KEF LS 50

With all studio monitors, it is best to get some type of stand and place them 2 to 3 feet from the wall. These are really incredible sounding in a small room, and rate these as one of the best monitors I heard at the recent SHOW in Newport Beach. They had them in a very small hotel room and they sounded fantastic in near field.

PS: the rigidity of this speaker requires a long time to break in. Once they bloom, one of the best speakers ever.

Get a sealed monitor like Harbeth or Spendor!

YEah sealed or possibly front rather than rear ported speakers will probably be less impacted by placement in a cupboard/cabinet that obstructs sound to the sides and rear, but rear ported might still be fine. Ports can always be plugged/obstructed to various degrees as needed.

If you have the KEFs already, its easy to try for yourself and see/hear. That will tell you more most likely than anything theoretical that can be offered up in a forum in lieu of actually hearing. The ls50s big performance in a very small package would seem to lend themselves relatively well to being placed in a cabinet, I would say. I suspect some partial obstruction of the port might be worth fiddling with.

Thanks for your answers. I dont have the KEFs yet, but was wondering itf placement was critical to their performance. Just as a clarification, the place is not an enclosed bookshelf but rather like a long table or bar that is next to the wall. There will be nothing above or near at the sides of the speakers.