Speakers to beat wife-factor ?

The new (Canadian) PSB Alpha speakers can be used quite near a wall, are magnetically shielded for video placement, and perform remarkably well for their low price. They don't go very low, but their lows are clean and they mate well well with any number of subwoofers. Your situation seems to cry out for a subwoofer, and there are some very effective small ones (e.g, the new 9" Sunfire cube, PSB's match for the Alphas) Their mids and highs should be at least the equal of your old Klipsch Fortes (although not similar to the Maggies). I'm familiar with all three brands--my neighbor has Forte's, several friends have had various Maggies (and I've tried them in my listening room), and I use the PSB's in my home theater (with a small JBL powered woofer). You'd be taking a chance with the Maggies--they're very fussy about placement, need to be away from the wall, and benefit from a good subwoofer, too. I haven't heard the Gradient Revolutions, but they're definitely high-end audio and are designed for wall placement. You might also consider good quality in-wall speakers such as the B&W's.

Sorry I didn't address the speaker stand issue in my first note--the PSB's can be placed on wall shelves or even fireplace mantels--they don't need to be on stands. When our kids were young, I had a satellite-sub system with the satellites on stands I built to resist toppling (heavy, wide base, speakers firmly attached). Despite bumps and crashes, the kids never tipped them.

The naim intro speaker **requires** that you place them up against a wall. Not perfect on bass but amazing clarity. And since it is on its own stand you may not need to worry about the floor. I also like hales but they do require an intense battle in speaker placement.

I was a Maggie man once and they do sound best with them out from the wall. But experiment I am sure you will find the right spot. Wall treatment is also important. Have fun.

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