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Help Speakers trapped on bookshelves

Help! My "bookshelf" speakers are hopelessly trapped on bookshelves, with no hope of graduating to stands, and I need advice on how to minimize the sonic stifling of the bookshelves. The speakers are Totem Rainmakers fed mostly jazz, folk and rock through a Cambridge Audio Azur 640C cdp and a 640A integrated. Interconnects are Analysis Plus Oval One and speaker cables are XLO ER-12. My home office is in a penthouse room measuring 6ft wide by 13 feet long, and the speakers are relegated to sit in a set of built-in shelves on one of the short walls that includes a fold-out secretary desk. Given the small size of the room (it's the only room in our small apartment that my wife would give up), there is simply no room for speaker stands on either side of the desk, where I do most listening (nearfield I guess). Therefore, until we have a bigger place, the speakers must stay on the shelves, and I need advice on positioning, etc. I've heard that packing books all around them helps, and I've tried that with minimal effect. Also, the speakers are ported, making it even harder. Help! Just please don't suggest that I disregard my wife's input and put them on stands anyway: she's currently carrying our first two children (twins), which gives her three votes to my one. One day, the speakers will be free to roam on stands, but for now I need to tap A'gon members' ingenuity and experience to make the best of this temporary incarceration.

Thanks,
Roger
rogercmd
goheelz's avatar
goheelz
297 posts
 
That's a pretty small room for cranking up those speakers. Why not consider a really good set of headphones for your critical listening? Trust me when I say that if you're living in an apartment you'll definitely need them after the babies arrive and you're trying to let them take their naps! When you move into a larger space, then you can get the Totems on good stands where they are supposed to be.

~Jim
rar1's avatar
rar1
1,766 posts
 
Roger:

I have a similar situation with my 2 channel HT system. For this type of placement, acoustic suspension speakers (like the NHT SB2) or front ported speakers (like the Omega Super 3; Wharefedale Diamond 9.1) will work best. Rear ported speakers, even with plugged ports, will not satisfy you. I learned this the hard way with KEF Q55's and EPOS 11.

In my 2 channel HT system, I have had the best success with Acoustic Research 302; NHT SB2; and Omega Super 3. The following is a description from my 2 channel HT system

... The sound is close to the sound of my main system, but doesn't have decent soundstaging. This is attributed mostly to speaker set-up ... horizontal placement on shelves inside of bookcases, sitting about 5 feet high. The speaker set-up looks like this: [o O] [O o]; with the tweeters on the outside. It works well enough as the speakers are an acoustic suspension design and can handle near wall/shelf placement. The sound has decent clarity and punch to it and is probably where most of my music listening is done.

At some point, I think that you will wind up selling the Rainmakers and pick up something designed to work well on bookshelves and/or close to rear wall placements.

Reagards, Rich
newton
109 posts
 
Roger,
I'm in the same boat as you. I have been relegated to a small room off the kitchen (8' by 10'). I have my rig on a workbench brand desk where the equipment and speakers are on the top shelf, right above my pc monitor. So that right, I'm listening very near field (the Audio Physics philosophy really got to me) as I sit at the desk and listen to the rig. The speakers (bottoms) are 5 inches above my head and about 2 feet away. There are no shelves above the speakers and only one side way nearby.
My rig consists of Epos ESL 3 speakers mounted on Vibrapod units, Pathos Classic MkII integrated amp, Analysis Plus speaker cables, RS silver interconnects and a Arcam cd73T player. I'm very pleased with the sound. Someday I plan to be back in the living room where I once had Mag 3.6r, Spectral preamp, BelCanto Evo2 amp and Meridian cd player.
I wouldn't put books near your speakers. I would experiment with toe-in and vibration control devices to help keep the sound as clean as possible. If you still find the speakers bass response unacceptable then I would consider other speakers that work better in your environment.

good luck on all fronts!
elevick
2,636 posts
 
Some very nice small speakers are designed for bookshelves (Soliloquy, Linn, Kef all make some). You may do better with these. I would never use a rear ported speaker on a bookshelf. Front ports may work.
My biggest suggestion if you insist on keeping your speakers is a really nice small sub. This will greatly reduce the air movement and vibration from your speakers. If you can place the sub in the center (under the desk?), you could get away with a higher crossover frequency (200hz?). Otherwise, you can hide a sub almost anywhere, just don't cross it over above 120hz or so.
mechans
3,048 posts
 
Move. You will need a bigger place anyway. Your wife won't allow you to listen to headphones either because you are not paying attention to the kids. So the real answer is you S#%T out of luck as far as this hobby goes.
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