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Speakers for difficult placement.

I am looking for a pair of new speakers. My biggest problem, though, is placement options. They cannot be placed more than 15 inches from the back wall and the separation distance is around 9-10 feet. My listening chair is also about 10 feet from each speaker. there is a door than opens into the right speaker so I would need something with a small footprint. So basically I need a speaker that sounds good separated (good center fill) and can set close to a wall without giving away too much in depth of field. My electronics are Sunfire and I have more than enough power. I also will be using the speakers with a Vandersteen 2Wq sub. I would love Vandersteen speakers but they are configured wrong anatomically (need smaller footprint). I have recently read some reviews of the PSB Synchrony's and was wondering if these might fit my bill. Any thoughts anyone?
donwass65
dr_joe
160 posts
 
Get a pair of Great Plains Audio 604-8H-II (or III) coaxials or a pair of Iconic 704-8A (same speaker) and build a pair of Mass Loaded Transmission Line cabinets for them; add the Jeff Markwart crossovers. All plans are available free for personal use. You can put them in the corners or right up against the wall and in fact they sound best that way. Footprint is not small, though: roughly 26 W x 20 D inches (depending on the thickness of the cabinet walls. Or you can buy the same design new from Serious Stereo. And you won't really need a sub, except perhaps for home theatre purposes.

For a smaller footprint in a speaker that also is designed to sound best against the wall or in corners, try the Audio Note AN series, available in kit form or ready made, in a huge range of prices.

Hope this helps.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,468 posts
 
Dollar for dollar, you won't get better than Vandersteens. I would call Richard or your local Vandy dealer and discuss the issue. I don't think it is as much of a problem as you think it is. The dealer may very well let you bring home a pair for audition
philjolet's avatar
philjolet
2,306 posts
 
Audio Note speakers sound great in the corners but do not need subwoofer in most cases
donwass65 OP
4 posts
 
I've auditioned Vandersteen speakers and loved their transparent warm sound.
The problem is the side door opens towards my speakers and the Vandy's are too wide. If they only made them thin and deep it would be perfect. The Quatros are configured like this but I just can't afford to spend 8 grand. I almost thought about a used pair of Thiel 1.6's or the PSB synchrony 1's or 2's.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
knownothing
1,579 posts
 
Have you looked at the Totem speakers? Their floor standers (they call them "Columns") can be placed as close as 6" away from the wall and you can tune the bass by mass loading a chamber inside the speaker with sand. Totems are known for their great dispersion and broad sweet spot. The manufacturer claims they can be placed up to 12' apart.

Depending on how big your room is you might be able to get away with the Arro, in which case you would have a great sounding slender little tower that is only about 5" wide by 7" deep, and your sub can be used to provide some umph on the bottom end. But even their "bigger" column speakers are pretty small compared with the amount and quality of sound that comes out of them. High WAF too across the range if that matters to you...
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