Need bookshelf speakers than can be closer to rear wall.

The Proac Tablette 10 is half your budget. Infinite baffle design, it should work close to a wall. I've heard it to positive effect in a dealer's room. In your situation I'd certainly give it a try.

Have you considered some pre-loved Wilson Duette?

I have exactly the same issue with a pair of Dynaudios following a recent house move. I am trialing the aforementioned ProAcs, ATC SCM11's and PMC Twenty5.21's.

The ATC's are similar to the ProAcs in terms of design, there are bigger ones available if needbe. The PMC's are more money, have a distinctive design and feature a forward-firing port to beat those placement blues.

Neat Iota's are another option, weird-looking and apparently unfussy due to a downward firing bass speaker, get good reviews on the Forum and in the press.

Lastly, there is a niche manufacturer called Guru who also get good reviews, though theirs are really bookshelf speakers so maybe too small?

That's what my research has come up with thus far and I am about to enter the demo cycle with the Tablettes and ATC's.

Pre loved Linn Kans. 

It may help to identify the maximum diimensions vertically and horizontally - and bear in mind that whilst usually designed for a particular orientation, there is no rule saying speakers can’t be placed on their sides (the imaging may be different, but then that can be affected by so many other things as well). Once in temporary accomodation between houses I had floorstanders lying on their sides on the tops of built-in wardrobes either side of a chimney breast: maybe not perfect, but remarkably enjoyable.

PMC also do a couple of on-wall speakers (also with an in-wall variant of each) - putting on a shelf with front flush with, say, books or CDs or records would be like mounting in a wall.

Rear ‘firing’ ports are a definite no-no, but whatever speakers you choose, they are likely to sound different depending how they are arranged, e,g. between other things or on their own on a shelf, or in a recess of some sort - that might give you options to ‘tune’ a speaker to some extent in situ. 

Strange one this - in my old room my PMC21's would work just great at 100mm from wall  .......... now in room 30% bigger I need speakers min 300mm from walls - and for the size get epic bass .............. trouble is now speakers are a bit intrusive - and it would be nice if they could go closer to wall - I am in process of rebuilding some Linn Kans ........ 

My little brother is using Guru Juniors.

Thanks all for the answers so far. Great suggestions. 

Dimensions are 13 deep x 19 high. Plenty of room on the width. 

I've been looking what reviewers say about the ATC's. I'm more of a "music" sound and less about critical accuracy. That's why I enjoyed the Spendors in the showroom. 

What differences have people heard sealed vs front ported in similar situations?

apparently Wilson created a new speaker model (Tune Tot) to address this need, albeit at a real Wilson price point 

DrPo posted:

apparently Wilson created a new speaker model (Tune Tot) to address this need, albeit at a real Wilson price point 

I demoed this in the showroom.  They are pretty amazing for the size....  I just can't swing the price.

It's annoying when the dealer has these playing at the entrance.... so I have to walk past em to try and find something that doesn't sound as good. 

I would suggest the nSats, but that's because it's what I use!   

Also, before the nSats, I used Royd Edens, basically in the front corners of my small study.  I found that these speakers sounded best in that location when placed with their (side facing) ports facing into the room rather than towards the side wall.  Sounded quite lovely then, but the nSats are still better.

I also have the nSats with their dedicated stands. they can be very close to the wall but not sure if you can install them directly on a shelf.

Dungassin posted:

I would suggest the nSats, but that's because it's what I use!   

Also, before the nSats, I used Royd Edens, basically in the front corners of my small study.  I found that these speakers sounded best in that location when placed with their (side facing) ports facing into the room rather than towards the side wall.  Sounded quite lovely then, but the nSats are still better.

With them you can easily add the nSub for full range. They come up in the Uk from time to time ‘preloved’, but I guess elsewhere that may  mean taking a punt unheard, which is not ideal for speakers of all things.

Chrissw19 posted:

I also have the nSats with their dedicated stands. they can be very close to the wall but not sure if you can install them directly on a shelf.

I'm not sure that any speaker really performs that well pushed right back to the wall and sat on a shelf, despite the use of the term bookshelf loudspeaker. The dedicated wall brackets for N-Sats hold them pretty close to the wall, though.

ChrisSU posted:

Chrissw19 posted:

I also have the nSats with their dedicated stands. they can be very close to the wall but not sure if you can install them directly on a shelf.

I'm not sure that any speaker really performs that well pushed right back to the wall and sat on a shelf, despite the use of the term bookshelf loudspeaker. The dedicated wall brackets for N-Sats hold them pretty close to the wall, though.

It will clearly depend hugely on the speaker (and I’ve no idea re nSats), though  indeed just sitting on a shelf might not be ideal. However, flush mounting - which potentially could be achieved with shelves packed full of books, records, CDs etc - has the potential to be excellent: it is, after all, what monitoring studios often do, known as soffit mounting, eliminating some acoustic problems entirely. However if the speakers are designed for use well away from the wall the bass may well become unbalanced due the boosting effect of the speaker only radiating only forwards. Bass boost of course may be desirable with speakers lacking in bass, however the question is whether the boost precisely matches the speakers’ roll-off. Speakers designed for soffit / in-wall mounting will (should!) have that covered.

Yesterday listened to three new speakers. 

Arial 5T- nice range, but sounded muffled, like a sheet was over them.

B&W 805 d3- full range, but sounded artifical. Made songs I've listened to my whole life sound altered/different. Honestly, I got fatigued very quickly. 

Falcon Ls3/5a- let me say I was shocked at how beautiful these sounded. I heard music coming from all over the room. Hands down the best mid and upper range. Only problem here, very  very little low end. These are also wildly inefficient. Dealer had to change amps to power them properly.  Wouldn't matter for me, but just letting people know.

Onto round two next week. 

Side note, one of the amps used was a McCintosh. I was shocked at how "empty" they made music sound. Didn't like it at all. 

JohnnyTT posted:

 

Falcon Ls3/5a- let me say I was shocked at how beautiful these sounded. I heard music coming from all over the room. Hands down the best mid and upper range. Only problem here, very  very little low end. 

 

A problem with small speakers... is a sub an option to complement?

Were ther positioned similarly to how yours would be, up close to a wall? If not, that would not have helped the bass.

Innocent Bystander posted:

JohnnyTT posted:

 

Falcon Ls3/5a- let me say I was shocked at how beautiful these sounded. I heard music coming from all over the room. Hands down the best mid and upper range. Only problem here, very  very little low end. 

 

A problem with small speakers... is a sub an option to complement?

Were ther positioned similarly to how yours would be, up close to a wall? If not, that would not have helped the bass.

Everything was 1 - 4 inches from the wall.  Let me say those Falcons can really sing. Going to try the Harbeth versions next. Plus some of there other speakers. 

A sub would be really out of place in the room design, but open if nothing else solves the problem.

I think the BBC type designs will work well in your situation.  Spendor has the D1 - a sealed box design - which you should add to your list.  Not much bass but that's a good thing if it's housed close to the wall or in a wall unit.  

Quick update from my end. Picked up the demo ATC SCM11's and ProAct Tablette 10 Signatures to home demo in place of my Dynaudio Contours shich do not like alcoves.

1st impressions of the ATC's are they're well balanced and dry, there seems to be a lack of action. The ProAcs have more drama, less bass, are more revealing but are not as good at disappearing as the ATC's. Neither sound as good as the Dyns IMHO, even though they can't perform fully in the alcove.

I think I prefer the Tabs to the ATCs at the moment so am leaving them overnight plugged in to see if they need more of a warm up. Then I will try the ATCs again. 

Today - In our living space --- I have Wilson Duettes..... with the Naim combo of the 272 and the 300.....I cannot say enough good things about the sound quality, clarity, sound stage, separation and depth of music image.  The Duettes sit 36 inches high on a book shelf cabinet about 6 inches from back wall and 4 inches between side bookshelf walls...slightly toed in and 8 feet apart.  The 12 x 16 ft room is open on two sides with a 12ft ceiling.  It took a bit of fussing with configuration to optimize the speakers.  I am pleased with what I hear at modest sound levels and then when cranked up....it is amzing and absorbing.  The music fills the room....

BTW - I am an old line Hi-Fi guy, McIntosh/B&W nut (that system sits upstairs collecting dust). 

jGolf53 posted:

Today - In our living space --- I have Wilson Duettes..... with the Naim combo of the 272 and the 300.....I cannot say enough good things about the sound quality, clarity, sound stage, separation and depth of music image.  The Duettes sit 36 inches high on a book shelf cabinet about 6 inches from back wall and 4 inches between side bookshelf walls...slightly toed in and 8 feet apart.  The 12 x 16 ft room is open on two sides with a 12ft ceiling.  It took a bit of fussing with configuration to optimize the speakers.  I am pleased with what I hear at modest sound levels and then when cranked up....it is amzing and absorbing.  The music fills the room....

BTW - I am an old line Hi-Fi guy, McIntosh/B&W nut (that system sits upstairs collecting dust). 

I'm not surprised you're happy with the Duettes jGolf53 - they're high-end speakers specifically designed to be placed in awkward places with a highly revealing nature which commands respect from sources and amplification. Being a Wilson product they have a price to match - even on the second-hand market and I won't deny I'm envious :-)

Jonners posted:

I have exactly the same issue with a pair of Dynaudios following a recent house move. I am trialing the aforementioned ProAcs, ATC SCM11's and PMC Twenty5.21's.

The ATC's are similar to the ProAcs in terms of design, there are bigger ones available if needbe. The PMC's are more money, have a distinctive design and feature a forward-firing port to beat those placement blues.

Neat Iota's are another option, weird-looking and apparently unfussy due to a downward firing bass speaker, get good reviews on the Forum and in the press.

Lastly, there is a niche manufacturer called Guru who also get good reviews, though theirs are really bookshelf speakers so maybe too small?

That's what my research has come up with thus far and I am about to enter the demo cycle with the Tablettes and ATC's.

Jonners, 

It's been a couple of months since you suggested Guru speakers.  Since then I've listened to 10 different speakers... all missing something or, most often, failing in the bass department.  In the end, I made a couple of choices, but when put up close to a wall, they just fell apart and lost their sound.  In the end I was going to pull the trigger on Harbeth 30.1's although they were the biggest I could fit, and a bit above what I was hoping to spend.  

During all this time, I was in communication with Guru audio, asking questions and learning about the Q10's.  Finally after that back and forth and some good pricing with the promise of being able to return if I wasn't satisfied....( They only sell direct to the United States ) .... I pulled the trigger without ever hearing them. 

After setting them up... let me first say that I was utterly shocked at how much bass they produce.  I had my wife with me, and she was familiar with my old towers, and the couple of other bookshelf speakers we tried.  We both just said "WOW."  They have the sound and bass of smaller towers.  They have a nice full sound while still sounding very balanced and clear, with a nice sound stage.   (I'm going to even say...  I like these better than the Wilson Tune Tots I heard in store.)

I always assumed there would be sacrifices with my new setup, but these little Q10's really sound great and can boogie.  Without being broken in they were perfect, I'm only going to assume they will continue to get better.  

Anybody in a similar situation who needs speakers to be close to a wall, or literally on a shelf, these are amazing.  And for others who just don't want to spend a ton and get great sound.   This small manufacturer has certainly impressed me.  

So Jonners, thanks for dropping that name.  Thumbs up to you for dropping the breadcrumb to bring my music back. 

JohnnyTT posted:

 

 

So Jonners, thanks for dropping that name.  Thumbs up to you for dropping the breadcrumb to bring my music back. 

 

You're very welcome JohnnyTT, I've not heard the Gurus myself - your review is very helpful, they must be good if they showed the TuneTots a clean pair of heels! Good to have a happy ending at Christmas time too!

Enjoy!

Jon

Jonny happy that you have found your heaven.

Someone else has seen the light, well heard it anyway! 

I have had a pair of Guru Juniors (walnut/black) since they first became available - had to wait a while but James@TomTom lent me his white demo pair for about 6 months????.

Guru really are a fantastic speaker considering their size and how accommodating they are regarding their positioning to walls. The extreme toeing in looks a bit weird but, oh, do they sing! Distribution/manufacturing issues meant that they did not flood the market after the rave reviews of the Bristol Show 2013 (14?) but slowly they are becoming more widely available although the price has increased.

Well worth a listen if you need to position speakers close to a wall. 

Kind regards

Neil