Best speakers for placement *IN* an actual bookshelf?

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I am looking for HiFi speakers (priced up to £1000-1200 or so) that are actually designed to sound best when placed in an actual bookshelf. That is, directly backed up against a wall and surrounded by books etc. unfortunately, I have no other placement alternative in this room.

I do know that there are stand-mount speakers, especially front-ported ones, that can sound "ok" also when placed under such difficult conditions (e.g., B&W 685:s) but what I am looking for are speakers that will not just sound ok but that are actually made for this placement, and will sound excellent when placed in a bookshelf.

Do such speakers exist? I cannot possibly be the only person with such requirements?

Very thankful for any advice.

Best regards from a snowy and cold Stockholm, Sweden,

Jonas V.

 

[scene]

Couple of questions to help: how big is your listening room, what kit are you going to partner the speakers with and what sort of music do you like.

I'm thinking of something like the AVI Neutron V, but if you've got a decent size room, or like bass, you'll need to get the AVI Neutron 2.1 set up, with the sub-woofer. Check their website for how well they thonk they work on a bookshelf...

 

[dave_k]

Perhaps you could modify a speaker designed to be fitted in a wall - I know Monitor Audio do these and I'm sure others do too. Alternatively perhaps the AVI Neutron 5 would fit the bill seeing as how the pictures of it on the manufacturer's website show them shoe-horned into a bookshelf. They can be purchased with a matching subwoofer with in-built Digital to analogue conversion (5 inputs i think) and amplification. See recent posts by PJPro on these speakers.

From what i understand though, you really need a speaker with a flat frequency responce - I'm led to believe ATC are good at this but I'm sure there are others too.

Edit: Scene got there first I see...

 

[scene]

dave_k:
Edit: Scene got there first I see...

I've been looking at the Neutrons for exactly the same reason for our office/study. Missed a pair on eBay just a few weeks ago.

 

[Jason36]

Hi Jobeve,

Well I am in a similar position at the moment regarding placement on a bookshelf (although mine are 24cm from the rear wall and sit in free space, i.e. no books either side of them). The conclusion would seem to be very few speakers fit the bill (have a look at my thread).

I think you would need to look at closed box designs or front ported.......I will be undertaking a demo of the ATC SCM 11 (although they may need a powerful amp) and ProAc Studio 115 which are front ported.I have also ben recommended the Vienna Acoustic Haydn Grand and KEF XQ20.

There was a thread on this the other day regarding having books either side of the speaker and Andrew Everard commented that you need to make sure the books are packed tightly either side of the speakers.

I think additional problem you may have is the speakers need to sit right back against the rear wall......so I would say maybe something like the ATC or ProAc would be best.

Hope that helps?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,

Wow, thanks for the amazingly quick response! !

I will certainly look into the speakers you have mentioned.

Just in case it will bring up more ideas, some more details:

1. My listening room is about 4x8 m, and the speakers will be placed centrally on one of the 8m walls. My listening position is in a chair centrally placed on the other 8m wall. In other words, I will be about 3 - 3,5 m from the speakers (or, rather, from the centre axis between the two).

2. I listen to most music except heavy metal and classical. Mainly it is singer/songwriters, electronica, pop etc.

3. The current amp is a Cambridge Audio Azur 340A SE (45W I believe), and the source is mainly Spotify Premium (320 kbs streamed via WiFi and Airport Express; no external DAC so far). Today I have small Canton Plus X satellites as main speakers + a Canton AS20 subwoofer. I may consider keeping (or upgrading) the subwoofer if necessary, but would prefer a 'all-in-one solution' to maximize sound quality (?).

Have a nice weekend!! Best regards, Jonas V.

 

[Jason36]

jobeve:

3. The current amp is a Cambridge Audio Azur 340A SE (45W I believe), and the source is mainly Spotify Premium (320 kbs streamed via WiFi and Airport Express; no external DAC so far). Today I have small Canton Plus X satellites as main speakers + a Canton AS20 subwoofer. I may consider keeping (or upgrading) the subwoofer if necessary, but would prefer a 'all-in-one solution' to maximize sound quality (?).

Well in that case Jonas you may find that the ATC's wont be suitable.....they are a very power hungry speaker and I think your Cambridge Audio amp at 45W will struggle to get anywhere near the best out of them. I was told 100W at 8Ohm so even my 85W from Power Amplifier is pushing it a bit.

I might be wrong, so maybe someone else could comment on the ATC's.

 

[Jason36]

Also just thought of another one to add to your list Jonas......

Dali Menuet Mentor at £895.00.........specifically made for bookshelf or wall mounting to get the best out of them. Fairly compact but with a good Bass response for the size of the cabinet.

I will be trying them, but longer term my speakers will be stand mounted.....so not made a final decision yet. but should meet your requirements down to the ground

 

[chebby]

Rega RS1 are another circa £400 speaker that are incredibly fuss-free regarding positioning despite rear ports.

To quote from their product description...
"The RS1 has an unusually even bass response for a small loudspeaker. It allows them to be mounted directly onto the wall, or alternatively to be placed on shelves or stands. This allows the user greater flexibility in positioning than is normal."

 

[Anonymous]

atc scm7/11s or dynaudio dm 2/6 2/7s...

 

[cstanwhf]

Spendor SA1.

http://whathifi.com/Review/Spendor-SA1/

Fourth paragraph.

 

[Andrew Everard]

These look promising for such use

 

[Anonymous]

Sonus Faber Toys. Fabulous speakers for the size.

 

[ErwinC]

Dali Mentor Menuet. Mine are placed very close to the back and one side wall. They can also be wall mounted.

 

[Craig M.]

i don't think i would be considering spending £1000+ on speakers that will be powered by a c.a.340, i should imagine it will struggle to reveal why you spent so much on speakers. if it's anything like my old c.a.640 i would also be inclined to stay away from speakers which are rated at 4 ohms, the 640 did a lot better with my scm19s(8 ohm) then it did some dynaudio audience 42(4 ohm) even though the dyn's were fairly price comparable to the amp. i think the best suggestion so far has been the avi neutron plus sub/amp/dac.