Speakers that work close to a back wall

james n posted:

Ah thanks for that Wild Rumpus. That works fine for me as it means they are even harder to push over. Checked out MCRU's home demo arrangement which makes things very easy so looks like i'll be giving them a go. Out of interest, how far do you have them apart ?

James

I had them between just under 6 feet and 8 feet apart, in my room they definitely sound better at just under 6 feet apart.

Wild Rumpus posted:

Naim SBLs were on my list, but I have plasterboard walls and a suspended wooden floor and there is a consensus of opinion on Hi-Fi forums that they don't work well in such an environment.

If you really need speakers close up to the wall, you will have compromises with any speaker [within the frequency range of SBLs] when placed in the environment of suspended wooden floor and plasterboard walls.

It's quite possible SBLs would still be less compromised in your room than other makes of speaker of which may also be more expensive.

The option is to play safe with a small standmount speaker such as N-Sats, which would be more sensible if your wall is a neighbouring wall, in other words not a 'detached' house.

Debs

Wild Rumpus posted:

james n posted:

Ah thanks for that Wild Rumpus. That works fine for me as it means they are even harder to push over. Checked out MCRU's home demo arrangement which makes things very easy so looks like i'll be giving them a go. Out of interest, how far do you have them apart ?

James

I had them between just under 6 feet and 8 feet apart, in my room they definitely sound better at just under 6 feet apart.

Thanks again. Contacted MCRU so hopefully will get a home demo organised for the Model 6 in the next couple of weeks 

james n posted:

Pretty handsome (IMHO) - liking the look of the 6 

...Looks like a box that's been hit with a shed stick handsome. Yes !

TOBYJUG posted:

james n posted:

Pretty handsome (IMHO) - liking the look of the 6 

...Looks like a box that's been hit with a shed stick handsome. Yes !

Well, I like the looks of them, it's nice to see something other than another "monkey coffin"! My wife thinks they look great, too.

TOBYJUG posted:

james n posted:

Pretty handsome (IMHO) - liking the look of the 6 

...Looks like a box that's been hit with a shed stick handsome. Yes !

What's a shed stick ? . I must admit not to be completely convinced by the looks but in maple and against the wall i think they will look pretty good in my room. The acid test (after checking they sound good) is whether the missus likes them...

james n posted:

TOBYJUG posted:

james n posted:

Pretty handsome (IMHO) - liking the look of the 6 

...Looks like a box that's been hit with a shed stick handsome. Yes !

What's a shed stick ? . I must admit not to be completely convinced by the looks but in maple and against the wall i think they will look pretty good in my room. The acid test (after checking they sound good) is whether the missus likes them...

I like them, they remind me of daleks, but there would be more chance of my wife allowing Linda Lusardi moving in than having those in the living room.

Wild Rumpus posted:

james n posted:

Interesting - thanks chaps. What's the base of the Larsens like - just a plinth, spikes ? . Not really clear from any photos i've seen. 

James

 

No spikes or plinth - they just sit on the floor, it doesn't seem to hold them back, though...

Larsen recommend Sonic Design damping feet, included in the L8 model according to the Swedish version of the Larsen homepage.

Perhaps the Larsen's are more convincing in the flesh - especially if they sound good.  Being hit with a shed stick is similar to being hit by an ugly stick, but whatever's hit is left looking like it was made in a shed of course.

Wild Rumpus posted:

Naim SBLs were on my list, but I have plasterboard walls and a suspended wooden floor and there is a consensus of opinion on Hi-Fi forums that they don't work well in such an environment.

i think you mean "concensus of ignorance". 

jon honeyball posted:

Wild Rumpus posted:

Naim SBLs were on my list, but I have plasterboard walls and a suspended wooden floor and there is a consensus of opinion on Hi-Fi forums that they don't work well in such an environment.

i think you mean "concensus of ignorance". 

You could be right, but getting a demo in my own room of a speaker that was discontinued a long time ago would be difficult...I did contemplate buying a cheap set in unfashionable black to try them out, but I have decided to buy the Larsens and I'm happy with that decision.

mike_f65 posted:

Wild Rumpus posted:

james n posted:

Interesting - thanks chaps. What's the base of the Larsens like - just a plinth, spikes ? . Not really clear from any photos i've seen. 

James

 

No spikes or plinth - they just sit on the floor, it doesn't seem to hold them back, though...

Larsen recommend Sonic Design damping feet, included in the L8 model according to the Swedish version of the Larsen homepage.

Thanks Mike. I have a pair of Model 6's coming next week for a demo thanks to MCRU. As they're arriving the same day as we're having a new fire fitted i'm hoping to slip them into place and the other half will be so taken with the new fire she won't even notice the different speakers...

If you are on budget Wilmslow audio sell replica HB1's these are amazing against a wall .... they are giant killers. My only reservation is they need to be played fairly loud to come alive. Proably not in the same league as sbl of course.....they are like a big linn kan. .....

Wild Rumpus posted:

but I have decided to buy the Larsens and I'm happy with that decision.

 

How are you getting on with them or are you still waiting for them to arrive ?

james n posted:

Wild Rumpus posted:

but I have decided to buy the Larsens and I'm happy with that decision.

 

How are you getting on with them or are you still waiting for them to arrive ?

I ended up buying the demonstrators, I was offered a decent discount and it saved me money on freight. I'm very happy with them - they outperform the Ninkas (which I thought were very good speakers) in pretty much every area. I'm going to order the matching centre speaker as I have a 7.1 system (the front speakers powered by my Supernait). The expansive soundstage of the Larsens works very well with films, too.

Cheers for the update - glad you're enjoying them 

Coincidently ProAc has issed this week the Tablette 10. It uses "a thin walled heavy damped infinite baffle enclosure which is the same as the BBC LS3/5a.  This design allows the Tablette 10 to be positioned against the wall, unlike a ported enclosure". 

Chag -

tonym posted:

jon honeyball posted:

Dibbles. The answer to all known speaker questions.

Next! 

:-)

Arf.

look's like they were built in some ones garage with plywood and nails

So I guess you've never actually seen a pair then. Perhaps you've better eyesight than me - I can't see either plywood or nails in this photo, please point them out.

The demo pair of Larsen (Model 6) speakers arrived via UPS late yesterday afternoon, perfectly timed just as I was putting our lounge back after the fireplace chap had gone. Taking into account that these were just taken out of their boxes, plonked against the wall without any care for fine positioning, my first impressions were very positive. They do have a different character to the PMC’s they may replace, but having had a ‘just one more track and I will go to bed’ listen last night, my overriding impressions are that these are very musical speakers that work very well with the room

After sound quality my major concern was how they would look in our lounge as they have a slightly different  appearance to most speakers, but up against the wall, they look very discrete and rather smart. My other half rather liked them too so that’s one major obstacle cleared.

I’m looking forward to getting to have a good play with these speakers over the next week or so to make up my mind whether they are keepers. They certainly tick a lot of boxes at the moment so…

Has anyone tried Wilson Duette 2 speakers? They are desinged for use up against a wall. I'm hoping to try a pair in the not too distant future. They seem to get very favourable reviews in the press. Cost around £20,000 so not exactly cheap.

Ghettoyout posted:

Has anyone tried Wilson Duette 2 speakers? They are desinged for use up against a wall. I'm hoping to try a pair in the not too distant future. They seem to get very favourable reviews in the press. Cost around £20,000 so not exactly cheap.

20,000 can buy you a lot of speaker- what equipment will be driving these little devils?

ATB,

Mark

varyat posted:

Ghettoyout posted:

Has anyone tried Wilson Duette 2 speakers? They are desinged for use up against a wall. I'm hoping to try a pair in the not too distant future. They seem to get very favourable reviews in the press. Cost around £20,000 so not exactly cheap.

20,000 can buy you a lot of speaker- what equipment will be driving these little devils?

ATB,

Mark

If I'd had £20k to spare for speakers I'd be rich enough to buy a bigger house with bigger rooms so my speakers could sit wherever suited them!

The speakers would be on the end of a 552/500DR system. I quite like the idea of moving to a house with a bigger room that can accommodate speakers that like to be out in the room but around Oxfordshire you need considerably more than £20,000 to upgrade to a bigger house. But it is a thought though.

Ghettoyout posted:

The speakers would be on the end of a 552/500DR system. I quite like the idea of moving to a house with a bigger room that can accommodate speakers that like to be out in the room but around Oxfordshire you need considerably more than £20,000 to upgrade to a bigger house. But it is a thought though.

I know, but if I had £20k to spend on speakers, rather than £2k, it would imply that I would have 10 x as much money for everything else! Even in the central belt of Scotland I'd need more than £20k to upgrade to a bigger house...