Bookshelf vs Tower Speakers: Which Should I Get?

A common question we often get asked by our readers is “which should I get,a bookshelf or floorstanding speaker?”  There is no absolute "best" answer as it really depends on many variables.  Let us first define what each type of speaker is.

Bookshelf Speaker - typically comes in a compact form factor that can be stand mounted or placed on (for lack of a better term) bookshelf.  These speakers are usually two-way or sometimes three-way designs consisting of a tweeter and small midbass driver(s).  They are often limited in low end bass output due to their smaller form factor.

Floorstanding Speaker - (aka. tower speaker) is typically large enough to stand on the floor without the need for propping it up on a bookshelf or speaker stands. They are often multi-driver designs featuring a dedicated bass driver(s), midrange and tweeter.  They usually have more bass output and can play louder than a similar bookshelf counterpart though most floorstanding speakers are NOT true full-range speakers.

Subwoofer/Satellite System - (aka. sub/sat system) usually consists of a small bookshelf sized speaker to handle the mids/highs and separate powered subwoofer(s) to handle the bass frequencies. These systems can also get large where the satellite speaker is an array of drivers capable of extreme SPL output with matching capable subwoofers to deliver thunderously low and loud bass.

Note: Sometimes a bookshelf speaker mated with a powered sub can be referred to as a sub/sat system. But, we thought it would be useful to define both scenarios.

Please check out our Bookshelf vs Tower Speakers YouTube discussion as a primer to reading the rest of this article.

 Bookshelf vs Tower/Floorstanding Speakers Debate

When deciding on what’s right for you, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is my budget?
• Am I using the speakers in a home theater system with a sub or a dedicated two-channel system without a sub?
• Am I looking for the best quality sound in the mids/highs or just want something that plays loud with a lot of bass?
• Will I be bass managing these speakers?
• Spacing considerations: can I fit a tower in my room?  Will my wife allow it?

Just looking at these questions, one may come to the natural conclusion that it’s all about the bass.  Well, they would be partially right but there are other considerations such as how loudly they can play.

Borrowing our scorecard from our article When to Add External Amplification to an AV Receiver, we came up with this little tabulated point system to help you decide. 

 Note: This is NOT a biblical source. It's just a guideline for you to utilize or not.

How to find your Total Score?

Add up the points from each column of the above table to find your Total Score.  Your Total Score can be as low as 0 points or up to +7 points depending on your conditions.

• If Total Score is 0-4, you can probably get away with using a bookshelf speaker even for two-channel listening only.
• If Total Score is > 4, then it is time to consider a tower speaker or a larger more capable bookshelf option mated with a sub.  If you score a +8 and feel your score should be even higher, we really want to hear from you in our forums!

Pictured from left to right: Revel Performa3 M105 Bookshelf and F206 Tower; RBH SX-T2 Sub/Sat System

Budget

Most speaker manufacturers offer a good, better, best series of products.  It’s rare to find a company that will use the same drivers in their $500/pr bookshelf vs their $5k/pair towers.  If they do, you may have to ask yourself the question if you’re really getting high quality drivers in their expensive tower offerings? 

Let’s assume a particular manufacturer has two series of products, Silver and Gold series with the Gold series being their premium line of loudspeakers.  Spending $500/pr on a Silver series bookshelf speaker vs $500/pair on a pair of Gold series towers from the same manufacturer usually means that more budget has to go towards the cabinets and perhaps more drivers to fill up a bigger box volume for the latter.  In this case, the drivers typically aren’t up to the same caliber of performance.  So if you want to hear the subtle nuances in a recording with excellent separation of instruments, and overall pristine fidelity, chances are you will have a higher likelihood of hearing these attributes in the company’s Gold series bookshelf than their Silver series towers.  The only downside may be in bass extension and overall output.  This can however be remedied.

From Left to Right: Paradigm Signature S2 Bookshelf ($1,699/ea); Paradigm Monitor 11v7 Towers ($799/ea)

Applying bass management to a bookshelf speaker will take the strain off  its small midbass drivers from producing the difficult bass frequencies.  Instead, these will be routed more appropriately to a dedicated powered subwoofer, or two subwoofers if you want to improve the listening experience for a wider listening area so your friends can enjoy great bass too.

But what if I want to run towers and a sub?

That’s OK.  You can do that too.  The advantage of a tower is not only in bass extension but in overall output even above the crossover frequency.  The reason why some small subwoofer/satellite systems don’t sound “full’ or “well blended” is two-fold:

1.     Lack of low enough extension to blend in with the sub at the crossover frequency.

2.     Lack of sufficient output at and above the crossover frequency.

I’ve seen so many people mate tiny 5” two-way bookshelf speakers with a refrigerator sized subwoofer wondering why it just doesn’t sound as integrated as a fullrange tower speaker.  When selecting a sub/sat system it’s important to choose a satellite module with similar output capabilities as the subwoofer your mating it with or else you may notice such a disparity. 

Tower speakers on the other hand tend to offer increased sensitivity (meaning they play louder with the same applied wattage than their bookshelf counterpart).  The tower speaker will usually also have more output capability above the range where the subwoofer stops producing bass.  Remember just because you select a tower speaker doesn’t mean you have to run it fullrange.  A tower crossed over at 80Hz will still give you bass advantages over its bookshelf counterpart.  You may also decide to run the tower speakers fullrange in concert with your sub(s).  As long as you can get the bass properly integrated, this may help smooth out the bass in the room by increasing the modal density and also increase the overall output for bassaholics that like to really feel the bass. 

We recommend reading our Bass Management Basics article for more information about how you should treat your speakers “large” or “small” in the bass management of your AV receiver.

Do I have the space for a tower speaker?

Well, that depends on my room accommodations, spousal considerations and the footprint of the speakers in question.  Many folks don’t realize that a bookshelf speaker on a stand often has the same footprint as a slimline freestanding tower.  In addition, a floorstanding tower with an outrigger system can offer greater stability for those with kids living in fear that little Johnny may explore the wonders of gravity by tipping over one of your bookshelf speakers.

But which is better?  I can’t decide!

Ok both and neither.  Go try and listen to a pair of bookshelf speakers and towers of your liking side by side to determine that for yourself.  However, just realize the floorstander will have the advantage of having more bass which research has shown accounts for 30% of the listening experience.  If you can bass manage and level match both speakers while doing the comparison, you will get a more accurate picture on which speaker you will prefer.

Conclusion

Before writing off either a bookshelf or a tower to be used in your audio system, it’s imperative that you honestly assess how you will be using the speakers and if you plan on upgrading down the road by either adding a powered subwoofer or moving from two-channel to home theater.  A high quality bookshelf speaker today can later be repurposed as a surround speaker. It is most important that you choose a speaker that you feel sounds accurate and pleasing to you in your listening environment.  If you need more bass down the road, adding a subwoofer can bring new life to your system.  There is absolutely NO reason why a properly set up sub/sat system can’t be every bit as good as a fullrange tower if you chose products that have similar output capabilities and you get the crossover frequency right.