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There is no simple answer because it depends on your associated equipment and the listening environment. First let me say that the answer is applicable to both movies and home theater. Typically, bookshelf speakers have limited bass output, both in terms of frequency extension and bass dynamic capability.
Clearly, the small size of a bookshelf limits the size of bass driver that can be accommodated and so limits how much air the driver can move. To reproduce low frequencies, we need to move a lot of air.
Secondly there is a relationship between the cabinet size, the low frequency extension and the efficiency that is attainable, governed by the pesky laws of physics. One cannot have bass extension, high efficiency and a small box. If we therefore limit the size of box, as in a bookshelf speaker, we must give up efficiency or bass response. Obviously for a floor stander we have greater cabinet volume along with the capability of accommodating either larger drivers or multiple smaller drivers, so the limitations of the bookshelf are largely overcome. We can have somewhat higher efficiency, or better bass response and more bass output.
So, do we need all of the gains that the floorstander can give us? This will depend upon musical tastes, how loud you like to listen, how big is your listening space, how far away from the speaker you listen, and how powerful your amplifier is. What we do attempt in our designs is to give the bookshelf speakers almost the same bass extension as the floorstanders, so that you are still able to hear most of your music, just at a lower maximum volume level.
There is no simple answer because it depends on your associated equipment and the listening environment. First let me say that the answer is applicable to both movies and home theater. Typically, bookshelf speakers have limited bass output, both in terms of frequency extension and bass dynamic capability.
Clearly, the small size of a bookshelf limits the size of bass driver that can be accommodated and so limits how much air the driver can move. To reproduce low frequencies, we need to move a lot of air.
Secondly there is a relationship between the cabinet size, the low frequency extension and the efficiency that is attainable, governed by the pesky laws of physics. One cannot have bass extension, high efficiency and a small box. If we therefore limit the size of box, as in a bookshelf speaker, we must give up efficiency or bass response. Obviously for a floor stander we have greater cabinet volume along with the capability of accommodating either larger drivers or multiple smaller drivers, so the limitations of the bookshelf are largely overcome. We can have somewhat higher efficiency, or better bass response and more bass output.
So, do we need all of the gains that the floorstander can give us? This will depend upon musical tastes, how loud you like to listen, how big is your listening space, how far away from the speaker you listen, and how powerful your amplifier is. What we do attempt in our designs is to give the bookshelf speakers almost the same bass extension as the floorstanders, so that you are still able to hear most of your music, just at a lower maximum volume level.
