Fenton SHFT57B Tower

Is the Fenton SHFT57B Tower worth buying?

Yes, if you have a large room and an amplifier that supports a 4 ohm load: the Fenton SHFT57B Tower costs £229 for the pair and puts three 6.5-inch woofers plus a passive resonator inside each cabinet, which is more bass surface than anything else near this money. If your amplifier is rated for 8 ohms only, walk away, because this pair will ask it for about double the current of an 8 ohm tower at the same volume.

The pair suits film soundtracks, gaming and loud music in a room where each tower can breathe. That said, 59 buyers have rated it and the average sits at 4.2, so you are taking a wider bet than you would with the SHF700B pair at 194 ratings and 4.4.

What does the Fenton SHFT57B Tower give you per pound?

Six 6.5-inch woofers for £229 works out at £38.17 per bass driver; the Q Acoustics 3050i pair costs £499 for four 165 mm (6.5 in) drivers, which is £124.75 each. That is the whole case for this pair: you are buying cone area and bass output, not cabinet craft.

Each tower runs a 4-way layout with a 1-inch tweeter above three 6.5-inch woofers, backed by a built-in passive resonator, and response reaches down to 20 Hz, lower than the £159.90 SHF700B pair. The maximum rating is 600W, sensitivity is 88 dB and the load is 4 ohms, so a powerful stereo amplifier gets the most out of it.

What comes in the box and how do you live with it?

You get two tower speakers and a user manual, which is the lot: no amplifier, no speaker cable and no spikes or feet. Each cabinet measures 56 cm, the woofers are 16.51 cm (6.5 in) across, and the cloth grilles pull off if you would rather see the drivers.

Budget for a stereo amplifier with 4 ohm support, enough cable to reach both corners, and something solid under each cabinet. The connection is RCA speaker wire only, with no Bluetooth, no wireless streaming and no MP3 playback, so a phone or a television needs a source in between. The finish is black wood and the cabinets are not water resistant, so the pair belongs indoors.

Where does the Fenton SHFT57B Tower fall short?

Impedance and sensitivity are what decide whether this pair works in your room. At 4 ohms it draws roughly twice the current of an 8 ohm cabinet for the same volume, and at 88 dB it sits 3 dB below the 91 dB Q Acoustics 3050i, which means about twice the amplifier power for the same loudness.

The review record is thinner than the alternatives: 59 ratings at 4.2 against 194 for the Fenton SHF700B and 504 for the Polk Audio Monitor XT60. The warranty runs for one year, and with no cable, spikes or amplifier in the box, the pair needs a little spending before it makes a sound.

Fenton SHFT57B Tower against the SHF700B and the Q Acoustics 3050i

The Fenton SHF700B costs £159.90, which is £69.10 less for a pair with two 6.5-inch woofers and a horn tweeter per tower instead of three woofers and a resonator, and 194 buyers give it 4.4. Choose the SHF700B when the budget is tight and the room is average size; choose the SHFT57B Tower when you want the extra woofer per cabinet and the 600W ceiling.

The Q Acoustics 3050i costs £499, so £270 more for two 165 mm (6.5 in) drivers per tower, 91 dB at 6 ohms and 119 buyers at 4.5. That pair is the easier match for a modest amplifier in a normal living room. This Fenton pair takes the lead when the amplifier is powerful, the room is big and bass per pound is what you are shopping for.