Buy Floor Speakers

Assembling a home theater setup can be an exciting and yet challenging task. Speakers for home theaters can be quite expensive, which makes buying the right ones seem like a daunting task. A typical setup includes 6 different speakers: a center channel, left and right channels, 2 surround channels, and a dedicated channel for low frequencies. The time-honored standbys for left and right channel speakers are large floor-standing speakers. If you are looking to buy floor speakers as the cornerstone of your own home theater setup, keep the considerations below in mind.

1Ensure that you have the space for floor speakers. While floor-standing speakers have long been the cornerstone of home theater audio, they are no longer an absolute necessity. Floor speakers easily take up more room (both physically and visually) than any other type of speaker. Those looking for a more compact setup can opt for smaller bookshelf speakers or small, sleek wall-mounted speakers.

    Bookshelf speakers (which is a general term for speakers that aren't meant to be stood on the floor) will not provide as much bass as floor speakers. However, if you live in a multi-unit building with shared walls, this will help keep you from disturbing your neighbors.
    Smaller wall-mounted satellite speakers can also be used as the left and right channels in a home theater setup. These speakers will provide even less bass response than bookshelf speakers, and therefore should always be paired with a subwoofer.

2Consider the aesthetic impact of the floor speakers. Because floor speakers are so large, their visual impact on your living space is significant. In addition, they can't be tucked away into a bookshelf and hidden.

    Floor speakers are available in a variety of different finishes. A common finish is matte black, but wood grained enclosures are also available and can be matched to your existing decor. Keeping the cloth grilles on your floor speakers will give them a cleaner, neater appearance.
    When coordinating the aesthetics of your floor speakers, make sure to involve any other members of your household. For instance, a spouse that may not care about the quality of the sound may care a great deal about the look of the speakers.

3Listen to the floor speakers before buying. Of course, the sound of the speakers is generally held to be the most important quality when making a selection. Go to several stores in your area to listen to different models of floor speakers. Speakers can generally be tested at electronics stores, specialty home theater stores, and some general "big box" retailers.

    By far the best listening experience will be offered by stores that specialize in home audio. Most of these stores have specific listening rooms that are acoustically tuned for hearing the speakers with the utmost clarity.
    When listening to speakers, try to match the equipment used to the equipment you'll be using at home. For example, if you test speakers at a store using a top-of-the-line amplifier, you may be disappointed in the way they perform at home with a less expensive amp.

4Research other aspects of floor speakers online. A final step before taking the plunge and buying your speakers is to research them as much as possible online. Online customer reviews will allow you to compare several models side by side. This research will also help you uncover aspects of the speakers that you can't determine before purchasing them, such as how they hold up over long-term use.