3 of the 11 floorstanding speakers whose manufacturer publishes a US list price fall in this band. Every figure below is the manufacturer’s own, linked to the page it came from.
Last verified: 2026-08-09
What “high-end” means here
A price band has to be drawn somewhere, so we draw it on manufacturer list price and say where. This page is $1,600 and above. List price is not street price. These models discount, some of them heavily, and a model at the top of one band is often bought for less than one at the bottom of the next. We do not publish retailer prices, because a price we cannot keep current is worse than no price at all. Use the band to narrow the field, then check what it actually costs today.
We hold 15 floorstanding speakers in the database. 11 of them have a list price published by the manufacturer; the other 4 do not, and are named at the foot of this page rather than guessed into a band.
The 3 in this band
Q Acoustics 5040
- Published sensitivity
- 91.5 dB, 2.83 V at 1 m, full space
- Nominal impedance
- 6 ohms
- Minimum impedance
- 3 ohms
- Frequency response
- 39 Hz – 30 kHz -6dB
- Type
- passive — needs an amplifier
What the published figures favour
- Above the median of this set on a common basis: 90.2 dB against a median of 89.7 dB, so it reaches a given level on less amplifier power.
- Frequency response published as 39 Hz – 30 kHz at -6dB. Quoting the tolerance is the exception here, not the rule.
- Manufacturer states a recommended amplifier power of 25–150 W, which many of its competitors leave out.
What to check before buying
- Published at 2.83 V into 6 ohms, which is more than one watt. Corrected to 1 W the figure falls to 90.2 dB.
- Impedance drops to 3 ohms. Check your amplifier publishes a 4-ohm rating before driving it hard — most AV receivers do not.
product listing
Bowers & Wilkins 603 S3
- Published sensitivity
- 90 dB, 2.83 V at 1 m, full space
- Nominal impedance
- 8 ohms
- Minimum impedance
- 3 ohms
- Frequency response
- 46 Hz – 28 kHz ±3dB from reference axis
- Type
- passive — needs an amplifier
What the published figures favour
- Above the median of this set on a common basis: 90.0 dB against a median of 89.7 dB, so it reaches a given level on less amplifier power.
- Frequency response published as 46 Hz – 28 kHz at ±3dB from reference axis. Quoting the tolerance is the exception here, not the rule.
- Manufacturer states a recommended amplifier power of 30–200 W, which many of its competitors leave out.
What to check before buying
- Impedance drops to 3 ohms. Check your amplifier publishes a 4-ohm rating before driving it hard — most AV receivers do not.
KEF R7 Meta
- Published sensitivity
- 88 dB, 2.83 V at 1 m, full space
- Nominal impedance
- 4 ohms
- Minimum impedance
- 3.2 ohms
- Frequency response
- 48 Hz – 28 kHz ±3dB
- Type
- passive — needs an amplifier
What the published figures favour
- Frequency response published as 48 Hz – 28 kHz at ±3dB. Quoting the tolerance is the exception here, not the rule.
- Manufacturer states a recommended amplifier power of 15–250 W, which many of its competitors leave out.
What to check before buying
- Below the median of this set once corrected: 85.0 dB against a median of 89.7 dB, so it needs more power for the same level.
- Published at 2.83 V into 4 ohms, which is more than one watt. Corrected to 1 W the figure falls to 85.0 dB.
- Impedance drops to 3.2 ohms. Check your amplifier publishes a 4-ohm rating before driving it hard — most AV receivers do not.
At a glance
| Model | List price | Published sensitivity | Comparable, 1 W / 1 m | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q Acoustics 5040 | $1,999 | 91.5 dB 2.83V/1m-full | 90.2 dB | source |
| Bowers & Wilkins 603 S3 | $2,700 | 90 dB 2.83V/1m-full | 90.0 dB | source |
| KEF R7 Meta | $3,000 | 88 dB 2.83V/1m-full | 85.0 dB | source |
What this page could not include
These floorstanding speakers are in our database, but their manufacturers do not publish a US list price, so there is no honest way to say which band they belong in:
- Klipsch RP-8000F II — no list price on the manufacturer’s US page
- Wharfedale EVO 4.4 — no list price on the manufacturer’s US page
- Focal Vestia N°3 — no list price on the manufacturer’s US page
- Revel Concerta2 F36 — no list price on the manufacturer’s US page
We will not take a price from a retailer listing to fill that gap. Retailer prices move, and a band built on one would be wrong within the month.
Related
- Floorstanding speakers Under $800 — the same category, lower band
- Floorstanding speakers From $800 to $1,600 — the same category, middle band
- The whole floorstanding speakers category ranked by comparable sensitivity — every model on one basis
- The gear database — every figure used here, with its source
- How we work — the method, and where it breaks