The Best Bookshelf Speakers of 2025, Tried & Tested

The best bookshelf speakers (a.k.a. standmount speakers) are a Swiss army knife. They can be used for music or TVs, placed almost anywhere, and work great on their own or in conjunction with larger audio systems. When mounted on stands or shelved a couple of feet up (as is recommended for ideal sound), bookshelf speakers are also an excellent alternative to pricey floorstanding speakers.

At a Glance: The Best Bookshelf Speakers

Active

Passive

The best bookshelf speakers can also deliver exceptionally dynamic, full sound — typically much more than a soundbar. Placement does matter a bit, but, as mentioned, that’s another one of bookshelf speakers’ strong suits. Pop them on shelves, side tables, desks, TV consoles, or stands and enjoy roughly the same great sound in every case.

There are also a ton of great bookshelf speakers to choose from — both active and passive — including solid picks at every price point, size, and style. To help make things a little easier, we spent weeks testing dozens of best-selling options to find the best bookshelf speakers on the market right now.

Bookshelf Speaker Buying Guide: What to Consider

Here’s what to keep in mind while shopping for bookshelf speakers.

Active vs. Passive: Active (or powered) speakers have built-in amplification, which means you don’t need a receiver or amp to use them. That means you can plug them into the wall and start listening right away. Passive speakers, on the other hand, require a separate receiver or amplifier. Passive speakers are often more versatile when connecting to existing audio setups, and they typically last longer when properly cared for.

Connection Options: This mostly relates to active speaker-buyers, but you’ll want to double-check that any bookshelf speakers work with your desired inputs. That might be an HDMI ARC connection for your TV, basic analog inputs, or WiFi for direct, higher-quality streaming from services like AirPlay, Google Cast, or Spotify Connect.

Size: Although they’re (partially) loved for being compact, bookshelf speakers do vary in size. Size is especially important if you plan on putting them on your desktop or any already-cramped shelves.

Price: Bookshelf speakers also vary dramatically in price. Most of our picks below range from about $200 to $500, but we also have more expensive options at the $900+ price point, all the way up to the Marantz Horizon at $3,500.

The Best Active Bookshelf Speakers

Below are the best active bookshelf speakers we tested (scroll down further for passive speakers).

I put a lot of stock in the way my tech looks. If it’s going to be in my home, it should elevate the existing decor, not become a sore thumb. That’s why I loved Klipsch’s midcentury-inspired Sevens before turning them on. The wood cabinet, grilles, and metal controls ooze style, especially in walnut.

But The Sevens also get top marks in every other major category, besides looks. They’re big (more on that below), which affords space for 6.5-inch woofers and Tractrix horn cavities for the one-inch titanium tweeters. Together, these components produce the best soundstage of any speakers we tested. The bass, which cleverly adapts thanks to Klipsch’s Dynamic Bass EQ, is also unbelievably good — no need for a separate sub. Especially at high volumes, The Sevens blow the competition out of the water.

There is one potential drawback with The Sevens: their size. The units are 10.8 inches deep with bulky connectors (since they’re bi-amped), meaning you’ll need about 13 inches of space. That’s more than your average bookshelf, but I think their handsomeness allow the The Sevens to pull off the bulk.

We’re taking some liberties by including the Marantz Horizon in this roundup, but we think it fits all the needs of someone shopping for bookshelf speakers. It’s not too big (14.33 x 8.27 x 15.26 inches), offers multiple connectivity options for music and TV audio, and offers room-filling sound that beats most two-piece setups.

The Horizon looks and sounds like a work of art. The Horizon features two tweeters, three mid-range drivers, and a Gravity bass driver, combining for 745W of peak power. The result is a shocking amount of energetic, always-sharp sound for such a small package. It’s become one of my go-to speakers when hosting thanks to the high-volume performance and balance across all genres (plus I like to show it off).

Connectivity options are also plentiful. You get Bluetooth and WiFi streaming through the HEOS app platform, plus stereo RCA in, optical, HDMI eARC, and USB-C. You can also customize the Horizon’s sound through the HEOS app.

The one drawback with the Horizon is its price. At $3,500, it’s very expensive. No way around it. But, if you’re able to spend that much, you’ll be happy you did.

OK, that’s it for the fancy stuff. If you’re looking for a great pair of bookshelf speakers that can play music and make your TV setup more immersive, these Fluance Fluance Ri71s are a great option.

The soundstage is surprisingly large for such compact, affordably-priced speakers, trumping any similarly-priced soundbar — even to untrained ears. The glass fiber drivers bring very solid low-end, although the bass (and sound quality overall) gets a little funky at louder volumes. I’m also a fan of the Ri71s classic loudspeaker design, although the lack of grilles is a bit risky.

If your budget is very tight, check out these just-released R1280DB bookshelf speakers from Edifier. They’re very attainable at just $190 and extremely compact (7.7 x 5.7 x 9.2 inches) to fit in even the smallest spaces.

But don’t let their tiny stature fool you: the R1280DBs still deliver a wonderful listening experience. Emphasis on listening, though. These won’t turn your living room into a movie theater or carry a party vibe, but they will deliver clear, precise audio, whether you’re watching TV or listening to music. Plus, they look great doing it with a retro-inspired wood cabinet.

The Best Passive Bookshelf Speakers

Below are the best passive bookshelf speakers we tested.

Bowers & Wilkins is a premium audio brand, so when you talk about their “entry-level” bookshelf speakers, you’re still looking at a $900 pair of speakers. Still, the 607 S3 speakers deliver a lot for the money. 

For starters, at just under a foot tall and less than 7” wide, these compact speakers are well-suited to small spaces, and while they’re designed to be mounted on Bowers’ matching stands, they’re the rare bookshelf speaker that can fit on an actual bookshelf. 

They’re also the kind of speaker you’ll want to show off, with a stylish wood-grain cabinet in three colors: black, white, and oak. The speakers have a 1” Titanium Dome tweeter and a 5” woofer, and the tweeter has a transparent mesh grille that not only protects it but also adds a seriously stylish touch. 

The sound is refined and immersive, and despite their small size, they can match a larger set of speakers in almost any space in terms of pure decibels. They’re deserving of a high-end amplifier, but with an 8-ohm impedance, just about any receiver will be able to handle them. 

Sony’s SS-CS5 speakers have been discontinued, but the go-to budget speakers look to have a worthy successor on the way. The SS-CS5M2 speakers, which release on June 30, feature a nearly identical 3-way layout to the CS5s. They’re $250, a modest price bump over the $200 CS5s, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a better set of passive speakers at this price. 

The 3-way speakers feature a 5.12” woofer, a 0.98” soft dome main tweeter, and a 0.75 ”super tweeter” for ultra-high frequencies (that’s three drivers for the price of two, for those keeping track). The sound is detailed and crips, if somewhat light on bass.

At this price, there are inevitable trade-offs, particularly in terms of design. They’re not as stylish as some of our other picks, particularly with the grille off. The cloth grille attaches with posts, instead of magnets, making it a little more tedious to remove them, and the 3-driver design make them awkwardly tall. However, where it counts the most — sound — these speakers are practically unbeatable at this price. 

While many speaker brands lean into a mid-century aesthetic, SVS is zipping straight into the future with its Ultra Evolution bookshelf speakers, which come in a statement-making high gloss finish (or black oak veneer, if you prefer to keep it classic). 

The most distinctive feature of these speakers is the slanted cabinet, which makes them look like they’re really laid back. The design isn’t just supposed to make them look cool — SVS calls it a “time-aligned cabinet geometry,” positioning the woofer and the tweeter to hit the listener’s ears at the same time.

Also of note: the size. Compact, these are not. They’re extremely tall and heavy, with room-filling sound to boot courtesy of the 6.5” woofer. The 1” aluminum dome tweeter is diamond-coated, and the speakers capably handle a variety of genres, not just bass-forward music. They’ll shine as part of a home theater system, and SVS sells the subwoofers and center channels to complement them, assuming you’ve got the space for them.  

Q Acoustics’ 3000 series has long delivered approachable, value-driven passive speakers. The latest entry, the 3020c, is a reminder why we love the popular series. They work great for both TV audio and music, but we think the latter use case is where the 3020c’s taught liveliness really shines.

The speakers are well-sized, although they’re a bit deeper than most. They come in four color options that all look great, especially when you remove the grilles to expose the satin metallic driver trims. Exceptional clarity and sharpness are the first two things we noticed with the 3020c. Lows, mids, and highs are all very distinct, partially thanks to Q Acoustics’ Point to Point (P2P) bracing and a hermetically sealed high-frequency driver. This kind of performance from a sub-$600 set of speakers is worth anyone’s attention.

KEF speakers are instantly identifiable by what you could call “the donut.” It’s KEF’s Uni-Q driver array, which houses a 1” tweeter in a 5.25” aluminium cone woofer. And it sounds as delicious as it looks. 

Beyond the obvious visual appeal of KEF’s Uni-Q driver array, KEF says that the single point source “disperses sound evenly throughout the room, eliminating a singular ‘sweet spot.’” Given how difficult speaker placement is in the real world, one rife with awkward room layouts, it’s a design decision that’s both beneficial and stylish.  

And while the speakers aren’t cheap, they’re still modestly priced, while delivering excellent sound at a fraction of the price of KEF’s higher-end speakers. The biggest quirk is the 4-ohm impedance, which means they’ll require a sufficiently powerful (read: expensive) amplifier to go with them. 

How We Found the Best Bookshelf Speakers

Our team of product testers get access to dozens of new speaker releases every year. We review them at home in real-world situations, from loud parties and music reviewing to weeknight cooking and chill listening. We also use them with as many inputs as possible, including turntables, Bluetooth devices, WiFi streaming, DJ decks, TVs, and anything else the speakers accept.

We also recently collaborated with the Rolling Stone music department to create a well-rounded playlist for testing audio equipment. The playlist is as sonically diverse as you’ll find, ranging from Seventies harmonies to house songs to bassy hip-hop. Listen for yourself on Spotify.

While listening to this playlist on our speakers, we considered clarity, balance between bass, mids, and treble, range, and rhythm. The best bookshelf speakers should perform well at any volume, remaining warm at low volumes and clear when you get loud. We also considered looks because the right pair of speakers can elevate your decor.