Discover the Best Floorstanding, Audiophile & High-End Speakers of 2024

There can be a discernible divide in the audiophile world between those enthralled by the art of high-end audio and those that immerse themselves in the science of it. Whether you're setting up a home theater or looking for the perfect pair of bookshelf speakers to complement your amplifier, the choice of speakers plays a pivotal role in acoustics and overall sound quality.

Consider the size of your room and whether you need a subwoofer to boost those lower frequencies. For vinyl enthusiasts, pairing your speakers with a high-quality turntable ensures that every note and nuance is crisply reproduced, especially when each speaker’s tweeter is finely tuned to deliver impeccable clarity and detail. Some people want to know all about the process that goes into a speaker. What materials were chosen? How were the drivers placed within the enclosure? Others focus on listening to various models to see which sounds best. Ultimately the goal is the same: powerful, clean sound. In this blog, we explore the details that go into a high-performance speaker. If you’d rather hear it to believe it, contact us to schedule a test drive of our top loudspeakers.

Every family uses their whole home audio in a different way. Which is why it’s important to offer varied solutions, from the type of speakers that are being used to the preferred control devices. In this blog, we’ll go over some popular speaker options and their best applications. Depending on whether you’re looking to invest in a dedicated listening room or simply play background music when hosting friends, you’re going to have very different needs when it comes to your equipment.

SEE MORE: How to Upgrade your Outdoor Music System

Architectural Speakers

These speakers are very popular in modern luxury homes, as they offer high-fidelity sound without interfering with the interior décor. Architectural speakers are hidden within your wall or ceilings, sitting behind painted grills that camouflage with the rest of your home. These type of speakers offer wide dispersion, so you won’t hear a difference in sound when walking right by them, making them perfect for background audio in your living room or dining room.

Bookshelf/Cabinet Speakers

All music fans would love to listen to their favorite artists and albums just as they first sounded in the recording studio. Great sound is the ultimate goal for anyone that calls themselves a music lover, which is why high-end audio systems have exploded in popularity over the past fifty years. However, some common myths have persisted that have kept people from actually taking advantage of the power of high-performance sound. In this blog, we highlight some of the most persistent ones to make sure you don’t make any common mistakes when investing in a high-end audio system.

SEE MORE: Creating the Perfect Atmosphere for Enjoying High-End Audio

1. It’s Only for Audiophiles: There's the misconception that these systems are only meant for gearheads that spend their days studying the specs behind amplifiers, cables, and speakers. High-end systems are not limited to a small club; they're meant for anyone who loves music.
2. Price Equals Quality: This common myth has had two negative results. In some circles, it's kept people from dipping their feet into high-end systems because they don't want to invest in $10,000 amplifiers or $50,000 speakers. It's also resulted in disjointed systems that just combine the most expensive products on the market.The right equipment will depend on a lot of factors. Choices for your system should never be based on price point. Instead, work with an AV professional to test-drive various components before finding out which one would work best.
3. Newer is Always Better: If you're building a new system, you likely want to make sure you buy the latest models for optimal compatibility. That doesn’t mean you have to get rid of things that have worked in the past—especially when it comes to source components. If you have a vintage turntable that you've been using for decades, then you should add it your new system! You’ve already grown used to its sound, so why not enhance it by hooking it up to new amplifiers and speakers?
4. Ignoring the Bass: The staunchest of audiophiles like to stick to the traditional 2-channel system, relegating the subwoofer to home theater applications. But your listening experience could definitely benefit from having better bass. Part of the problem is that most 2-channel amps and preamps don't have subwoofer crossover capabilities, but the right AV technician can easily incorporate one into your system to make sure you’re getting the fullest sound possible.
5. Power is Everything: If there's one thing everyone knows about speakers, it’s firepower. While you certainly want to make sure your speaker can fill the room with sound, power should never be the number one priority. Specs can also be a bit misleading in this regard, so you shouldn’t be counting on them when choosing a system. Instead, listen to a few speakers to see which offer the sound best suited for the room and the kind of music you like to listen to.
6. It’s All About the Gear: While the focus should certainly be on finding the best equipment, you can't ignore your surroundings. Make sure that you give your high-end system the right space to shine. From finding the right size and layout to installing acoustic treatments, you want to create the ideal audio environment.
7. Leading With the Speakers: Your speakers are going to be your system’s biggest stars. That doesn’t mean they’re the most important part. Don’t splurge on speakers then settle for mid-level equipment for your amplifiers, pre-amps, or sources. Try and balance out your budget as much as possible, with the majority of your attention going to your amps and preamps.
8. There’s a ‘Correct’ Sound: Be wary of any dealer or AV technician that tries to tell you one particular speaker offers the ‘correct' sound. Everyone has different preferences and ultimately you need to choose what you think sounds best, not what someone tells you sounds ‘right'.

The experts at Avidia can introduce you to some of the best equipment in the industry, just fill out our online contact form to schedule a visit. Once you’ve tested it out and found the right fit, we optimize your room acoustics and calibrate your equipment to make sure you’re getting the best audio possible.

SEE ALSO: Comparing Two Approaches to Multiroom Audio: Sonos vs. Control4

Outdoor Audio All Year Long

Rain, snow, or heat can’t get in the way of speakers and subwoofers by Coastal Source. They’re built to endure any weather while still playing high-quality audio. We’ll wire your speakers neatly underground to connect to one system, so you’ll automatically enjoy the same tunes across multiple areas in your backyard. If you have a multi-room audio system indoors, your outdoor speakers can sync with them, too, easily controlled by your Control4 smart home system.

Coastal Source creates a variety of speakers for your backyard or patio. Their Ellipse Bollards are bi-amplified full-range speakers with a large driver area, offering higher fidelity and performance than most outdoor speakers. Its Plug + Play feature makes it easy to install your speakers and maintain air and watertight cable connections for years of top performance.

For more discreet outdoor audio, their bullet speakers are 3” small and perfect for peppering your landscaping or lining pathways. For even subtler technology, Coastal Source’s rock speakers are designed to blend in with nature in an organic rock shape. Your guests will be left wondering, “Where is that music coming from?”

SEE ALSO: 8 Common Misconceptions About High-End Audio Systems

MartinLogan: An Introduction

MartinLogan was formed in the late 1970s by founders Gayle Martin Sanders and Ron Logan Sutherland. The two music enthusiasts met at a high-end audio store in Kansas and discovered their shared passion for electrostatic speakers, which were known for their impressive sonic purity.

Unsatisfied with electrostatic speakers’ formidable challenge to produce bass frequencies and deliver an even dispersion of sound, Sanders and Sutherland set out to reinvent the electrostatic speaker so that it could produce adequate bass, output, and sound dispersion while maintaining the sound clarity that made electrostatic speakers popular among audiophiles.

In 1983, Sanders and Sutherland did just that. The Monolith, a full-range hybrid electrostatic loudspeaker, came to life and was the catalyst that eventually launched MartinLogan to the top of the list of world-renowned high-end audio brands.

SEE ALSO: Bring Movies to Life with MartinLogan Architectural Speakers

Audiophile Quality without the Audiophile Price

Electrostatic speakers are a rare breed of speaker, capable of extraordinary realistic reproduction of sound based on their meticulous and unconventional design. Anyone who’s heard the sonic purity of a MartinLogan electrostatic speaker can conclude that there’s simply nothing else like it.

As the top purveyor of luxury electrostatic speakers, MartinLogan set out to provide this same sound quality for audiophiles on a limited budget by introducing the Motion Series in 2010. Today, the Motion Series line delivers a richly detailed musical and cinematic experience at an unrivaled price.

MartinLogan achieved this through their unique Folded Motion tweeter technology. This thin-film transducer design packs the same accuracy and delicacy of an electrostatic panel into a small space by crimping the lightweight film transducer into an accordion-like structure to increase the tweeter surface area. The result is higher levels of sonic accuracy, extended bandwidth, and higher output capability, all with a faster and more efficient transient response and almost zero distortion.

This Folded Motion tweeter design paired with high-performance mid-frequency and bass drivers and hand-built, custom-tuned crossovers makes it possible to extend the signature MartinLogan sound beyond electrostatic speakers to a more traditional and affordable speaker line.