Bookshelf or tower

I always go with towers, because they have better bass and look nicer to me also.

I HATE speaker stands, and good ones can cost $300 or more. Cheap speaker stands are useless; not rigid enough or massive enough to work well.

If you name a budget, I could steer you toward some speakers to consider.

Dealer advice tends to depend on which models give them the best profit.

If you prefer the "integrated" look (i.e., no separate stands) of towers and/or you think you may listen to music in "pure direct" (mains only) mode, get towers. Otherwise, get a pair of good bookshelf speakers + a good sub.

If You are talking about just 2 speakers, and have that budget, I would suggest that you look at the ones I am using.

I previously had the PSB Image T6 speakers for two years, and they are very good. For $1300, you can't beat them.

My current speakers ,however are only $1600, and I think they would be hard to beat for under $4000; they are incredibly good!

They are the Gallo Acoustics Classico CL-3 speakers.

The Absolute Sound did an article on them 6 months ago, and they praised them so much that I decided to get a set for a 60-day free home trial (not a thing to lose...lol...they pay shipping both ways and a full refund).

I am SO glad that I did. They are crazy good; just wonderful.

When I moved into my current place, I wanted to bring my Vandersteen 3A speakers ($5000) from my other house (which I will sell soon), but they are 16 inches wide, and that is no good here.

Well....these $1600 speakers sound as good as my Vandersteens. I have listened to speakers from 5 or 6 top manufacturers that cost from $2500 to $5000 that do not sound as good to me as either the Vandersteens or the Gallos.
Edited by commsysman - 1/15/13 at 9:52am

It all depends on your use. Do you plan to use a sub? Music or home theater? In general, I think the use of a sub negates the need for a tower. Especially with your price range, a pair of bookshelves should have no problem going down to 80 Hz for the crossover. If you do not get a sub, then I would get towers.

In the end, it's largely preference and what your ears prefer.

As others have pointed out, you don't really need towers if you are using a sub. And usually you can get more driver for the buck with bookshelf speakers.
if you are thinking 5 speakers, I would consider the Ascend Acoustic CMT340 for the fronts. L-C-R can be had for just under 1000 dollars, leaving you plenty for a good sub and surrounds. Other suggestions on here sound very good as well...

Take a look at Focal - they are good for music and HT - new in the box
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/brand/focal/results/1.html

The form factor doesn't matter in the end. All that matters is the sound.

When integrating with a sub: all that matters is the sound to a bit below the crossover point.

You are *likely* to see certain advantages to certain form factors.
Towers are *likely* to go lower (important if no sub)
Towers are *more likely* to be 3-way designs which *likely* offers an advantage for midrange (since the mid driver isn't being asked for high-bass and/or bass extension is no longer a consideration in selecting the mid-range driver).
Bookshelves are *likely* to have less expensive cabinets (cause they are smaller), fewer drivers, and lower shipping costs meaning that for the same money they should have better drivers and so better sound within their more limited range.

None are absolutes.

Budget, HT or 2 channel and appearance.