Best Floorstanding Loudspeakers: Editors’ Choice 2025

Introduction

2025 has been a fantastic year for anyone shopping high-end floorstanders under $30,000 — and a lousy year for anyone hoping to score a killer pair under $1,000. Tariffs have pushed several of our former budget champions from JBL and Magnepan well beyond eligibility, and that reality thinned the herd faster than anyone expected.

Brands like Q Acoustics, SVS, JBL, KEF, DALI, ELAC, Focal, Bowers & Wilkins, Wharfedale, and Klipsch all launched speakers worthy of attention, but here’s the catch: if we didn’t review them or spend multiple extended listening sessions with them — not quick show demos, real time — they can’t make the list.

Most of our 2024 picks remain excellent loudspeakers, and you can still find them in our previous guide, but narrowing the field for 2025 has been more difficult than usual. Too many strong contenders, not enough hours in the listening chair, and no clear consensus pick from the editorial team. Sometimes that’s just how the audio world shakes out.

The Wharfedale Diamond 12.3 was on track to be our under-$1,500 winner this year — a genuinely musical, class-leading floorstander that hit the sweet spot for performance, price, and broad system compatibility. And then, almost overnight, it vanished. Wharfedale quietly discontinued the 12.3 last week and replaced it with the new Diamond 12.3i at $1,200 per pair, leaving dealers scrambling and listeners wondering where their short-list favorite went.

We don’t doubt the 12.3i improves on the outgoing model — Wharfedale rarely steps backward — but here’s the problem: nobody on our team has heard it yet, and we only recommend products we’ve actually spent real time with. That means the earliest we’ll have a proper review is sometime in 2026.

Chaos is never helpful in a category already under pressure from tariffs and fluctuating pricing, and we can’t control when a manufacturer decides to pull the plug on a proven winner. The Diamond 12.3 deserved a longer runway, and its sudden disappearance leaves a very real gap in the affordable-floorstander landscape. Until we get ears on the 12.3i, the original remains a reminder that great products sometimes exit the stage before the applause stops.

Methodology

Eligible products must be currently shipping whether or not they were released in the current year. At least one eCoustics staff member must nominate a product within the category that they feel offers best-in-class performance at its listed retail price before it can be voted on by our Editors.

Best Floorstanding Speakers Under $1,500

Magnepan LRS+

The Magnepan LRS+ earned its reputation as the best value in high-end audio, but its new $1,295 price tag means the “giant killer” narrative needs an update. Even so, the fundamentals remain unchanged: the LRS+ thrives on real current, not wishful thinking. You need an amplifier that can double its output into 4 ohms and stay stable doing it — think Emotiva, NAD (not the C 316BEE V2), Schiit Audio, Bryston, Audio Research, or Pass Labs. A/V receivers are still a poor match. Proper setup is just as critical: give them at least three feet of space behind the panels, angle them so the tweeter section sits slightly farther from your ears, and get them off the stock feet with a paving stone or Magna Risers.

Bass has never been the reason to buy the LRS+, and anyone expecting low-end thunder will be disappointed. What you’re really paying for is speed, transparency, imaging, and an immediacy that box speakers at this price rarely touch. That said, I have a new subwoofer arriving soon that might shift the LRS+ bass equation rather dramatically — stay tuned for that experiment. Even with the tariff-era price hike, the LRS+ remains one of the most compelling ways to experience planar magic without emptying your bank account.

$1,295/pair at Magnepan

Best Floorstanding Speakers Under $2,000

Q Acoustics 5040

The Q Acoustics 5040 landed at a higher price than originally expected thanks to tariffs, but even with the bump, it remains one of the most compelling floorstanders in its class. The updated mid/bass drivers deliver tighter, faster, and better-defined low end, and the overall presentation is far more neutral and revealing than anything Q Acoustics has offered in this range before. It’s a loudspeaker that rewards careful amplifier matching, opens up beautifully with proper placement, and isn’t afraid to show you exactly what your system is doing — good or bad. That level of transparency used to cost a lot more, which is why the 5040 still feels like a milestone product despite the price hike.

Q Acoustics’ newer 3050c narrows the gap by carrying over much of the company’s latest design language, but it doesn’t quite reach the 5040’s level of resolution or low-frequency authority. The 3050c sounds cleaner and more controlled than its predecessors, yet the 5040 remains the more articulate loudspeaker with greater speed, clarity, and soundstage depth. What sets the 5040 apart is how confidently it scales — give it better electronics and space to breathe, and its performance rises in a way the 3050c can’t fully match. Even at the new tariff-adjusted pricing, the 5040 stands out as one of the strongest values in the mid-tier floorstanding category.

Go to full review | $1,499/pair at Crutchfield | Amazon

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Best Floorstanding Speakers Under $3,000

KLH Model 5 ($2,998)

KLH have been on a tear over the past four years with three standout additions to their retro-styled Model Collection: the Model Five, Model Three, and the newly minted Model Seven. All follow the sealed-box, acoustic-suspension blueprint Henry Kloss made famous in the 1970s, complete with real-wood veneers, cloth grilles, and included metal risers. We haven’t spent time with the Model Three yet, but we know the Five and Seven well.

The Model Five remains a beautifully voiced loudspeaker: sweet, natural, and confident through the midrange, with clear but never abrasive treble and surprisingly authoritative bass for its footprint (rated to 42 Hz). It’s an easy fit for almost any genre—acoustic trios, big orchestral scores, dense electronic work—nothing throws it off balance. The Model Seven carries the same KLH DNA but ups the ante with deeper reach (38 Hz, and 26 Hz at –10 dB), greater scale, and more spacious imaging. Choosing our Editors’ Choice between them was a close call, but the Five ultimately wins. It’s the sweet spot for most listeners in size (excellent everywhere but truly tiny rooms), performance (balanced and unfussy), and is half the price of Model Seven).

$2,998/pair at Crutchfield | Amazon

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Best Floorstanding Speakers: Cost No Object

Audiovector Trapeze Reimagined ($19,950)

Audiovector’s Trapeze Reimagined (Ri) looks like a nostalgic Danish design experiment, but once you fire them up, the disguise drops. These sealed three-way floorstanders deliver a warm, bass-forward signature with real authority—fast, controlled low end down to a claimed 23 Hz, a natural and articulate midrange, and a precise but never fatiguing top end that walks the line between detail and restraint. They’re built like heirloom furniture and engineered like high-end machinery, with excellent imaging, strong dynamic punch, and a tonal balance that stays rich and full without smothering clarity. In a properly sized room, they open up even further, offering rock-solid placement and composure even when you feed them material that would humble lesser designs.

But they aren’t shy about their demands. Despite a healthy 92.5 dB sensitivity rating, the Trapeze Ri wants real current—100 watts or more of stout Class A/B power is mandatory, and Class D didn’t play nice in my testing. Pair them correctly and they’ll reward you with a presentation that hits harder and resolves more information than their genteel looks suggest. Pair them poorly and you’ll get woolly bass, compressed dynamics, and a top end that feels boxed in. At $19,950 per pair, they ask a lot from both your wallet and your amplification chain, but if you have the space, the muscle, and the appetite for a bold, full-bodied Danish statement piece disguised as modern furniture, they’re absolutely worth an audition.

Go to full review | $19,950/pair [Locate dealer]

Best Active Floorstanding Speakers: Cost No Object

ATC SCM50ASL ($22,499)

ATC’s SCM50ASL is the kind of loudspeaker that doesn’t care about your expectations, your décor, or your fragile audiophile ego. Starting at $22,499 per pair, these active floorstanders arrive like industrial sculptures—107 pounds each, built to studio standards, and finished in veneers that look and feel far more luxurious than their pro-audio pedigree suggests. Whether you choose classic Cherry or Walnut, or go full “modern gallery” with Piano Black or high-gloss white, the craftsmanship is obvious the moment they come out of the box. Their 28-inch-tall cabinets (plus the included 250mm stands you absolutely need to use) house ATC’s signature SM75-150S soft-dome midrange driver—one of the best on the planet—now paired with the newer SH25-76S tweeter and an improved port that tightens things further. Inside, three dedicated MOS-FET Class A/B amplifiers do the heavy lifting with power, headroom, and dynamic authority most passive setups never quite reach.

What you get from all of that engineering is breathtaking clarity, transparency, and control. These don’t sweeten poor recordings, and they absolutely won’t flatter bad mastering—ATC builds them for studios, and they behave like it. Bass is shockingly quick and physical from the 9-inch Super Linear–equipped woofer, with no real need for a sub unless you’re trying to impress the neighbors. Midrange accuracy is surgical yet natural, and treble is refined without hype. At normal to spirited volumes, the SCM50ASL offers a level of insight, texture, and dynamic realism few speakers at any price can touch. At very low levels they lose a little of their magic, but that’s the tradeoff when honesty is the priority. If you want warmth, romance, or a forgiving presentation, keep walking. If you want to hear exactly what your favorite records actually sound like—every detail, every flaw, every thrill—these are the real deal.

Go to full review | $22,499/pair [Locate Dealer]

The Bottom Line

2025 has been a chaotic year for floorstanding loudspeakers, with tariffs reshuffling price brackets, beloved models disappearing overnight, and new releases landing faster than any editorial team can reasonably evaluate. But the core truth remains unchanged — great speakers at sane prices still exist, and the ones that made this list earned their spot through actual listening time, not spec-sheet wishful thinking.

The category is evolving quickly, and so are we. Starting in 2026, we’ll be updating this guide quarterly as new models arrive and as we complete full reviews. Wharfedale, Devialet, SVS, and several others are already on the Q1 2026 schedule, and a few of them will almost certainly force their way onto this list. For now, consider this the most accurate snapshot of a segment in flux — and a reminder that real ears, real rooms, and real evaluations still matter.

Related Reading:

• System Matching Ideas for Both the LRS and 3050i
• Best Bookshelf Speakers
• Capital Audiofest 2025: Best in Show
• Latest Editors’ Choice Awards