Speakers that can be placed against the wall?
Look at Audio Note site. AN/E's can be placed in corners, free standing, on longside etc. They look ugly but they sound & image first class. Better then most of the competition out there. Also available in DIY kits. If you can find someone to build it for you you can save a lot of $$$. They prefer tubes and you don't need a lot of power. Goodluck. |
Provided you like the Naim "sound", you'll get perfect fits with: Naim Allae (should be within your budget even new) Naim SL2 (I've seen these being offered used for appr. EUR4k, don't know what they go for in the US) Something different, should you consider bookshelf: Sonus Faber Auditor Elipsa Good luck Karel |
If you want to start in high end, get the Magnepan's. The MMG-W sold direct, if you check out the reviews, you will be shocked that any consumer item can be so universally praised. Also, they are dirt cheap. A half-way decent subwoofer is s must with them, and you will need a reciever with some juice (over 100w min) that can crossover the sub/speakers (try 110hz to start). Good luck. |
The Devore Fidelity Gibbon 8's are front-ported and work extremely well near the wall in my living room, which is almost the same size and shape as yours. They were designed by a New Yorker with small living spaces in mind. The next speaker up in the line, the Super 8, sounds incredible and is within your budget but are rear-ported. |
Save some $$$ get great sound and excellent support and have a look at Phase Tech's Premier collection... even the older PC series is a good thought as the company can and will refit any or all of that series drivers, x overs etc. if needed. I have one pair thaty went well over 20 years before needing anything... another pair that is now about 11 years old and needs nothing and all can sit quite close to a wall. Actually it's prefrferable for them to be within 18 inches. you'll need only about 30 or 40 watts per to run 'em with. More is better though, but not a lot more. They've played very well indeed with 60wpc tube power amp at about half of it's power band. |
Klipch makes a speaker called the Cornwall which is the combination of terms 'corner and wall'. They are extremely efficient and have developed a following outside of the US in combination with SET amps. I spent some time with these being driven by solid state electronics and they were very articulate, but also a bit edgy. Might be worth checking into. |
If you can find some North Creek Eska's or Kitty Kats, they were specifically designed for close-to-wall placement. They use fantastic drivers and over-built crossovers with incredible parts quality (ScanSpeak tweeters/Vifa woofers, etc.) The Cornwalls is an interesting suggestion. They are a bit colored by modern tastes, and they're relatively HUGE, but can sound really sweet with good low-power tube equipment. Like even a Dynaco ST-70 will sound fantastic. I love Maggies, but the MMG's mentioned above won't give you good results close to a wall. They like to be a few feet out. Great bargain/fantastic sound tho. HTH! |
To be more specific regarding Unsound's comment, consider a pair of Vandersteen VSM speakers with a pair of Vandy subs. The VSM was designed as a surround speaker for home theater, thus voiced for on wall placement. Just as with any audio brand, not everyone likes the Vandersteen sound but there are strong similarities between models so if you appreciate their strong points, the VSM can be a real space saving option. One version of the VSM can be painted, it that helps with WAF. And the subs can be located fairly close to the wall. Unfortunately for situations such as yours, very few speakers sound decent when placed against or close to a wall. To work well, that must have been an objective by the designer. Also remember that some speakers may be so large (for example the Cornwall) that a smaller speaker might not sit further into the room, while having 12-18 inches behind it. |
