North Creek makes a line of smaller speakers which are designed for this purpose (near-wall). I heard them at RMAF in either 2010 or 2011 (I don't recall) and thought they were very impressive.
Close to the wall is similar to infinite baffle, so I would avoid full 6dB baffle step compensation. However, since that is not a published spec, just avoid "warmer" or "British-sounding" speakers. Without any idea of personal preference and amplification, that's all I can offer.
The Audiokinesis speakers are quite flexible due to their adjustable rear port. I have put my pair close to the wall with great results. If need be I have plugs that can seal the port as well. Very reasonably priced as well.
My Classic Audio Loudspeakers are 6 inches from the rear wall. They image great with plenty of depth and I don't get a lot of boom- very natural bass, the best I have had in that room.
If a rear-ported speaker is tuned specifically for placement close to the walls(s), it works just fine in such a location. That's one of AudioNote's secret weapons - a low-tuned rear-ported box whose basss response relies on generous boundary reinforcement. In other words, the "native" response of the bass system (before room gain) is roughly the inverse of what room gain adds, so that ( when positioned as recommended) the net result is remarkably smooth and extented bass for such a small, high-efficiency box.
While not rear-ported, the little Guru on-wall speaker is likewise tuned so that its native response is the approximate inverse of room gain.
Stereophile published quasi-anechoic measurements of the Audio Note AN-E, and I think SoundStage published similar measurements of the little Guru, if anybody wants to look them up and see examples of room-gain-complementary bass tuning.
There have been a number of threads on this. You might do a search on "near wall," "Guru," and "Northcreek." Guru and North both make "near wall specific" designs; a pair of Northcreek Eskas resided happily in my system for five years.
Some of the Montana line are D'Appolito arrays that like to play pretty close to , their imposing side. Audio Notes are corner loaded, and work lose to boundaries.
Most of the Tekton speakers are front ported and can be placed closer to the back wall. I have the Lore's and most of the time are about 200mm ( about 7 inches ) from the wall. They can go closer but your room acoustics will ultimately tell you when they are too close to the wall.
You can download the Vandersteen in room compensation CD off their website and see how far off you are Take a SPL meter and measure Average 70 db rt ch track 1- 11 and left ch 15 - 26 and see what you have now with your existing speaker. The Vandersteen treo will work close and Quatro has the room compensation feature built in. JohnnyR Vandersteen dealer
From experience, Rega (Ara, now RS1) and Ascend Acoustics (Sierra 1) were the best stand mounted speakers for near to rear wall placement. The Sierras can also be placed on their sides with no ill effect. I have also have a pair of Opera floor standers (Platea) that do very well with near to rear wall placement. To go one step further, Totem (Mites), Wharefedale (Diamond 9.1), and Spendor (SA1) did not sound special when placed in a similar manner.
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