Top Picks Floorstanding Speakers

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<$4,999
	PSB Image T6 Speaker System: $2,625 Expect outstanding performance with music and movies from a package that delivers great value and exceptional build quality for the price. As reviewer Tom Norton put it: “The system skillfully walks the fine line between edginess and boring politeness. It never falls to either side unless you push it there with program material. This is exactly what a good speaker system should do.” (May 2010 Read Full Review)
	GoldenEar Technology TritonCinema Three Speaker System: $3,000 A slimmed down version of the phenomenal TritonCinema Two system reviewed in January 2012, complete with sweet sounding folded-diaphragm tweeters and a powered subwoofer built into each main tower, the TritonCinema Three ensemble will seduce you with its stunning clarity, detail and depth. Said reviewer Darryl Wilkinson: “Few other speakers can couple the intimacy reminiscent of an electrostatic speaker with the authority and heft of a traditional box speaker in such an organic and integral way.” (March 2012 Read Full Review)
	Aperion Verus Grand Speaker System: $3,095 Available direct from Aperion with a 30-day money-back guarantee, the gorgeously finished Verus Grand system delivers a wonderfully uniform front soundstage—among the best we’ve heard—and superb 5.1-channel performance characterized by exceptional detail and convincing imaging and depth. Summing up, reviewer Tom Norton said: “The Aperions produced a huge, expansive, cohesive soundstage that many speakers at twice the price might envy.” (October 2011 Read Full Review)
	GoldenEar Technology TritonCinema Two Speaker System: $3,495 It’s not very often that you hear the same word used in repetition to characterize the sound of a speaker system, but reviewer Darryl Wilkinson described his TritonCinema Two experience as “spectacularly spectacular” with much of the credit going to the delicate, electrostatic-esque sound produced by the system’s folded diaphragm tweeters. Bonus: You won’t need a separate bass module—a 1,200-watt subwoofer section is built into each of the main towers. (April 2011 Read Full Review)
	KEF Q900 Speaker System: $3,700 The Q900 might look somewhat pedestrian but nearly two decades of sonic tweaks to KEF’s fabled Q Series have produced a compelling system with an uncanny ability to firmly locate stereo images. Apart from reveling in sound he described as “uncolored, open, and detailed,” reviewer Tom Norton was “knocked out” by the speakers’ ability to firmly locate images across the front soundstage. (June 2011 Read Full Review)
	Definitive Technology BP-8080ST Speaker System: $3,997 “The BP-8080ST and CS-8080HD make big, bodacious, but refined and focused sound that was consistently thrilling, involving, and best of all, flat-out fun for music and movies.” That was reviewer Shane Buettner’s take on this redesigned version of the bipolar tower speaker that made Def Tech famous. Love bass? Get ready to rumble with the powered subwoofers built into those slender towers. You won’t think twice about adding a stand-alone subwoofer. (February 2011 Read Full Review)
	MartinLogan Motion 40 Speaker System: $4,345 You’ll be amazed at how close the Motion 40 system comes to achieving the light and airy sonic character of the electrostatic speakers MartinLogan built its reputation on. Reviewer Darryl Wilkinson described the ensemble as “one of the most phenomenally cohesive, startlingly immersive home theater systems” in its price range. Much of the credit goes to the special Folded Motion tweeters, which impart an unmistakable clarity and immediacy to the soundfield. Add to that taut, powerful bass and get ready to experience an “inextricable, intertwining mind-meld of sound.” (HomeTheater.com, Read Full Review)
	Definitive Technology Mythos STS SuperTower Speaker System: $4,355 The Mythos STS system stands as proof that it is, indeed, possible for five svelte speakers with graceful, sculpted lines to create a huge, involving soundstage with full-bodied bass, even though there is no stand-alone subwoofer. What’s more, vocals and dialogue are rendered with extraordinary clarity. You’ll feel like you’re standing next to Rocky when he yells, “Yo Adrian.” (March 2009 Read Full Review)
	Monitor Audio Silver RX8 Speaker System: $4,400 Reviewer Tom Norton heaped high praise on the RX8: “Music, effects, dialogue, and bass all came together in a spectacular way. Even at the highest playback level I could stand, the sound was highly detailed and never grating.” What more can you ask for, except for maybe outstanding fit and finish, which you get in spades. The Rosenut veneer, in particular, is as elegant a simulation of genuine Rosewood as you’ll find. (July 2010 Read Full Review)
	PSB Image T Speaker System: $4,749 With the Imagine T, Canadian speaker stalwart PSB has produced a high-value system that easily satisfied reviewer Tom Norton’s audiophile cravings: “The PSB system is sweet and clean with music, capable of surprisingly forceful impact and wide dynamic range, and includes a subwoofer that is far more impressive than its price would suggest.” A must for your audition list. (May 2009 Read Full Review)
$5,000-$9,999
	MartinLogan ElectroMotion ESL Speaker System: $5,290 If you haven’t experienced the thrill of electrostatic speakers, check out the stately ElectroMotion ESL system and prepare to experience an extraordinary level of clarity and detail. Reviewer Darryl Wilkinson on its musical abilities: “Few speakers at this price can so clearly define each instrument…as if you were sitting in front of the band.” Movies: “One of the finest-performing, most entertaining, drool-worthiest $5,000 home theater speaker systems you can buy.” (December 2011 Read Full Review)
	Sonus faber Venere: $5,493 (reviewed with the $999 REL T-7 subwoofer) Sonus faber, Italian maker of the strikingly gorgeous $120,000 limited-edition Aida speaker, upholds its reputation for visually stunning, superb, furniture-grade build quality, and delicate, graceful, high-resolution sonics with its entry-level Venere ensemble—and does so at a fraction of the price of the much costlier Aida. Veteran reviewer Michael Fremer praised Venere for its remarkable value and called it an “exciting and musically convincing must-hear system” that will appeal to listeners who prefer clean, taut, and detailed sound. (April 2013, Read Full Review)
	PSB Imagine T2 Speaker System: $6,650 The essence of the Imagine T2 is captured in the headline for our review: Sensationally Seamless Seduction. Digging deeper, reviewer Darryl Wilkinson explained: “The sound is beguilingly smooth and natural…Even though it’s composed of six boxes, the system is absolutely superb at working together as seamlessly as if it were one big speaker. All this from the gentle, organic lines of cabinets designed by a guy whose work can also be found in a Lamborghini showroom." (November 2012, see HomeTheater.com for review)
	Adam Audio GTC77 Speaker System: $6,850 Plain-Jane looks but sound that rates 11 on a scale of 10 is the GTC77 in a nutshell. Most of the credit goes to the X-ART (Extended Accelerating Ribbon Technology), which reviewer Michael Fremer called “positively mesmerizing.” More to the point: “The system was open, clean, and dynamically effortless… It rocked, and it exhibited delicacy and finesse. If the GTC77 system has any weak points, I don’t know what they are.” (February 2012 Read Full Review)
	Wharfedale Jade 7 Speaker System: $7,197 From one of the oldest and most respected brands comes a thoroughly modern system that sounds every bit as good as it looks. The audiophile cravings of reviewer Tom Norton were satiated by the Jades ability to “handle all types of music convincingly, including small ensembles, jazz, classic rock, and both male and female vocals.” Movies? Expect big, generous sound with an irresistible blend of dynamics, subtlety, and detail. (September 2012 Read Full Review)
	KEF R900 Speaker System: $9,400 The venerated British loudspeaker company lives up to its reputation once again, this time with the tower-based R900 system, big brother to the R300 bookshelf system we tested last year. Reviewer Tom Norton marveled at the system’s ability to sort out the sonic complexities of sophisticated soundtracks like the one for Prometheus: “The aural candy begins with spectacular music cues over the opening credits…and ends awash in music, effects, and a dynamic range that tests the system to the max. The KEFs never faltered under this immense torrent of sound.” (HomeTheater.com, Read Full Review)
	Polk LSiM707 Speaker System: $9,600 Drawing on a proud, 40-year history of delivering quality sound at accessible prices, Polk struts its stuff with the LSiM707, which delivered a sonic presentation that reviewer Tom Norton called “revealing and detailed without being at all clinical.” On handling a favorite soundtrack, Norton proclaimed: “John Williams’ sweet score for War Horse enveloped the room, but it was the throb of the cavalry charges and the pounding of the artillery that made the biggest impression.” (June 2012 Read Full Review)
$10,000 >
	McIntosh XR100 Speaker System: $16,500 Yes, the storied maker of those gorgeously analog amplifiers, known for their glowing power meters, makes speakers and has been doing so for years. Simply put, the XR100 speakers uphold the McIntosh legacy. Reviewer Michael Fremer described the sonic presentation as all Ferrari, producing “sound fields that were astonishingly transparent, tight, vibrant, focused, punchy, dynamic, and most of all, utterly effortless—at any volume I cared to listen at.” (June 2012 Read Full Review)
	Focal Electra 1028 Be Speaker System: $21,480 Known for its impeccably smooth tweeters, which are used by Wilson Audio and other high-end speaker makers, Focal’s 1028 Be commands attention visually and sonically. Reviewer Tom Norton explains: “No speaker system I’ve had in my current listening room (10 years and counting) has produced a more consistently enjoyable performance on both music and movies.” And those tweeters… The top end combined crystal clarity with an easy naturalness that most speakers shoot for and miss.” (February 2011 Read Full Review)
	Monitor Audio Platinum PL300 Speaker System: $27,350 With the PL300, Monitor stepped out of its value comfort zone to craft the Platinum Series, which wowed reviewer Tom Norton with its amazingly detailed sound and tight imaging. “It covers all the bases from the subtle to the explosive, with a soundstage as small or immense as it needs to be. The Platinum speakers do it all, with full-bodied, extended bass without bloat, a natural midrange, and crisp, precise highs.” (October 2009 Read Full Review)
	B&W 802 Diamond Speaker System: $32,000 The Brits make some of the finest speakers in the world. B&W’s 802 Diamond system, featuring the company’s trademark tweeter eye, is the latest entry on the world-class speaker list, joining its iconic 800 Series siblings, which have occupied the control room of London’s famous Abbey Road Studios for more than two decades. Reviewer Tom Norton puts things in perspective: “If you’re serious about acquiring one of the highest-end home theater speaker systems, you need to hear this 802 Diamond package.” (November 2012, see HomeTheater.com for review)
	Revel Ultima2 Salon2 Speaker System: $45,993 One of the newer members of the world-class-speaker club, Revel unquestionably makes some of the best speakers money can buy. Enter the Ultima2 Salon2 system, delivering goosebump-producing sound that reviewer Fred Manteghian said “revealed the complexity of the human voice as perfectly as the mechanical gyrations of a grand piano. Whether listening to vinyl in stereo, or watching the latest action movie on Blu-ray, the experience is always rewarding.” (July 2009 Read Full Review)