I am having a new kitchen installed and trying to figure out speakers that would pair well with uniti atom in this space. The speakers will be atop cabinets that I am proposing to isolate with pucks and if needed something like a piece of granite. The real concern I have is closeness to the wall - the distance from front edge of cabinet to wall is 39cm so I am currently thinking that a front ported speaker like Audiovector QR1 SE may work well. I had been looking at KEF R3 Metas but I think these may be sub optimal in the space and / or the Atom may struggle to drive. Main listening space will be right in front of the speakers to about 6m from the speakers and they will be c 5ft off the ground. Grateful for any advice!
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Budget?
Ophidian Minimos work well in most situations, they are rear ported but it’s a hybrid TL/reflex design that doesn’t cause many problems (they actually have universal wall mounting points built in for this, at least the mk1’s did). They create a big scale sound despite being tiny and produce some surprisingly nice quality bass, but in a bigger than average room will of course benefit from a sub like a Rel T/5x or a pair of T-zeros. Above all, very engaging sound.
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Dali Menuet SE. Wonderful speakers and they were the best of about twelve pairs I demoed. Highly recommended.
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I used to have an Atom with ProAc Tablette 10’s. Irrespective of position this was a delightful combination. However, as the Tab 10’s are sealed boxes they work v well close to a wall. Should definitely be on your audition shortlist
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How about on-wall speakers? Again DALI. Maybe Oberon On-Wall. They are brilliantly punchy. They come with optional stick on feet so you can put them on a shelf instead, though if there’s a risk of someone snagging a cable and pulling them down in their head I’d prefer the on wall mounting. 2 anchored screws. Job done.
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GBP£ 1-2k range
Thanks I’ll take a look - might struggle to get a sub in there but when I use for DJing (pioneer opus quad from kitchen peninsula running to amp via a chased in RCA audio cable) I deploy a VM80 active monitor that adds a lot of low end grunt
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Thanks - they look good, might be a bit pricey but if I can fix up an audition I will
I guess would have to listen - not sure how these thin speakers at £600 can punch but at least designed specifically for that set up. Thanks fir advice
Thanks how do you have them set up - close to wall or further?
They look interesting but I note the bass frequency response only down to 55Hz which is not that low for the deep bass I enjoy. Any thoughts from experience?
They’re close to the wall but they can also be wall mounted. There are some good reviews online if you are considering them. They were by far the best speakers I demoed.
UK based? You could try and find a pair of small Royds, like Sapphires, Eden, Sintra or Sorcerer.
They will work fabulously with the Atom.
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There’s also the larger Mojo model from Ophidian which is still a very small speaker but has a lot more bass weight than the Minimo. I much preferred the Minimo (mk1’s) though for their wide open soundstage and pinpoint imaging, magical little speakers that I wish I still had.
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I am yes. I can see there are some Royd speakers on eBay to be honest I’ll probably go new rather than vintage for this purchase though I do enjoy vintage hi-fi, thanks for the idea!
I love Royds but these days you do need to be careful as the mid/bass drivers can be fragile and once blown, replacements are hard to find (usually you’ll need to scavenge from another pair). However, when working well, they are wonderfully communicative speakers.
Another vintage speaker that works brilliantly up against the wall is the Allison 6 (later versions called the CD6). Get these right and they will amaze, sounding much larger than their modest cube dimensions would suggest. Of course, the same caveats as the Royds apply (more an issue with the tweeters though), but of you can find a really good pair then I’d jump on them.
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These give out a very satisfying amount of bass. In addition, if this is is for a kitchen system and will be on shelves, you really don’t want something that is going to have your shelves vibrating away!
With the constraints that you are working with (speakers on 5 ft high shelves) you really should try and home demo any potential speakers
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No problem at all.
I know they (Royds) usually go very well against the wall (with some isolation like Isoacoustic lucks, etc) and in tight spaces.
I would perhaps wait until the kitchen has been installed. You’ll then have a better idea of acoustics and how much space is really available.
If you already have an atom, then passive speakers would be the best option. If you don’t have already have an Atom, then other options such as powered speakers could be worth exploring too.
But room acoustics, space and (as you’re in a kitchen) sources of noise need to be understood first of all.
Good luck. Always fun to explore 
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