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Need Perfect Speakers for Acoustically Hostile Placement

Seeking speaker recommendation. Here is the situation:

 

Cabinetry in our kitchen has two cabinets for speakers. (See photo.) This is next to the ceiling,...about 7-8' off the ground. For the last 8 years, these have had a pair of B&W 705 speakers, wired to a multi-channel amp pushing about 60w. And it has sounded terrible.

 

There are several issues which, I believe, make this an especially "hostile" environment for speakers:

  • No fixed listening position. It is a kitchen. We are all over the place.
  • Next to ceiling...I imagine this creates unhealthy reflections
  • Inside a box. Ugh. It is what it is. Should this disqualify any rear-ported designs?

 

New system:

  • New amp will deliver 140wpc of class A/B power
  • Rebuilt "grills" to allow much more open space
  • I may treat the inside of the cabinetry with absorptive material (should I?)
  • Bookshelf speakers will lay on their side, likely on dampening foam like Auralex Mopads that will reduce vibration and allow some downward tilt

 

Now I need to choose speakers. Any suggestions...?

 

 

 

Thanks in advance.  


128x128temporal_dissident
paradisecom
277 posts
 
What's your total budget?
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,224 posts
 
Sure, remove the door, make a baffle board that covers the opening and mount a high quality 2 way plate speaker on it.
temporal_dissident's avatar
temporal_dissident OP
13 posts
 
12”H x 17”D x 24”W

Budget $11,000,000
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,603 posts
 
We are both a high end dealer and a custom installer so we have had experience with this kind of situation.

Your best bet would be a set of Kef Ref 1 as they are remarkable sounding and have adjustable bass ports so you tune the speakers output. You don't need to worry about the rear port as the cabinet's size is big enough and you can absorb of any reflected engery, some wool batting mounted  inside the cabinet on all sides would do nicely to eliminate any internal reflections, acoustical solutions makes this material.

The Uni Q driver allows for a very wide soundstage and is also a very coherent sounding driver,  we would recommend that you install a small wooden lip made by using a 1 * 2  on the front bottom of the cabinet which will keep the speakers from sliding out and then use one of two sets of isoacoustics footers on the back of the speakers or use another 2 * 4  with a  set of isoacoustics footers on the rear to raise up the back of the cabinet and angle it down, the front lip 1 * 2 is being used to secure the speaker even with the angle and you would be good to go.

Adding a high quality in ceiing sub would be great, although the Ref 1 have fantastic bass.

A point source is the only kind of driver that will work well in this application. Also adding a preamp with room correction will also help.

You can PM us for more info.

Good luck.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ Kef dealers

three_easy_payments's avatar
three_easy_payments
2,097 posts
 
Kitchen listening is background music. I either turn on a cheap Sonos 1 that sits by the toaster or a crank up my primary rig in the living room 35 feet away. To me there’s no value in trying to shoehorn a quasi-hifi system into a kitchen where there’s lots of noise, talking, moving around and terrible acoustics. It’s binary for me....1- excellent sound quality or 0 - background music. No other answer is correct in my world of values ;-) This is why I could care less if I have a decent car audio system. It only needs enough volume to hear over road noise.
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