Speakers that work close to the back wall


Hi! I'm trying to help my friend, who is new to audio (so am I), to built a new system. His room is 12x20x8 ft. with hardwood floors. His taste in music is mainly jazz.
The major constraint in terms of speakers placement is the distance to the back wall( he lives in a relatively small high-rise condo). He would prefer to keep it at 2-3 ft. max.
We also decided, that for now he will stay with quality integrated for amplification ( Plinius 9200, maybe new DK amp.) The amp should be SS ( apprehensive of tubes for some reason).
The price for speakers is not a major consideration, he's fairly flexible.
A few choices considered:
Von Schweikert VR-4 JR
Green Mountain Callisto
Totem Forest
I'm not sure wich speaker will work best near the back wall.
Please share your thoughts, every opinion is welcome. Regards.
maril555
Maril555,
I don't believe any of those you mention like the back wall. Drrdiamond is correct ... my NHT 3.3's like to be placed within 6 inches of the wall.
The audio note speakers would do well... this agrees with an above poster who recommends snell as the AN's are based on this design.
The larger Rega speakers are engineered to be used against the back wall, and being one of the best at rhythm (paper-cone woofer, transmission-line) would be perfect for jazz as well. Try a pair of Ela's, which sound absolutely superb with Class A amps.
northacoustics.com the spirit wAS recommended to me and it is supposedly specifically designed for close to the wall, $989.