I’m hoping to get some ideas about the type of speaker I should consider getting starting with rear ported or not.. The speakers are to be placed at ear level but literally on bookshelves with perhaps a foot and a half between the speaker and the wall. Budget is under $3000 but I prefer to spend less than $2000.
My understanding is that rear ported speakers May not sound as good too close to the wall. I’m sure there are exceptions Of course. Could I consider a ported design and simply plug or partially plug the port with the provided foam plug if the bass is augmented too much due to the proximity to the wall? Or should I go with a non-ported design to begin with? The speakers are not going to be for critical listening but of course I want them to sound good and they are in general not going to be played at high volumes so I need some thing that will sound great at low to moderate volumes. Primarily The music selection will be smooth jazz, or contemporary music with focus on female and male voices. Some rock also.. Will likely partner these with a a Lyngdorf integrated amp with streaming Tidal and using RoomPerfect for room correction as an option. Look forward to your feedback thanks
You won’t get 100% of what they can do considering placement location but 90% is still ahead of everything else available,Harbeth P3ESR(or Spendor A1)...What ever you get make sure to put isolation underneath like Auralex,Vibrapods,Herbies or similar...My second choice would be Dali Minuet in the new S.E.version...3rd.would be a pair of the new Quad S1 or 2 with the ports plugged(which works well)...
Vandersteen VLR's are made to go into corners for bass augmentation. They looked so simple, I didn't think they would do the job, so I got a pair of Zu Omen Bookshelf speakers. I was wrong, the Vandy's outclassed them. The non-CT version is under $2K new, but if you are patient, used ones come up for sale. If you are interested, I would PM John Rutan (Audioconnection) to see if your Lyngdorf would pair well with them. Bob
NO Special 40’s in that placement,even with ports plugged they sound congested & slow compared to free space placement..The Excite X14 with ports plugged would be an excellent choice...
I prefer real non-ported bookshelf speakers, say 6-1/2" woofer, then after a while, you could add a self-powered sub if you like. just add a bit more foundation, not aware of sub until you turn it off.
lows go to sub, then the bookshelf mains don’t try to make low bass, and they sound even better.
I found/tried a very old pair of B&W D100i, and repaired my old Velodyne self powered sub. reworked my desk chair location, have perfect imaging triangle, seated ear level, sounds wonderful.
Since you’re likely using Lyngdorf room correction that probably opens up many more possibilities than otherwise, and given your situation I’d be looking at room correction too. I’d add the LSA-10 Signatures on sale here now for $1799/pr ($700 off) with a 30-day trial period, or maybe Silverline Minuet Grands at $1999/pr. If you can stretch just a bit over $3k there’s the Usher Dancer Mini X with diamond tweeter, gorgeous sound, and stunning looks (if that matters at all). Best of luck.
ok where are the LSAs on sale with the 30 day trial?? Are they sealed or rear ported? Also another mini monitor similar to the Spendor A1 is The BBC LS3/5A from Granthan audio but as with many of these British mini monitors not easy to find a site to audition or even get impressions from others for the same reason. Any of you have experience with Granthan speakers ? Thanks to all of you as this is helping me narrow down my choices..
If you go to the equipment section here and type “LSA” in the search box the listing will pop up. They’re being manufactured and sold direct by Underwood HiFi, which helps make these a very good deal for what you’re getting, and they’re also throwing in free speaker cables as well. I believe they have a rear passive radiator instead of a port.
@rbgator94, Atc was my first thought but they are hungry little suckers. The SCM7 V2 were the most inefficient speakers I’ve had, and I’ve had a bunch. They were also some of the best sounding I had but they had their limitations with bass and volume levels.
For casual listening all over a room, kefs uni q designs are nice because they throw a wide soundstage and sound nice all over a room. You don’t have to be in the sweet spot to enjoy them.
I probably wouldn’t get too caught up on only looking for sealed designs or front ported speakers. You can always get some port bungs or make your own out of foam. If making your own, you can play with how deep they are and how much air you want to block. You will lose bass extension but that may not be a deal breaker for you if you are after good mids and highs anyway and are focusing on female vocals.
Is height a limiting factor? Space to the sides?
I also don’t think you need to spend $2-$3k on some speakers that are going to have that limiting factor.
iso acoustics apertas or isoacoustics oreas will really help the sound of anything you get so definitely just get them and factor them into the price.
If you haven’t gotten your integrated amp yet, you might also want to look at LS50W. They have dsp and different adjustments for free standing or wall, in addition to bass and treble eq controls. The app stinks do a bluesound node would take care of that. Relibility on the electronics is so so; I’d suggest buying these new and getting an extended 5year warranty on the electronics. Another option might be a downward firing port. The Wharfedale Evo 4.2 sounds really good and in white or oak, with the grills on, are not bad looking. The amt tweeter may not have a wide dispersion though so that may not be a good choice, not sure.
Atc SCM11 V2 or 19V2 might be your best choice though, if your amp will drive them. The mids and highs are really special. I’ve only heard the V2 with the tweeter built in house. They’re really awesome!
so my amp will be an integrated Lyngdorf with 120 watts into 4 ohms per channel, 60w/8 ohms . The depth of the shelf is 19” and height 17”. on one side there is space on one side of the speaker but on the other it’s literally a rectangular space 16”H by 23” deep, by 15” wide. It’s partly because Of the asymmetric nature of the two spaces for the two speakers that I’m going with Lyngdorf with the Room Perfect correction.
I think I may try the LS-10 s if they give a 30 day trial.. otherwise the Spendors A1 s or the ATC SCM-11s I’m sure would be great.
The new Scansonic MB1-Bs are front ported. They were recently re-designed and do well close to the wall. I have a pair on the way from Denmark right now in Black. The Scansonic tweeter is truly special and will work brilliantly with your Lyngdorf. If you are in the US, they are comfortably on your budget, brilliant speaker and if you don’t like them, I take them back within 30 days. Your risk is like $60 for return shipping.
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