Speakers VERY close to wall - Cork board useful?

Hockey4496 - The cowl vent consists of two parts...
1. a plastic mount that is attached to the speaker with screws
- the opening just happened to be very close to the size of my port
2. the chromed cover which is than attached to part #1 via a latch mechanism and a single screw (If I recall correctly)

You could try the PVC pipe, lots of speakers use some kind of "plastic" for their ports.

Oooooh - I just had a vision of a speaker with dual chromed pipes on each side - just like a MAC truck - LOL

Seriously - I went with the cowl because it is metal and a much more solid solution - and I’m a big fan of solid :-)

It’s also looks very neat and tidy, hardly visible, even from the side and a little less "DIY" looking

Audiokinesis - thanks for the enlightenment - I had no idea why it worked - it just did.

QUESTION: Does the direction of the port have any effect or is it simply changing the length or diameter that causes the improvements ?

My reasoning for taking this particular approach ...
- I have observed that speakers that have rear firing ports are prone to placement issues
- whereas speakers with downward or front firing ports are better suited to closer placement to the wall behind them
- so firing the port downwards seemed like a logical choice

Cheers

Port bungs or rolled up socks...

If you want to enable your speakers to create a soundstage, you might try diffusion behind the mids & tweeters.

I had a similar situation and found there's really no substitute for breathing room for speakers unless they're built to work that way, especially if you're concerned with soundstageing and imaging.  So here's what I did -- when I wanted to listen critically I pulled the speakers a few feet into the room and pushed them back when done.  There are probably lots of aftermarket footer options that would let you easily slide the speakers back and forth without damaging the floor or significantly compromising sound quality.  Hope this helps and best of luck. 

I think all cork will do is eat up more valuable real estate back there. 

The vents look like a good idea.

I have relocated ports, cutting out frontal ports with a hole saw. Then sealed the rear cavities. I got the same sized ports from a parts supplier that have over hanging flanges for easy installation. Plus they hid the rough cuts and small chips created by the saw. The side mounted bass may work to an advantage as to not challenge the speaker's over all design much, or at all. More true if the internal cavity is symmetrical. But I'm not suggesting anyone go hacking into there factory speakers.  

Footers for easy movement sounds like a good option. But wont help for decoupling. For carpet footers made of rounded over walnut or other choice with a high count sandpaper polish. Even hit them with some wax. This made a 150 + lb audio rack a breeze to slide away from the wall to make adjustments or dust. Then when I had it placed on a hardwood surface I simply stuck felt pads under them.

Some bass traps in the L\R and top corner should further help the situation.