First of all these are not "floor standing" speakers. They are small wedges built into aluminum enclosures and will easily fit on a desk top beside a computer work station. The AV570 is a great small self powered monitor originally designed by Acoustic Research and later acquired by Advent. I use mine from audio editing to casual listening when on the road or, as monitors, on location recording jobs. They are now discontinued, which is a shame because, while there are many small powered speakers available none are quite like the the AV570. At this price. few if any, presently available, computer speakers come close to the AV570 for sound quality. Both speakers have amplifiers built in at about 35watts each and therefore can be used individually. What else can I say.., they're a great speaker no longer available except used and will usually need repair of the woofer foam surrounds if you're lucky enough to find a pair