I am also looking for speakers that must be placed near a rear wall. We seem to have some similar challenges although I’m using a Nait 5si.
If you liked the dynaudio sound with your Naim setup you wouldn’t be the first. My concern would be placing Dynaudio Speakers close to a rear wall. (I really want the Evoke 10). Multiple reviews I read and watched say they need space to breathe. As far as placing the bung in them, I would have to try them at home for an extended listen. That sounds like a compromise compared to how the speakers are designed wouldn’t it be better to get speakers designed to be close to the rear wall?
Also with a sensitivity to high’s you may also be careful about ribbon tweeters.
Wish I had some good advice. I have been looking at Totem Acoustic speakers because the designer intends for them to be places near the back wall.
As you obviously have speakers already which are working, why not reduce the list of possible speakers and give it needed time.?
I would reduce that list with those offering biwire terminals to begin with.
Thats indeed a culprit no matter what.
Next you could consider going all in for source first, there’s many speakers which are better than listed but cheaper, I’d not lock myself to a certain price range so savings on that front benefit opposite.
Sorry for lack of responses lately. New house, new roof, back at work…it’s all go here!
So, I absolutely took onboard everything that has been said about my journey and as a result I ordered the ND5 XS2 at the weekend. There is a huge backlog of orders in the UK and after talking to Audio T about the ND5 I was quoted mid March before units were available to myself. Audio T said there was no point in me asking any other supplier as everyone was in the same boat.
I rang around and spoke to an awesome guy at another well established hifi centre here in the UK and they promis me I can have one end of January/early February so I put a deposit on one to secure.
I can’t find any second hand units which I guess is good as no one wants to sell theirs.
The same hifi shop says I need to demo the ProAC range so when my streamer lands I’ll go in and do some demos.
I’ve just finished dumping Amazon Music for Qobuz and creating my playlists on their platform. Qobuz works so much better than Amazon Music in my car plus it works well on the Sonos I have in other rooms so that is pretty nice.
NODE is up for sale, hope I don’t lose too much money on it.
You still have time to get a secondhand Qutest and try it with your Node. If you really don’t like it (which I doubt) you can sell the Qutest at no loss as well as selling the Node.
My evoke 10 are 20cm from the wall. Work well with only bass only getting unruly with something like massive attack at high vols… for every day use they are brilliant. The bung robs them of their openness and accurate tone with vocals I found.
My guess is that the firm you are buying from had a cancellation , if it isn’t delivered on time - as my Royal Navy family member says ‘they need speaking to - firmly’
That’s very positive and hopefully it will appear as promised. Now you’ve made a decision just stick with it. The Naim streamer and your amplifier will be a really firm foundation on which to try speakers. I’ve not heard any ProAcs other then my Tablettes. Next up in the range is the DB1 and DB3, both of which are rear ports and need to be away from the wall. Note also the comments above about the D2R. Two feet behind means that the front is three feet from the wall, which in a narrow room is unlikely to be practical. My Tablettes are only 9 or 10cm from the wall, and the speakers themselves are only about 17cm deep, so they take up very little space and don’t intrude. I think they sound lovely, but you may not of course. Whatever you prefer at the shop, make sure you take them home for a few days before deciding.
Actually I measure the two feet from the position of the tweeter especially as the D2Rs have forward facing ports and have a toe-in. So 24" to the tweeter, not some point on the back of the cabinet.
Hungry halibut is right about the proac 10s suitability to close wall placement. This is backed up by proacs own recommendation.
The 20r are a different matter altogether.
Some listeners may be happy with boosted bass but the reflected sound created by close wall placement will create sq problems at the listening position. Bass spreads equally in all directions from the driver, which is why close wall placement is problematic as sound reflections reach the listener at different times. Mids and higher frequencies fire forward from the driver and are affected by sidewalls but not the wall behind them. Speakers that follow the bbc ls3 design principle (like the proac 10s) work with close wall placement because they have low bass output but have a bump in their lower mids which gives an impression of bass reinforcement. The low bass output allows the mids and higher frequencies to reach the listener with less chance of reflected bass causing timing issues. The result is a very appealing sq.
unfortunately larger speakers need more space and very specific placement. Lots on the internet explaining the issues.
I’m going to throw another monkey wrench in… Bookshelf speakers are amazing what they can do. The larger ones can still put out impressive bass. HOWEVER, with being so close to wall, rear ports are problematic. Front ported seem to be mostly studio monitors. The nicer ones are going to be bigger… I looked at Special 40, KEF R3s… Even Dyn active, I got B&W 707. My friend just got 705 Sigs. Phenomenal. B&W is not what they were long ago. Don’t cross them off… But you have plenty of options.
Now you are looking at floorstanders… May I suggest… Subwoofer instead. Subs have A TON more tunability. They will give you all the low end you need, and you can find ideal placement unlike your bookshelves. Still get bookshelves… If they are rear ported then plug them. Even better if you have any ability to high pass. Find fantastic mids/high bookshelves, don’t worry about their low end, and get a reasonable sub. They are quite inexpensive these days… REL T5x… Up to T9x… SVS is amazing. I have the SB-3000 and the micro 3000. The app really is all that. Being able to adjust everything from seat. Even has 3 band EQ for room correction. I looked hard at REL. They are the default audiophile… But SVS gives up nothing, and much more flexibility. And it sounds like you are in T5x, Micro 3000 territory. Small, not gigantic.
Anyway, subs are not some boomy thing in the corner… That’s just crappy unturned ones. A properly setup one will convince you all bass is coming from speakers, and you will have the whole spectrum, and adjust for tastes. With a good bookshelf freed of sub duty, it will sound fantastic, and about the same as you are looking to spend on bigger or floorstanders. You will be able to account for your room much better. Just my 2c
I am not sure how you intend to mount these speakers but a good small speaker for around your budget is a pair of Pro Ac DB1’s . They prefer mounting on stands and away from walls but sound very good, detailed sound. So, maybe worth listening to.
Totally agree. unless you are are a totally unaware person of your surroundings and have no sense of etiquette - more then 2 hours is a liberty.
If there is nothing instantaneously better - (25 years and only dealer demoing nait 3 changed anything) then arrange another consort.
Might I exhume myself to recommend once more the Guru Pro Audio Q10. Coffin extends on Heath Robinson sprung contraption. Desiccated arm with urgent index finger, pointing, emerges.
They are exceptional speakers that love Naim. I currently own two pairs as my family splits its time between the UK and the US.
They are designed for the inside corner to be two inches from the rear wall, front-ported.
I’m not sure which UK dealers stock them currently for audition. TomTom Audio used to and a few places in London. The website may show suggestions.
Just adding to the choice. Has the OP considered the Neat Motive range. I had a pair of Motive SX2 before my PMCs. The Motives performed very well. My experience is that they are very easy to position and as they are small floorstanders do not take a huge amount of space and obviously negate the need for stands. Appreciate other Neats mentioned above but my understanding is that Neat play nicely with Naim.
I can second HungryH’s tip on PMC25.21i. Because mine are in a small room and next to a door, one simply has to be just a couple of inches from a side wall. No issues whatoever on the SQ, contrary to the backported Dyns I owned before. I do listen to 80’s pop too, just not Opera. But recent years EDM, Hip Hop, Indie, Rock, Acid Jazz and World Music is all there too. I find them a bit less impressive when trying to evoke the scale of a classical orchestra compared to a floorstander, but I rarely ever listen to any. Anything that benefits from the combined PRaT strength of Naim and PMC is a joy (Well recorded African music is heaven to my ears)
PS Edit: The one area where the Dyns did better than the PMC’s was to hide the faults on some of the bad 80’s pop recordings. Some songs I cannot bear to listen to anymore now unless played at low volume due to the PMC’s transparency.
Prode
Is your sub used with the pmc’s for two channel? This might help the original poster get some bass reinforcement to a standmount speaker that is suited to close wall placement. Also, am I right in saying your minx 201 has dsp.
@richardW yes an second channel sub for sure would help in that area, but it’s also a modest sub setup by design, to be mindful of the neighbours (all wooden floors in my 100yr old apartment)