Choosing the Best Floor Standing Speakers for Rear Surround Sound

Creating an immersive surround sound experience in your home theater requires carefully selecting the right speakers for each channel. While the front left, center, and right speakers tend to get the most attention, your rear surround speakers play a crucial role in transporting you inside the movie. The right-back speakers can take your system from good to incredible.

This guide will walk you through exactly what to look for when shopping for floor-standing tower speakers to use as rear surrounds. We’ll cover technical specifications, key features, placement advice, and budget picks to premium options. Let’s dive in!

Your rear surround floor speakers have a big job when it comes to replicating a movie’s layered, directional soundscape all around your listening position. Here are the key qualities to look for:

Precise Imaging – Pinpoint sounds travel around the room in specific directions, never sounding murky. Clear imaging helps create an enveloping surround effect.

Wide Dispersion – Dispersion refers to a speaker’s “sweet spot” – how far off-axis you can sit while still hearing accurate frequency response. Choose surrounds with a wide sweet spot so more seats get the ideal sound.

Tonal Matching – You want your surround and front speakers to have a similar tonal quality so effects seamlessly pan between them without any distracting changes in sound character.

Detailed Treble – Crashing glass, rain, sirens wailing – much of the sparkle and excitement in movie mixes comes from the treble. Your surroundings should reproduce these high frequencies.

Strong Midrange – While you mainly want accurate mids from your front three channels for clear dialogue, a strong midrange in the surrounds helps channel pans sound more cohesive.

Table Comparing Surround Sound Speaker Specifications

Rear Surround Speaker Placement

Properly placing your rear surround speakers helps create that 3D bubble of sound crucial for immersion. Use these placement tips:

• Ear Height
  • Mount surrounds 2-3 feet above ear level when seated so sound effects seem to envelop your rows of seats.
• Side Walls
  • Position rear surrounds on the side walls behind your seating, evenly spaced from the front three speakers.
• Angle Facing In
  • Toe surround speakers in 10-30 degrees facing the center listening area so sound radiates right at ear level.

Technical Specifications to Check for Rear Surround Floor Speakers

Let’s explore which specifications indicate speaker performance for quality rear surround sound:

• Frequency Response
  • Your surrounds mainly handle mid and high frequencies, so look for an even response spanning 80Hz-20kHz without drastic spikes or dips.
• Sensitivity
  • This measures loudness potential – ideally 87-97dB for solid impact even at low volumes.
• Power Handling
  • Seek speakers rated for at least 100 watts RMS power to handle high-volume movie peaks without distortion.
• Impedance
  • The industry standard 8 ohms impedance pairs well with most receivers. 4 ohms sometimes requires adding an impedance-matching speaker switch.

Next, we’ll showcase floor-standing tower speaker options that excel as rear surrounds based on these criteria across budget and high-performance tiers.

Best Floor Standing Tower Speakers for Rear Surround

Budget Pick: Monoprice DT-5.0

Priced under $200 a pair, these affordable towers from Monoprice pack impressive specs and sound into a slim floor-standing design perfect for surround duties.

• Frequency Response
  • 42Hz-20kHz ±3dB delivers full, balanced sound
• Sensitivity
  • 87dB plays loud even with lower-powered amplifiers
• Power Handling
  • 100 watts RMS ensures plenty of headroom for dynamic peaks
• Matching Available
  • DT-6.5 towers match well for front three speakers

We recommend adding Monoprice’s speaker isolation pads which improve bass definition – important for immersive surround effects. Overall, it’s hard to beat the value offered by these budget towers as rear surrounds.

Best Value: Klipsch R-26FA

For higher tier cinema sound that still saves you money over ultra-premium models, Klipsch’s R-26FA floor standing speakers shine brilliantly as surrounds.

• Tractrix Horn
  • Proprietary tech increases detail and dispersion for pinpoint imaging
• Frequency Response
  • 38Hz-20kHz ± 3dB maintains tonal balance
• Sensitivity
  • 97dB for room-filling loudness from your receiver
• Power Handling
  • 100 watt RMS rating paired with high sensitivity provides headroom
• Matching Available
  • Further expand your system with other Reference Premiere models

The R-26FA’s wide sweet spot and lively, dynamic sound make them fantastic affordable rear surround speakers.

High-End: SVS Ultra Bookshelf

To treat your home theater like a luxury multiplex demands uncompromising performance. SVS’s Ultra Bookshelf speakers fit the bill – delivering audiophile-level sound as surrounds.

• 1” Aluminum Dome Tweeter
  • Yields airy, expansive highs perfect for adding top-end sparkle to effects
• 6.5” Midrange
  • Provides stunningly clear and open midrange for outstanding imaging
• Sensitivity
  • 87dB allows effortless powering by AV receivers
• Power Handling
  • 200 watt capability means massive headroom for uncompressed audio tracks
• SVS SoundPath Isolation
  • Cabinet resonance and vibration blocking tech prevents muddled sound

The Ultra Bookshelves reveal every nuance and texture in your movies, transforming your listening space into a sensory escape. Worth the investment for surround sound bliss!

FAQs About Rear Surround Speakers

If you still have questions about purchasing and setting up rear surround tower speakers, this FAQ has you covered.

What size speakers work best as rears?

Tower speakers around 26-32 inches tall offer the powerful, full-range sound you need in the surround channels. Bookshelf speakers can also work well depending on your room size.

Is it okay to buy mismatched surround speakers?

Tonal matching your surrounds to the front three speakers is ideal, but some mismatching can be fine. Prioritize matching tweeters for consistent highs across all channels.

Where should I position On-Wall surround speakers?

Mount on-wall or in-wall surround speakers 2 feet behind and a few feet higher than your listeners – basically above where a bookshelf speaker would sit.

What gauge speaker wire do I need?

16 or 14 gauge oxygen-free copper speaker wire works for most runs under 50 feet to surround channels. Banana plugs can simplify connecting wires to speakers.

Do I need separate power amplifiers for the surrounds?

Usually not, as most AV receivers provide plenty of clean power unless driving very inefficient speakers. Outboard amps help max out higher end surrounds.

Ready to Envelop Yourself in 360 Degrees of Sound?

As you can see, choosing the right floor standing tower speakers transforms blank walls into fully-voiced participants in your home theater’s soundscape. Reference this guide covering technical considerations, positioning, budget to high-end options, and frequently asked questions to make your buying decision easier.

The decoders in Dolby Atmos and DTS:X give your properly placed surrounds specific atmospheric and localization cues – rain overhead, leaves rustling behind you, engines roaring past. Crank up that blockbuster flick and enjoy stepping right inside the movie with perfectly enveloping rear surround sound!