Can You Use Floor Standing Speakers As Surround Speakers? Types

Floor standing speakers are tower speakers that typically produce a wide range of frequencies with multiple drivers. So floor standing speakers are always preferred by most audiophiles. But one of the questions that come to their mind is whether they can use floor-standing speakers for surround sound. The answer is yes. You can use any speakers for surround sound by connecting properly with receivers that have matching impedance ratings. Also, the placement of the speakers in your home or room should also be proper. This article reveals whether you can use floor-standing speakers as surround sound speakers and how. Keep reading. 

What Are Floor-Standing Speakers?

There is a seemingly endless list of speakers and floor standing speakers are the only among the list that can be used for any purpose. Floor standing speakers are intended to function as a part of your home theater and they are big speakers a few feet tall and are placed directly on the floor, not on a speaker stand. They can be used ideally in medium to large-sized rooms and works best in pairs. As they are big and taller than other speakers like bookshelf speakers, floor-standing speakers tend to supply more bass and volume. There are different types of floor standing speakers and you can select the one according to your requirements. The three types of floor standing speakers are:

Can You Use Floor Standing Speakers As Surround Speakers? Types

  • Two-way speakers: Two-way speakers are the most basic types of floor standing speakers. This type of floor-standing speaker includes a tweeter driver and a woofer driver. The twitter driver is to handle high frequencies and the woofer is to handle low and bass frequencies.   

Two-way speakers

  • Three-way speakers: Three-way floor standing speakers include three drivers such as midrange, tweeter, and a woofer. These three drivers are useful to handle high frequencies, bass frequencies, and to improve the sound of dialogues. 

Three-way speakers

  • Four-way speakers: Four-way floor standing speakers are known to provide the fullest sound among these three-floor standing speakers. It includes two tweeter drivers, a midrange driver, and a woofer driver. 

Four-way speakers

What Are Surround Speakers?

Surround speakers are the rear speakers placed behind the listener and are commonly used in a surround sound system. They can be used if the listener needs to experience next-level audio while they are watching a movie or playing a video game. So they are also known as rear effect speakers. Surround speakers provide the best effects and realistic atmosphere for the users. As with floor-standing speakers, surround speakers are also divided into two main categories. They are:

  • Direct sound transducers: They are the most popular loudspeakers and disperses sound directly from the front of the loudspeaker. Sound speakers, Bluetooth, and standard stereo speakers come under direct sound transducers.

Direct sound transducers

  • Dipole speakers: As the name suggests, dipole speakers disperse sound in two directions at a time. Normally, in a dipole speaker, the sound is directed towards walls and the wall reflects it. This is to create a diffuse effect that fills the room. 

Dipole speakers

What Are Surround Speakers?

As per the audiophiles and other experts, using floor-standing speakers as a surround speaker is a high-quality choice. The height of floor standing speakers itself is the primary reason for this. The height of speakers will make a huge difference in the way the audio signals are cast in your room and this provides a different experience in the audio performance. The important thing with a floor-standing speaker is that you don’t have to worry about removing obstructions and other things in the room. 

Another reason for selecting floor-standing speakers as surround speakers are their ability to produce sound in a wide range of frequencies with multiple drivers. Also, the user can pair a floor-standing speaker with a subwoofer in order to get sound at greater bass. The drivers included in the floor-standing speaker help to get audio of low frequency, mid-range, and high frequency. 

Even though floor-standing speakers are big, they also work well in large home theaters and rooms. So, if your room is small, mid-sized, or large, a floor-standing speaker is a pleasing option to choose as a surround speaker.  

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