Speaker suggestions for a very specific space

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I have a space on a shelf of a TV stand of 90cm wide by 18cm hight (depth not an issue, open back stand) in which to fit a left, right and centre speaker for my home cinema system. At the moment I have a 5.1 Tannoy SFX setup, powered by a Harman/Kardon AVR155 and I feel it lack midrange which is most obvious with music, so would like something more substantial.

I will have a budget with a max of about £350 and am just looking for the front 3 for now, and will get some matching rears later on (and a better sub at some point). I am happy to go second hand if they are readily available, or to buy new. I don't really know what the character of my amp is so anyone who can help me there would help me to ensure I stay away from any speakers that may clash.

Due to the size constraints I am so far left with just one suitable option, a pair of Quad 9L2 (one their side) and an L-ite 2 centre (good price at superfi). I know this is not ideal placement, maybe when I move house I can stick them on stands but for now I need ot make do with what space I have! Any ideas for any other options? Anyone know if these will suit my amp?

Oh! and they won't get past the wife unless they come in black!

Thanks for your help!

 

[fayeanddavid]

abeddow:
Hi,

I have a space on a shelf of a TV stand of 90cm wide by 18cm hight (depth not an issue, open back stand) in which to fit a left, right and centre speaker for my home cinema system. At the moment I have a 5.1 Tannoy SFX setup, powered by a Harman/Kardon AVR155 and I feel it lack midrange which is most obvious with music, so would like something more substantial.

I will have a budget with a max of about £350 and am just looking for the front 3 for now, and will get some matching rears later on (and a better sub at some point). I am happy to go second hand if they are readily available, or to buy new. I don't really know what the character of my amp is so anyone who can help me there would help me to ensure I stay away from any speakers that may clash.

Due to the size constraints I am so far left with just one suitable option, a pair of Quad 9L2 (one their side) and an L-ite 2 centre (good price at superfi). I know this is not ideal placement, maybe when I move house I can stick them on stands but for now I need ot make do with what space I have! Any ideas for any other options? Anyone know if these will suit my amp?

Oh! and they won't get past the wife unless they come in black!

Thanks for your help!

What of sound bar options, there are various out there, Yamaha and Sharp to name but two?

 

[Anonymous]

It's in the corner of an odd shaped room, and the shelf would be too low for it to work effectively. Also I would like to stick to conventional speakers as music is the main weakness of my system and I would guess a sound bar would not help that much at all...

But nice try, keep the suggestions coming!

 

[Anonymous]

I would suggest the audio BX 2 (£225) with the BXC which is 17cm x 46cm (£135) should come in budget with a little haggling and sound pretty good to boot.

 

[Anonymous]

They won't fit unfortunately, the BX2 would need to go one their side (which I am fine with, as putting them with the tweeters to the outside should give me the same stereo imaging I have now) but once there are in there, as they are 35cm tall, i'm left with a 20cm gap!

How about going without a centre? I believe you can set up amps to use a 'phantom' centre, is that something I can do with my amp? As the speakers are so close together would I benefit from a centre?

If I went that route I could get a better pair of speakers and my music would benefit no end....then I would just have the 18cm width to worry about.

 

[Anonymous]

Ah sorry I did not read this properly, all three need to fit in this space, umm let me think!

 

[Anonymous]

Well mid range is always going to be a problem with the speakers you can fit in that height, with out sitiing them on the side, what about the new Tannoy HTS 3.0 package, the 5.1 set got a good review in a recent review in WHF. The other options that come to mind are the MA R45HD left & right, with a R180HD centre or the new Cambridge Audio minx double cubes, but I don't know if they sell these in singles.

You could look at 2 x R90HD on their sides with an R180HD this would be the best sounding option IMO but would come in around £400 with a bit of haggling.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the suggestions, definitely worth looking at both of those options! Not so sure about the Cambridge Audios, I fancy something I can 'scale up' later when I have more room if I manage to move house later this year (like moving the fronts to the rear and adding floor standers).

I have been looking into the option of not having a centre and having two bigger left/right speakers on their sides. Looking at other threads, as they would be so close together under the TV, that might be a better solution.

I think I will have to try it out in a demo room when I get chance and see what the difference is. It also means I would move up a notch in terms of speaker quality, just need to find some slim bookshelf speakers then for about £350.