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Real "Bookshelf" speaker 4 bookshelf or wall-mount

looking to upgrade speakers used in my home office. The only place they can go is on a shelf, or mounted to the wall (which is solid). Currently using a pair of Mirage Omnistats which are designed to mount nicely on a wall. They sound pretty decent but are not stock -- WBT binding posts were added (the original one were not as "high-quality" as Mirage claimed and snapped off with some stiff spades), and after opening up the speakers to change the posts finding horrendous crossover parts quality, I swapped out the caps and resistors (to Solen fast caps and Mills resistors). They image well, give a credible soundstage, and fairly smooth up top. But they could be improved. What high-quality speakers out there are designed to be mounted on a wall, or placed on a shelf right up against the wall? Amplification is a Kora Galaxy (50 wpc), and the room isn't too large. A Sunfire subwoofer Jr. discretely handles to low end. Thanks for the help.
papertiger
beatlebum
160 posts
 
Monitor Audio GR 10's are great sounding "bookshelf" speakers! Also, heard Revel M20's that sound great. IMHO of course. Listen for yourself. Both of these are in the $1500-$2000 range new.
warrenh's avatar
warrenh
2,286 posts
 
If you're talkig about (actually) putting bookshelf speakers on a bookshelf be prepared to kill your soundstage and just about everything else a high quality speaker has to offer. I own the M20s. Can't imagine (yeah I can) putting these babies on a bookshelf. peace, warren
mcfavre4
85 posts
 
Linn Kans, Katans or Tukans will work well for your application and are very musical speakers.
lotusm50
29 posts
 
Does putting "bookshelf" speakers actually on a bookshelf necessarily kill everything a high quality speaker has to offer, or is that only true for bookshelf speakers that arn't really designed for bookshelf or next to the wall applications? It seems to me that there are many instances where the only place to put a speaker is on a shelf or on the wall. Have high end speaker manufacturers totally ignored this marget segment, or is it impossible to design for (which doesn't seem likely)? The Revel M20's mentioned apparently have a "External Placement Compensation Control for optimizing the loudspeaker’s response for flush-mount, bookshelf, or stand-mount applications". So it seems at least Revel have thought about it. Are they alone?
rar1's avatar
rar1
1,578 posts
 
Lotusm50:

The worst scenario ... putting a speaker on a shelf inside a bookcase or wall unit or even on top of an armoire, for that matter, will pretty much kill the soundstage of the speaker. Sealed/acoustic suspension speakers will work out better than bass reflex speakers (whether you plug the ports or not) ... but the placement is very far from ideal. I have this situation today with two of my systems. The sound is still good and enjoyable... but I am not taking full advantage of all that the speaker has to offer.

An open shelf makes for a somewhat better situation, but it is still a real challenge for the loudspeaker. Also, most shelves are not at a proper height for "sweet spot" or "critical" listening ... they are usually higher.

Granted this is a real world problem for bedroom or office systems ... but it is not a market segment that many manufacturers have actively pursued. I can name some speakers that may work ... but not many speakers. Granted most audiophile speakers will sound good ... but not great in these types of set-ups. .

I would not spend major dollars. I would still keep with a sealed box design (think NHT SB 2 or SB 3) or possibly, a front ported speaker design. Some of the Gallo speakers (single & double) may work out really well here. They are at least designed for this type of duty.

Good luck, Rich
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