Hi everyone. I’m new here although a very happy Naim user for several years. I would be grateful for any recommendations for a wall-mountable speaker to use in alcoves either side of a fireplace. This is our kitchen/diner where the whole family does most of our listening. Inside the cupboard on the right-hand side is a UnitiLite. The wall-mounted speakers are Neat Motive 3s. I mostly stream from my NAS whereas my wife and two teenagers are happy with Spotify. For various reasons too tedious to explain, the alcoves were the only options for speaker placement. I tried the Neats first on top of the alcove cabinets but sound quality was not great, and was a lot better as soon as I mounted them on the wall. BTW, I know it looks weird that the speakers are so far apart but not toed in at all, but after lots of experimentation, this is their best position. However, bass and soundstage have never been as good as I would have liked. I’m now upgrading to a Nova and want to try and get the best out of it with better speakers. I’m considering either a pair of on-wall speakers like the ATC HTS11s, one in each alcove, or standmounts that are happy against a wall like ProAc Tablette 10s or Dali Menuets either in the alcoves or either side of the mirror, although my wife might take a bit of persuading of that latter option. All advice gratefully received.
Speakers designed for wall mounting are likely to be best, such as the ATCs you mention. PMC also do some, two models, called Wafer 1 & 2. The PMCs have been around for longer than the ATCs so sometimes pop up ex-dem or secondhand. But I haven’t heard any of these - and it doesn’t mean others won’t sound good. The trouble with speakers is they all sound so different, meaning you would benefit from hearing as many as possible - ideally at home, but if not possible, or only at the final stage, make sure wherever you hear them that they are similarly positioned, and preferably in a similar size room.
I’d be tempted to attach the speaker brackets to the walls and move them forward out of the alcoves. Many, but not all, speakers like to have some room behind them to improve the soundstage etc.
Actually, on second thought, I would hang them from the ceiling, so I could place them anywhere I wanted. And when you have them mounted as high as you do, make sure you position them upside down. That way the tweeter is closer to your ears, and the woofer will get more of a bass boost from the ceiling and corner.
Cheers.
Dave
Thanks for the advice. Ceiling mounting not an option for aesthetic reasons but moving the brackets to the inner walls of the alcove (chimney side or wall) is possible, but it’s a ‘busy’ room already so I’m worried they would be too obtrusive.
I have Linn Majik 109s mounted on Linn Brakits.
The cabinets were made for us by a friend to our spec, and originally I wanted Neat Iota Alphas, but I couldn’t get them to sound right in our room.
A dealer mentioned the 109s and during the travel restictions he sent me a pair to demo at home…they didn’t go back.
I use a Unitilite and this set up works really well.
I’m tempted by a Uniti Star or Nova …possibly a Majik DSM and I think these 109s will work well with those systems.
The main issue is how to conceal the speaker cables…I don’t like the idea of conduit and don’t really want to have panels covering where the cables run. Minor problem really.
Ultimately, in terms of sound, I am really impressed with the Lite/109 combo and don’t feel I am missing out having them wall mounted.
Run cables horizontally to corner of room then down in the corner. Cable clips, nail-on or possibly self adhesive, or even dabs of blu-tac* can help keep the cable neatly straight. White cable better, or even paint the cable a colour close to the wall colour. (*N.B blu-tac, or maybe a competitor’s imitation, is also available white, which might be less visible if cable light colour.)
Totem acoustics Tribe wall mount.
They do a range, smaller, small, a bit bigger and a long one.
They seem designed best to fit either side of a wall mounted large screen. Although having a long box is a clever way of getting more volume of space for a better bass response for those Torrent drivers.
Totem does have a wall attachment that lets you angle them in for these.
Here is a totem promo pic alongside a fancy lady - to give a sense of scale.
Your room looks like the ATCs would be a great fit.
They do a scm40 equivalent. hts40. That could be awesome. 
Those Totem’s do look tasty, although I’m not sure the fancy lady is in the optimum listening position. However, their shape won’t really work in the gap I have to fill, whereas the ATC’s (especially in black) would work well.
Thankfully I don’t have this problem because the tall cabinets + books underneath the speakers cover up most of the wiring.
Interesting that you have the speakers so far apart and the right-hand speaker (and presumably the left - although I can’t see from the pic) so close to the side wall. I have a similar arrangement but not out of choice but only because of the alcoves, whereas you could bring your Majik’s in from the side. Do you find they work well in the corners? My theory is that the side wall is a big part of my problem with the Neats.
But Porkyg does!
I’m using wall mounted Naim N-Sats with my Nova together with a Velodyne sub and am very happy with the sound. Dedicated wall brackets for N-Sats are very hard to find but you can easily replicate the mounting by modifying a generic wall bracket - I got mine for about £30 off Ebay. Your existing brackets may well be modifiable.
The 109s are about 20cm from the side wall.
Before I got the Linn Brakits, I used q acoustics speaker shelves and tried various ways of sitting the speakers on them i.e little cones, rubber matting. Some of these made a difference.
I also tried the shelves in different positions, further from side wall and different heights…made the wall look like swiss cheese with all the holes. Once again some were better than others.
With the Brakits, they are higher than I would like, but they are firing slightly down and perform much much better than the q acoustic shelves in the many positions I tried. The Linns sound really good and do sound clearer than when they were positioned on the shelves. They look and sound like they are floating in the air.
Clearly wall mounting isn’t ideal, but given the room and my neighbours this is the best compromise with my system.
Yes, sorry, was just commenting on my own situation, not on the quality or relevance of your advice!
Sonus Faber Sonetto Wall. Worth a look. They got a good review, are designed for wall mounting and are available in a range of finishes
I also like the Majik 109s - good choice of finish options, front ported and seem designed for difficult positions, such as close to walls etc.
I have not heard either though so only going on what I have read.
Those Sonetto Wall’s look lovely but may be out of my price range, sadly.
Not sure that you’ve indicated a price range?
This could depend on what you like to listen to. Ls3/5 clones will respond to whatever quality you put them with.
PMC DB1 has a gold revised reissue that could be great on your present brackets and would show the merits of even a Naim 500/555 system.
If you have a Totem dealer in your locality - talk to them. Totem have many solutions for your scenario, both bookshelf and on-wall, at different price points. And they work really well with the UnitiLite.
Thanks everyone for the recommendations. I’ve had a bit of a rethink about on-wall speakers because I share the wall with my neighbour so I suspect it would be wildly antisocial. I will try and demo some standmounts that don’t mind proximity to walls and corners. The Majiks, Tablette 10s, Focal Aria 906 and the DB1s are on the list.