My friends apartment has just been built and he asked me advice as to what to audition for speakers, preferably standmounts. Its mainly an analog rig with a Rega Planar 3.
But the system is going to be fairly flat against one of the walls, with no more than 15-20cm gap.
I know there are speakers specifically voiced to sound good flat against a wall, Proac Tablette, the Guru Audio QM e.t.c what else is there? He probably does not want to spend over 3000 AUD (1500 pounds) new or used.
What kind of electronics will he use?
Naim speakers work great againt rear wall.
Many Royd speakers as well. Totem Arro work great close to wall.
On wall speakers of all kinds.
Have you considered a proper hifi on-wall speaker?
Like Dali Opticon LCR MkII or Rubicon.
I wrote off on-wall speakers for decades. Until I tried them and now I’m kicking myself. You don’t get anymore close to a wall than that and they won’t come out into the room more than about 10cm. You can mount them at the same high as a standmount but you also have the floor space.
The amp has not been decided on yet because it will need to match the speakers. For example the new Rega Brio mk7 looks great but only has 50 watts and wont drive low sensitivity speakers, which limits the choices.
Just thought of the Epos ES-7N. It even has a rear switch to change the crossover from near wall to out in the room. A bit beyond his price range I think, unfortunately.
One thing I have learned over the years is the headline specs of hifi gear doesn’t always tell the full story.
I have Linn Majik 109 speakers which I believe were designed for small spaces and work fine close to the wall (mine are about 110mm from wall) in my small lounge 3.5m x 4.5m. They are rated at 4ohms/88db so not the easiest bookshelf speaker to drive.
I had the previous mk6 Brio which was also 50watts and drove the 109’s fine for normal listening volumes. It would get hot if driven hard (85db+) for long periods but still acceptable.
I now have a Nait 50 which I am sure you know is rated at just 25watts and yet it drives my 109’s a lot easier, with greater authority and just works.
Check out the ATC HTS series. Very good with a decent amp!
If you want a speaker that sits flush against the wall, there is only one; Larsen. Built and developed to interact with the wall as a sound transmitter.
Tablette 10’s would be a good choice, with suitable electronics a Rega should sound very balanced.
The older Linn speakers - Kans, Saras and Isobariks - were all designed to go right against the wall.
I would put a pair of Neat Iota Alpha’s on the shortlist - should be able to get a good pair of secondhand ones at that price
ATC’s HTS series is specifically intended for wall mounting
Great idea. This type of speakers is conceptually perfect for domestic environments. I’ve heard a pair a few years ago, they trade some extreme definition for dynamics, space and soundstage.
Definitely not Dynaudio !
Assuming the room is on the smaller side, I would add ATC SCM7 to the list.
I put mine against the wall. Have had most luck with proac tablette, harbeth p3esr and linn sara. My guess is that any sealed box should work fine. The ported ones I’ve tried in that position just resulted in a lot of sound, but not that deep or articulate. The harbeth is what I use now has a tiny bit of something that extends a bit down, which is then reinforced by the wall into something that is quite nice.
Otherwise I agree with @feeling_zen , on-wall speakers make sense.
Sealed boxes are no guarantee. The older Linn Keilidh, Kaber, and Keltiks were all sealed. And all needed moderate space behind them. Ditto Kudos.
How the reinforced resonance interacts between wall and cabinet plays a big role. I think you just need to follow the manufacturer guidelines unfortunately. The exceptions will catch you out.
Some rear ported speakers are even designed to go nearly flush up against the wall with the wall and port design intended to provide bass reinforcement from the smaller cabinet. My Dali Opticians work like that. Dedicated on wall speaker with a rear port.
I considered the base Neat IOTA’s as well. They actually come up for sale here in Australia. And despite having a rear port they are meant for wall placement, around 15cm apparently, which would be perfect.
I think the Guru’s are an excellent choice
Unless very large room, very low-sensitive loudspeakers or wish to play disco levels, 50w is fine.
Rega loudspeakers are obviously a good match with Brio’s and mostly work close to rear wall.
As will many Royd and Linn standpoints, Neat Iota, Tablette 10, Heybrook HB1, JPW AP, Snell K/AN-K also Naim nSats (if you can find some)
But many ported loudspeakers need distance to room boundaries, its strange there isn’t more solutions for people that won’t have loudspeakers half a meter out in room.
