Audio

7 Best Floor Standing Speakers Under $500

Audiophiles are everywhere today and they don't settle for nothing but the best sound setup that they can get. And you can't call your setup the best, unless you have some decent floor standing speakers. Floor-standing speakers are one of the most popular speaker type of all time and they add a great depth to your home theater system. There are plenty of great floor standing speakers on the market today as well as the bad ones. 

Floor Standing Speakers in Living Room

You need to keep in mind a lot of different characteristics in order to get the best floor standing speakers under $500 dollars. You just have to decide which qualities you care about the most and you'll be set. Before we get to the things you need to look for when buying speakers and the reviews, lets take a quick look the speakers that made our top 7 list. 

A Quick Look at The Best Floor Standing Speakers

Image

Name

Driver

Watt

JBL Loft

6.5 Inch

250

Pioneer AJ2

5.25 Inch

130

Polk Audio TSi400

5.25 Inch

200

Onkyo SKF-4800

6.25 Inch

130

Sony SSCS3

6.25 Inch

145

Yamaha NS-F210BL

3.5 Inch

120

BIC Amercia

6.25 Inch

250

Things to Keep in Mind When Buying Floor Standing Speakers

1. Size - You might want a set of speakers that is going to be big enough to fill a big music room. Of course, you also don't want a set of speakers that is going to be so big that they're cumbersome. There are plenty of compact speakers out there that will work well and that won't take up a lot of space on the floor.

2. Frequency Response - The frequency response range is really important for all floor standing speakers. If the speakers cannot handle either low, medium, or high frequencies very well, the speakers are not going to be especially useful. Lots of speakers are only going to be able to handle a fairly narrow range of frequencies. Finding speakers with a problematic bass quality is common, and finding speakers that are weak in the medium or low range is also common. The best speakers will be able to give people a wide range of sound.

3. Impedance - Impedance is about restricting the flow of an electric current through a speaker. It literally refers to impeding the flow of the current. You will find this rating with the ohm rating on speakers. For the most part, an 8 ohm rating is going to be a good one that will work for your purposes. Finding 6 ohms is also common. If you find an impedance rating of around 4 ohms, the speaker is going to be really expensive and high-end. Those are the speakers for the really hardcore audiophiles.

4. Aesthetics - You still want to have speakers that look good. They're going to be out all the time. You're going to want speakers that will look good on the floor or in the media room. Lots of speakers today do look good, and plenty of them were designed to appeal to audiophiles who are interested in vinyl records and stylish vintage stuff.

5. Durability - Speakers have a lot of energy pulsing through them and this is going to have an effect on whether or not they are going to last for a long time. You might not care about this quality as much if you're a person who is always excited about getting all of the new stuff anyway. Still, having speakers that aren't going to fail on you randomly is important, and plenty of great speakers are going to be durable and strong.

6. Pair or Single - One thing that you must check while buying floor speakers online is, if they come in a pair or a single unit. If it comes as a single unit, then you can just buy two units to make them a pair. Just don't end up with a single unit thinking that they are sold as pair.​

If you want to dig a little deeper and know more about home audio, then you can check out this extensive guide from DigitalTrends. 

Also Read - 7 Best Powered Subwoofers for Home

Review of The Best Floor Standing Speakers Under 500

Now that you know about the things you need to look for when buying floorstanding speakers, it's time for the actual reviews. I hope it will be much easier for you to choose one afterwards. 

1. JBL Loft 50 Floor Standing Loudspeakers

JBL Loft 50 Floor standing Loudspeakers

The JBL Loft 50 has topped our list because they are great from every aspect and they come with a very attractive price tag. These speakers are sold in pair and with a price tag of just under 350 dollars for a pair, it's hard to argue when it comes to value. These speakers are suitable for a medium to semi large room and might be a little overpowering for small rooms. 

Each of the speaker unit contains one 6.5 inch PolyBass driver, one 1 inch soft dome tweeter and three 4 inch midrange drivers. The speaker has 8 Ohms. The amplifier range is 10 - 250 watts. The speaker is made using FreeFlow port technology. You can get a really great sound quality with a device like this. The highs for this speaker are fantastic, and so are the lows.

The JBL Loft 50 uses two 6.5 inch bass driver units (one on each speaker unit) are pretty powerful for their size. If you really like your powerful bass sounds, you might consider getting a sub-woofer such as this one from Polk Audio for just around 100 dollars. It's a 10 inch powered sub-woofer which means you don't need an amplifier to power it. Just plug and play.

Floor standing speakers ought to look great on the floor, and speakers like this one would look great anywhere. The quality of the Straight-Line Signal Path (SSP) design speaks for itself. These are speakers that appear to be as modern as they are and as they sound.

2. Pioneer Andrew Jones Designed Floor Speakers

Pioneer Andrew Jones Floor Speakers

Pioneer is known for their high quality home audio products. The Pioneer Andrew Jones will allow you to get a wonderfully rich sound  and natural sound. You can buy them either as a single unit, 2 units to make a pair or a pair with reciever. The Dolby True HD really speaks to the quality of the sound that you can get with them. The mid to high range are one of the best that you're going to find in the market. 

 These speakers should be able to work well even without a subwoofer. If you like vinyl records in particular, these are some great speakers to use. The built-in Bluetooth wireless technology should make these speakers more convenient to use. You'll be able to use a wider range of music with these speakers, and you'll probably be able to enjoy more movies with them as well

The Pioneer Andrew Jones Floor standing Speakers + VSX-530-K AV Receiver are also really solid, so they are going to last for a long time and they're probably going to be more resistant to accidents than a lot of others that you're going to find on the market. These are speakers that have a presence both physically and audibly. You might ideally pair these speakers with a Sub-woofer during movie nights, but that's only if you want the most ideal sound possible.

3. Polk Audio TSi400 Floor Standing Speakers

Polk Audio TSi400 4-Way Tower Speakers

The Polk Audio TSi400 4-Way Tower Speakers with Three 5-1/4" Drivers - Pair (Black) can really enhance your personal sound system. The recommended amplification for these speakers will reach 20-200 watts/channel, which should meet your standards as a music or film fan as Polk audio never disappoints. 

Getting the right bass response with these sorts of speakers is not always going to be easy, but the bass response that you can get with the Polk Audio TSi400 4-Way Tower Speakers with Three 5-1/4" Drivers - Pair (Black) is fantastic.​

 While a subwoofer is always going to enhance the sound quality of almost any set of speakers, you actually don't need a subwoofer to get a really great sound quality with these speakers.There are lots of lovely speakers on the market these days, but it's really hard to go wrong with these.

The wood grain vinyl finish with the piano black top plate will look great in your media room, especially if you're a person who really likes vintage stuff and vinyl records. These speakers are not self-powered, but that is the case for most speakers on the market today, so you shouldn't be worried about that.

4. Onkyo SKF-4800 Floor-standing Speakers

Onkyo SKF-4800 2-Way Floor-standing Speakers

You can get a really natural and clear sound with these speakers, which are going to improve the movie watching experience tremendously. The frequency response and the sound quality that you can get with the Onkyo SKF-4800 2-Way Bass Reflex Floor-standing Speakers (Pair) really is incredible. 

The bass sound is just as strong and really comes through without any help. You can really expect to get great sounds with these speakers. Vinyl lovers are going to love these speakers especially. The highs and lows are crisp and clear.

The maximum input power for these speakers is 130 W, which is a better rating than you'll find in general with these kinds of speakers. These are speakers that really excel in terms of their frequency response range and their sound quality in general.

 These speakers come with wires that are really easy to install and to put together. These are speakers that you can store anywhere. They're equipped with banana plug compatible speaker posts. These are speakers that should be easy for you to use and easy for you to own.

5. Sony SSCS3 3-Way Floor-Standing Speaker

Sony SSCS3 3-Way Floor-Standing Speaker

These are speakers for serious audiophiles. With a 6 ohm speaker impedance rating, it really is hard to find something better than these on the market. If you do, the price is going to be a lot higher. While these are speakers that are going to work better in a mid-size or small room, they should still manage to work fairly well in a larger room. 

The 3/4" Sony Super Tweeter for immersive sound staging is really going to make all the difference in a media room. You can also expect sound reproduction to 50kHz, specifically for high resolution audio. It's hard to go wrong with speakers like these. The maximum power rating for these speakers is 145 W, which is well above average even for the best floor standing speakers that you can find on the market today.

At one speaker per carton, the design that you can get with these is particularly efficient. You're never going to find speakers that are as light as these in this price range. They weigh less than thirty pounds, which is shockingly low for devices like these. Serious audiophiles will usually have their own designated sound rooms, and if you're like that, these speakers should still work well for you.

6. Yamaha NS-F210BL Floorstanding Speaker

Yamaha NS-F210BL 2-Way Bass-Reflex Floorstanding Speaker

You can really get some dynamic sound with the Yamaha NS-F210BL 2-Way Bass-Reflex Floorstanding Speaker - Each (Black). The highs in particular are very great, and this is often a problem when it comes to the frequency response of a speaker. These are speakers that will work well in most frequencies, with a frequency response range that you are not going to be able to find just anywhere. 

If you care a lot about the design of your speakers and you want something that is really modern, it really is hard to go wrong with the Yamaha NS-F210BL 2-Way Bass-Reflex Floorstanding Speaker - Each (Black). Buying speakers like these separately might be a problem, but overall, you shouldn't have an issue with these at any point during the purchasing or ownership.

These speakers follow the modern principle that everything in the tech world needs to be really slim and narrow and dark, and they are going to match your narrow and dark laptop and narrow and dark television set just fine. They'll certainly complement your vinyl records as well.

7. BIC America Acoustech PL-89 Tower Speaker

BIC Amercia Acoustech Platinum Series PL-89 Tower Speaker

These are some of the most powerful speakers that you can find on the market. The speakers have 8 ohms impedance. The BIC Amercia Acoustech Platinum Series PL-89 tower speaker has a 25Hz - 23kHz frequency response. Speakers like these are going to move from the highs to the mids to the mid-to-highs very easily and cleanly. 

You might need a 12-inch subwoofer in order to get really balanced sound with these speakers. However, overall, these are speakers that are going to give you what you want. The speaker cabinets also look really great and you're going to be able to get lots of nice design touches with them. The lacquer finish top in particular is a nice accent to a great set of speakers that you're really going to love. They can offer the sort of clarity that will really help to liven up movie night and party night, whether you're playing rock music or pop music.

You'll also probably love the angled front. These speakers work well as both tools and furniture. The fact that they don't take up a lot of space and the fact that they're fairly small and easy to carry should also make a big difference for you. You're not going to struggle when it comes to moving them and getting these speakers around the house is easy.

Also Read - 7 Best Center Channel Speakers in 2020

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Final Words

Buying a speaker might be fun, but it isn't always easy. There are lots of things to consider. However, as long as you have an idea of the frequency response that you're looking for and as long as you know which speakers will work best in your media room, you'll stand a good chance of being able to find the speakers that work for you. You just need to know what you want. It's probably out there for you. Some aspects of buying a speaker are subjective and you're going to have to decide for yourself which qualities are more important. You should be able to find what you need in the modern market.

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