Affordable floorstanding speakers?

[kexodusc]

Normally I'd agree bookshelf speakers offer better value. When someone is only planning on buying 2 speakers though, it blurs the lines a bit here. I think you'd get more satisfaction out of towers than bookshelfs, especially since they're not much more money at this price point on the used market. Though I do agree a quality sub well integrated into a system would be better, just not sure of the budget and long-term goals here.
If you're planning on building this a piece at a time, bookshelfs could make more sense (though it still wouldn't exclude towers).
Give them a listen and choose for yourself if you can.

[paul_pci]

You can always shop around for a different and less expensive stands, but yes, some can be head-scratchingly expensive. Try www.racksandstands.com and see if there's anything that would fit the bill, as it were.

While, technically, floorstanders will produce a "fuller" sound, cheap floorstanders usually come at quite a sonic compromise. Of course, audition as much as you can those models that are in your budget and you can judge for yourself in general and in comparing specific models.