Target. I think they have stack-able wooden cube storage for sale.

But as for the sound, yes, I can tell you from personal experience that large, multi-driver speakers are NOT ideal for nearfield listening. The sound has no room to combine. I went from my big Advent AS2s (1" tweeter, 2 6.5" woofers) down to 5.25" Celestion bookshelfs, and then down to my Pinnacle AC400s (4" mid woofer). The Pinnacles have been the best for computer listening, and I just reinforce them with a very very good 8" subwoofer.

The thing is, small speakers get closer to the ideal "point-source", where all of the sound comes from a single point. This makes them much better in nearfield listening. GOOD small speakers "disappear" much more easily, and this is a great effect.

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Floor speakers on a small stand for PC use?

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