Wall mounted rear speakers

Posted by: Consciousmess on 25 January 2009

Hi all,

I have decided that I am going to get my cinema sound now from adding on to my present Naim system, for which I am 'over-the-moon' about with regard to its sound. I previously had a cheap 5.1 system, but gave that away as I just wasnt using it after I put my TV/Blu Ray/HDDVD/DVD through my Naim.

There was no turning back so I gave the 5.1 system to a friend, with the intention of simply adding to the Naim I already had (252+300). The thing is, I have issues with regard to keeping the partner happy on the front of aesthetics as we have just got the lounge plastered and have a gorgeous new sofa arriving in the next month.

I would need to put the rear speakers on the wall due to space reasons, and I am conscious this isnt good.

I'm sorry for rambling on here, but could anyone advice me on quality speakers that could be wall mounted and used as my surround speakers???

I'm using B&W Nautilus 803 as front and stereo pair; I originally considered wireless speakers but wise words from the forum turned me against this.

Budget for rear surrounds possibly 800-1000....

Many thanks

Jon
Posted on: 25 January 2009 by SC
Well, you can predict that a number of answers will be n-Sats and their dedicated wall brackets !
These are what I am planning on, although probably on stands for the rear.
I'm not sure how they will 'voice' with the B&W's, although this is less important with the surrounds...
Posted on: 25 January 2009 by Mike1380
Well, B&W make the SCMS & DS8S wall-mountable DiPoles - and as an avid 5.1 nut I'd always match the entire speaker package to one manufacturer & one range.

No idea how much these are though....

Maybe DS7s as rears would help you keep in budget????

However - on the centre channel don't skimp! Get an HTM2D centre.

Subs are one place where I wouldn't hold a particular loyalty - I'd look at Velodyne & REL as well as what B&W have to offer.

Hope this helps

Mike
Posted on: 25 January 2009 by SC
I think the 800 range will be above budget, not sure ? Big beasts though.

There's B&W's VM series, cheaper I should think, and flat, so would look good on a wall..?

I currently have the MT-30 set for my AV, and have read a few times about the M1 sats being used as rears in the mix with a much 'better' front end...They certainly look good on the wall, and would be a much cheaper option...

By the way, there's some pics of Naim's N-sats on the wall in a thread in the HiFi room currently, if you haven't seen it...

Best, Steve.
Posted on: 25 January 2009 by tonym
With surrounds, wall mounting's perfectly good. As has been advised though, it's highly advisable to stick with same-make speakers and get the best Centre speaker you can.

With regard to subs I can heartily recommend n-Subs. I moved from a pair of humongous great Velodynes to n-Subs and the latter sound nicer, as well as being extremely flexible in their setup options.
Posted on: 25 January 2009 by HuwJ
While you need a good centre speaker (at least as good as your stereo pair), you don't have to go too wild with your rears unless you will be playing SACD or lots of music BR/DVD. There are some very good in wall / ceiling speakers and you might like to consider those. B&W have a large selection of custom in wall, have a look at their website.

Regards,

Huw
Posted on: 26 January 2009 by Occean
I have recently been looking at rears too and my shortlist is down to:
Spendor SR5
M&K XENON 24T

For me I think the Spendors will be too big, though perfect match for my S5e/C5e. The M&K are alot smaller tripoles that also come in white so disappear into the deco a lot easier!

I fully agree with HuwJ about not needing to go too wild on the rears unless multichannel music is your thing. Center as mentioned many times is the important one.