Group test: Standmount speakers £500-£1,200

When choosing a standmount or bookshelf speaker over a floorstander, you're not looking for low-end grunt or sheer power to dig you out of any sonic holes. But what you do want is precise timing, taught bass and transparent detail through the mid and treble. We pulled in four top models with a variety of strengths and put them through their paces. Overview Price: £1,000 More info: Dali Size (WxHxD): 162x318x241mm Weight: 5.3kg Drivers: 1x 5in (13cm) mid/bass, 1x hybrid tweeter (28mm soft dome/17x45mm ribbon) Frequency response: 45Hz - 34kHz Nominal impedance: 6 Ohms Power handling: 120 Watts Sensitivity: 86dB/Watt Finish: Cherry Dali Mentor 1 Just launched at the beginning of the year, this is the baby in Danish manufacturer Dali's Mentor range and joins the larger 2 and 6 from last year. Rather beautifully presented in cherry wood veneer it has a bass reflex port at the back, angled downward, and the plugs are designed for banana plugs or spade lugs, though they'll also take bare wires, as will all the other models here. It's nicely compact, with a 5in driver that handles the bass and mid duties decently enough, with a tight kick in the lower regions and sensitive portrayal of the midrange. That unusual hybrid tweeter is striking, combining a 28mm soft dome and a 45mm ribbon to give it that extra bit of space at the really high end. It gives a reported frequency response of up to 34kHz and does an incredible job of pulling out the detail in the higher register. Perhaps a little bit too good - you'll need to be careful with placement and height to get the best out of them. And if your system tends to be on the bright side anyway, these may not prove to be the ideal partner. That aside, this is a compact and graceful performer that delivers superbly. Verdict Plus points Spot-on timing, fabulously detailed hybrid tweeter Minus points Needs careful placement and matching to get the best from that hybrid tweeter

Overview Price: £629 More info: Focal JMlab Size (WxDxH): 237x333x448mm Weight: 10.1kg Drivers: 1x 7in (18cm) polyglass mid/bass, 1x 1” (25mm) TNV Al/Mg inverted dome tweeter Frequency response: 50Hz - 28kHz Nominal impedance: 8 Ohms Power handling: 160 Watts Sensitivity: 92dB/Watt Finish: Moka/ebony Focal-JMlab Chorus 807 V Focal-JMlab tends to offer a full range of size options with its speaker series and the Chorus is no exception. There are five stereo models in the midrange Chorus 800 V series (and the same for the cheaper Chorus 700 V series) and this is the larger of the two standmounts (the 806 is slightly smaller). They're easily the biggest speakers in this test (a pair of the Tannoys could fit into each of them) and feature a powerful 7in polyglass mid/bass cone over a 4in bass port. There's none of Focal's beryllium tweeter malarkey at this price point, but the inverted dome made from an 'aluminummagnesium' alloy, is very finely detailed, though with perhaps just a touch more nasality than we'd like. With the covers off especially, there's a terrific amount of detail on show, though there's also the feeling of a little bit of separation from the midrange picture. The larger size means that it packed the most bass punch of anything else here, nothing woolly or undefined either, just the good sort - tight, controlled and powerful, though there's a chance that these hefty speakers were a tad overwhelming for the modestly sized room we were using for this test.

Verdict Plus points Plenty of low-end power and high-end detail, superb performance for the price Minus points Will tend to dominate smaller rooms, can be a hint of separation between the mid and high end

Next page >