I think I've made a mistake....

[ianshreeve27@]

I've posted a couple of times recently about my space and volume constraints. I wanted to upgrade my Wharfdale Diamond 9.1 (I really liked the sound but thought maybe I could do better....). After reading loads of reviews I bought some used B&W 607 S2 Anniversary edition. They are a great speaker, with lots of detail and very musical, but they are definitely at their best with plenty of room around them. ie if I pull them out into the middle of the room and add a bit of volume, I love them! Unfortunately that doesn't work for me, or my partner, or the neighbours. So recommendations please for something more forgiving in terms of space (one is in the corner of the room and the other is next to a tall bookcase). Amp is old Arcam Alpha 7 and source is mostly CD. I'd be happy to change the speakers and the amp (and dac?) if that gets me loving the music again 🤞

 

[JDl]

Hi. I sympathise, I went through quite a few highly recommended speakers, only to be disappointed by what I was hearing.
I don't know what your budget is, but I think that, judging by your description of speaker positioning constraints, you might be best avoiding rear ported speakers.
Personally I would only be considering sealed box design or front ported.
There's also Fyne Audio's downward firing ported speakers too but I have no experience of them, although I will say I'm intrigued by their speakers and would be interested to try some myself at some point.

 

[ianshreeve27@]

Front ported definitely. Seems obvious in retrospect but there you go

 

[jjbomber]

Triangle Borea cover a range of prices and specs. Moving up, the Sonus Faber Lumina 1 are worth a look. Do you have a budget in mind?

Gamme BOREA - Enceintes Haute-Fidélité - TRIANGLE HIFI

La gamme d'enceintes BOREA vous ouvre la porte de la Haute-Fidélité grâce à son excellent rapport qualité – Prix. Son design épuré et élégant offre un pur objet de plaisir, tant sur le plan acoustique qu’esthétique

trianglehifi.co.uk

Sonus Faber Lumina 1 review

Classy, compact speakers with a surprisingly grown-up sound

www.whathifi.com

 

[daytona600]

Sealed Box or Front ported
Short of space can you wall mount or place on bookshelf

 

[ianshreeve27@]

Front ported definitely. Seems obvious in retrospect but there you go

Triangle Borea cover a range of prices and specs. Moving up, the Sonus Faber Lumina 1 are worth a look. Do you have a budget in mind?

Gamme BOREA - Enceintes Haute-Fidélité - TRIANGLE HIFI

La gamme d'enceintes BOREA vous ouvre la porte de la Haute-Fidélité grâce à son excellent rapport qualité – Prix. Son design épuré et élégant offre un pur objet de plaisir, tant sur le plan acoustique qu’esthétique

trianglehifi.co.uk

Sonus Faber Lumina 1 review

Classy, compact speakers with a surprisingly grown-up sound

www.whathifi.com

£300 / £350 used. I paid £250 for the B&W off ebay

 

[Al ears]

Best by far in this situation are the Epos ES7n but they ain't cheap......

 

[Kenneth Fernandes]

There’s got to be just one standard fixed listening distance from the speakers to listen to Hi-Res audio on hi end audio setups, and rooms too should be built to those specifications. Unlike TV’s that come in different screen sizes, coz it’s audio waves and not light waves, which can travel long distances in full resolution.
One whole audio system from the same brand with a pre defined fixed audio throw distance from the speakers to listen to music.

 

[RTHerringbone]

Does repeating bad ideas somehow make them good ideas?

 

[Al ears]

Does repeating bad ideas somehow make them good ideas?

One track mind it appears, doesn't answer the OPs question either

 

[Kenneth Fernandes]

@RTHerringbone
Current living rooms will turn into boutique rooms then.
And larger living rooms will have the sofa/chairs grouped together from the speakers, and the remaining space for other furnitures 😊
There’ll be an interior redesign of home living rooms.

 

[jjbomber]

Does repeating bad ideas somehow make them good ideas?

Joseph Stalin: Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth!

 

[davidf]

There are quite a few speakers out there that work well close to walls, it's just knowing where to find them, or find dealers who actually have an interest in such a thing to make suitable recommendations. And surprisingly enough, you don't necessarily have to ignore rear ported designs. I've said many times - a speaker has to work in your room, if it doesn't, it doesn't matter how good it is or how good the rest of the system is, the whole system will disappoint and underperform.