Best Floorstanding Loudspeakers Under $2,000 in 2024 [Updated]

Table of contents:

• Q Acoustics 5040
• DALI Oberon 5
• Magnepan LRS+
• Wharfedale Diamond 12.3
• Zu Audio Dirty Weekend 6
• Q Acoustics 5050

2024 has been a great year for music listeners looking for mid-tier high-end floorstanding loudspeakers below $2,000.

Brands like Q Acoustics, Focal, Bowers & Wilkins, PSB, and Acoustic Energy introduced a number of new models that definitely need to be on your radar.

Change is hard for some brands and there is always a bit of a risk when a company introduces a new range meant to satisfy the needs of the middle of the market; especially when said manufacturer has already established itself as a category leader below $1,000 and in the segment above $3,000.

Can they find that magic again in a segment of the market that often struggles to attract mainstream attention? 

The mid-tier loudspeaker segment has become a rather crowed space with the aforementioned brands and DALI, ELAC, SVS, Polk Audio, and Klipsch engaged in a Game of Thrones-esque fight to the finish. 

One can build a very satisfying high-end system around any of these loudspeakers for the price of a rather expensive high-end power cord — which is the biggest waste of money around.

All of these loudspeakers have been tested by members of our staff and look for other models to be added before the end of the year.

Q Acoustics 5040

Do you really get that much more from a performance perspective when you purchase the Q Acoustics 5040 loudspeakers for $1,499 over the 3050i which retail for $999 USD? 

The new mid/bass drivers offer leaner, tighter, and better defined bass response with every genre of music. The 5040 sacrifices some impact compared to the 3050i but the detail and speed are far superior. 

The overall tonal balance is more neutral than the 3000 series and that makes the loudspeaker somewhat of a chameleon depending on your choice of amplifier. 

You can read my two-part review of the Q Acoustics 5040 here and here, but make no mistake — these were one of the most important releases of 2023 because they made rather incredible sonic performance that much more accessible to those looking for a well made floor standing loudspeaker that is actually affordable.

Pros: Transparency, detail, clarity, very wide soundstage, very immediate presentation, superb value for the money

Cons: Very sensitive to system matching, need some space to really open up, and will make you try as many amplifiers as you can get your hands on

Where to buy: $1,499/pair at Amazon

DALI Oberon 5

DALI receives a lot of attention for its very expensive high-end models like the KORE and its Phantom in-wall/in-ceiling loudspeakers — but its best value products can be discovered at the opposite end of the market.

The Danish manufacturer is one of the largest manufacturers of loudspeaker cabinets in the world and makes almost everything in-house; including the screws and bolts that hold everything together.

Because of their long-term investment in driver technology, they are also able to pass on all of those aforementioned benefits to the consumer.

The Oberon 5 have been available for a few years but they continue to sell well and we understand why.

They are relatively compact two-way towers, measuring 33 inches high and 13 inches wide.

DALI have proven that they know how to build inert and beautiful cabinets; the Oberon 5 is made from MDF and available in four finishes; white, dark walnut, light oak, and black ash.

The driver complement harkens some comparisons to the somewhat larger Q Acoustics 3050i; the Oberon 5 use a pair of 5 inch mid/woofers and the company’s trademark 1.14 inch soft dome tweeter.

A single-wired two-way crossover is also used and the speakers do not offer a very difficult load; a nominal impedance of 6 ohms and 88dB/W/m sensitivity rating

Very much like the Q Acoustics 5040, these need some space from the wall behind them and are smoother sounding when pointed straight ahead. Angling these in towards your listening chair provides no real benefit.

The trademark DALI top end is very present with a lot of energy and detail, but you will not have to worry about any hardness unless your amplifier is tilted that way as well.

The low end is punchy and rather dynamic sounding considering the size of the drivers and cabinet, but these are not bass monsters.

What really sells us on these loudspeakers is the expressive midrange that takes vocals to another level in this price range.

Pros: Expressive sounding midrange, punchy mid bass and lower midrange, sound larger than they look, excellent build quality and value for the money

Cons: Better suited for small to medium-sized rooms, treble is sensitive to partnering equipment, need a high quality amplifier to really show off just how good they are

Where to buy: $1,300/pair at Amazon

Magnepan LRS+

There are a million opinions online about the topic but the simple truth is that you can drive a loudspeaker like the Magnepan LRS+ (Little Ribbon Speaker) with any amplifier that can double its output and is stable into a 4 ohm load. A/V receivers are not great choices in this scenario. Their actual power output into a 4 ohm load is rather iffy.

Emotiva, NAD (not the C 316BEE V2), Schiit Audio, Bryston, Audio Research, and Pass Labs all work well with Magnepan.

The LRS+ need a lot of space. A minimum of 3 feet from the wall behind them. You also need to angle the panels so that the tweeter potion of the panel are further from your ears than the woofer. I have my LRS+ turned so that the woofer panel is almost 2 inches closer to my listening position.

The LRS+ also benefit from either a heavy paving stone placed underneath the legs or a dedicated stand like the Magna Risers.

Don’t expect a lot of deep bass from the LRS+ – that’s not why you are buying it.

Pros: Transparency, detail, clarity, deep soundstage, very immediate presentation, superb value for the money

Cons: Limited bass, require high current amplification, wonky feet, need to be placed at least 3 feet from the wall behind them

Where to buy: Magnepan Dealer Locator

Wharfedale Diamond 12.3

Wharfedale’s founder, Gilbert Briggs built his first loudspeaker in 1932 in his home in Ilkey, Yorkshire; the town was based in the valley of the river “Wharfe.” Briggs opened Wharfedale Wireless Works in 1933 supplying advanced loudspeaker drivers to the growing radio industry and the company became a leading supplier selling more than 9,000 units per year until the outbreak of World War II.

The company flourished after the war and became one of the first companies to offer a two-way loudspeaker in 1945 – the prototype for the modern loudspeaker.

The Diamond series has been around for a number of years and have always offered a lot of performance for the money. A pair of Wharfedale Diamond 10.1s have graced my home office for almost 6 years and I have zero desire to replace them; they work incredibly well with both solid state and tubes.

The Diamond 12.3s utilize two 5″ Klarity midrange woofers and one 1″ soft dome tweeter in a rather inert enclosure that blends really well in modern and traditional settings.

The 88 dB (8 ohms, dips to 5 ohms) sensitivity makes them rather easy to drive and they certainly love amplifiers like the Audiolab 6000A and NAD C 316BEE V2 Integrated Amplifiers.

The Diamond 12.3s deliver strong dynamics, detail, and a very high level of resolution. They don’t need to be pulled that far from the walls to really deliver balanced performance.

The build quality is superb for the money.

Pros: Balanced, airy treble, punchy mid bass and upper midrange, excellent with vocals, superb value for the money

Cons: Need better quality electronics to really shine, slightly reserved presentation, vinyl veneer

Where to buy: $998/pair at Crutchfield

Zu Audio Dirty Weekend 6

I love it when Sean Casey talks dirty.

The Dirty Weekend Six is a complete platform revamp over the discontinued Omen Dirty Weekend, only the size and famous good looks and tone remain. The Zu Audio DW6 is a healthy slice of the fidelity and precision of Union 6 drenched in the warm wet and full tones of Omen.

Did someone turn up the heat in here?

Have you ever paid $1,599 USD for some dirty weekend six?

The speaker has been redesigned from the ground up to satisfy, with noticeably improved resolution, bass through treble, with deeper bass extension and smoother everywhere, keeping that easy going and always likable charm.

The Zu Audio Dirty Weekend Six is efficient, broad-bandwidth, with a smooth off-axis transition, serves up huge stereo, is rugged… a loudspeaker that responds to your music with agility, precise timing and rich tone.

That seems like a lot of promises and waking up alone in the early morning but we digress.

The Zu Audio Dirty Weekend Six taps the work done for their Series Six loudspeakers, completely leveraging the Union Six’s more functional and innovative cabinet and internal acoustic design which really improves the performance over the dead Omen Dirty Weekend.

For more about what is going on with the cabinet refer to the Zu Union 6, but know that in this design the slightly fiddly floor gap tuning is gone because they were able to put the exit interface out the back—and yet you can place DW6 as close as two inches from the wall behind it.

Implementation of this new cabinet complex dovetails rather well with their warm and rich sounding Zu260-ND 10” [26.2 cm] full-range driver in ways that impress even us.

The DW6 produces deeper bass, with more bass detail thanks to the new cabinet design. It has improved midrange clarity, due in large part to the new cabinet which reduces external and internal noise, and increases treble and overall transparency and transient resolution—to varying degrees depending on the upgrade package.

One of the biggest changes over its predecessor is that Zu has toned down the forward and vivid sounding presentation creating a loudspeaker that is more forgiving of poor recordings. The top end also feels somewhat softer and less revealing.

However, the DW 6 still sounds more exciting and punchy than anything else on this list.

Zu loudspeakers will energise your room like few others and there is an immediacy that I found incredibly appealing.

The DW 6 is also easier to set-up. The off-axis presentation is also smoother along with a much larger sounding stereo presentation.

The high sensitivity makes them rather easy to drive and they sound superb at lower listening levels.

One thing that did not change was above mentioned 260 full-range driver, with its less intense, undercut magnet system giving it that characteristic smooth yet expressive sound.

Another unchanged item is the super tweeter which extends the high frequency response to 22kHz—acoustic crossover point between FRD and tweeter also remains at 12kHz. Having the vast majority of the sound field (90%) emanating from the full-range driver makes for a very cohesive and unified wavefront.

Pros: Dynamics are first rate. One of the most engaging listens below $2,000 that you can find anywhere. Strong bass response. Very responsive to changes in amplification.

Cons: Not as vivid sounding as its predecessor.

Where to buy: $1,599 at zuaudio.com

Q Acoustics 5050

Our in-depth review of the 5000 series flagship will appear before the start of the Jewish High Holidays, but we wanted to provide a primer on these exceptional loudspeakers that are priced below $2,000.

Having owned the Q Acoustics 3050 for almost 3 years and loving the 5040 which have become a permanent part of my loudspeaker collection, I suspected that the 5050 would not disappoint. 

But do they offer just more of the 5040? 

You might be surprised to learn that whilst they offer some similar characteristics — they are not what we expected.

We will have more to say about their performance below the technical specifications, but understand that something is very different about the 5050 and the shift in tonal balance and presentation makes them one of my favorite loudspeakers priced below $4,000 right now.

One could build a $10,000 around them and be satisfied for life as long as you have the proper amount of space for them and are willing to shift your thinking somewhat. 

he more we listen to products like the 5050, DALI Oberon 5, Wharfedale Evo 4.4and Focal Theva N°2 — the clearer it becomes that music listeners don’t have to go broke in 2024 building a high-end audio system.

To have a better understanding on their perspective and tonal balance, one really needs to read my comprehensive series of reviews on the 5040 first to have a benchmark.

Unlike the 5020, which I found to be extremely neutral sounding and incisive, the 5050 offer marginally less precision and a lot more kishka.

There is greater coloration in the sub bass, upper bass, and lower midrange and that gives almost everything you will listen to through them additional tonal weight and impact.

It also handles a lot of power without even flinching.

But that doesn’t mean that they need it. 

The bass range on the 5040 is precise, quick, detailed, and well defined; its larger sibling offers slightly less precision and a lot more impact and weight from the sub bass through the upper bass.

If your listening space is smaller than my den (16′ x 13′ x 9′), the 5040 make a lot more sense; especially because the 5050 will overload the room with too much low end response. 

Q Acoustics continues to offer excellent products at prices that make me want to own nothing else.

Interested in building a system around these excellent loudspeakers?

We have some thoughts on the rest of the system which you can read about here.

Where to buy: $1,999/pair at Q Acoustics | Amazon

Tip: In videos with Tarun, The British Audiophile, we discussed the Q Acoustics 3050i & Magnepan LRS (Part 1) and Wharfedale Diamond 12.3 & Focal Chora 816 (Part 2).

Related reading:

• System Matching Ideas for Both the LRS and 3050i

• Best Affordable Bookshelf Speakers Under $1000

• Best Bookshelf Speakers from $1,000 to $3,000

• Best Budget Integrated Amplifiers