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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
temporal_dissident's avatar
temporal_dissident OP
13 posts
 
Spending $11,000 for speakers to put there? I though I was out of my mind.
@mijostyn, you misread my budget. I wrote $11 Million, not Thousand.  
And I was kidding. i wanted to eliminate budget as a constraint so I could hear the widest range of creative solutions from the community. 
In reality, yes there is a budget. 
Here is where I have landed:
I plan to test two different, front-ported Center channel speakers in these cabinets. I will do some basic dampening inside the cabinet and find a way to tilt these speakers downward. 140wpc from a Crestron SWAMP A/B amplifier, which may not be audiophile, but is very configurable. I will test both mono/stereo and onboard DSP correction. Either a Bluesound Node 2i or Meridian 218 will serve as Roon endpoint for hi-res streaming. 
No desire to shut off discussion, but that is where my head is at. Additional advice welcome and appreciated. 


andy2
1,551 posts
 
The most perfect speaker is Ms. Kate Upton but you probably can't afford her :-)  But seriously, I don't think there is anything perfect.  In general, speakers with well behaved bass usually are easier to place.  If a speakers too bright then it will be sensitive to tile floor.  I guess what I am saying is speakers with a good frequency responds - preferably a neutral frequency response - will be easier to place regardless of room.  
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,787 posts
 
Most centers are diapolito designs which will not work.

Most inwalls are designed for free air space of a stud wall.

A box speaker therfore is better.

Also Kef Ref 1 has spectacular bass obviating need for a sub.

Trudat we sell over 60 lines of product we know what to recomend. Would not use a center channel for this app.
mrdecibel
3,063 posts
 
Klipsch RP 600 M would work well, even with the rear port. No need to spend thousands...ridiculous, if you ask me, considering the location and acoustics. I did design and install for years, and found better ways to spend my clients monies.
tomaswv
221 posts
 
Here’s what I did in my hostile environment (not my main system but to provide sound for a tv). In this case putting two speakers inside a Salamander cabinet with a shelf designed for a sound bar. I have a 2.1 system for television sound, driven by a Marantz receiver SR5010. I put in two Def Tech Monitors—sounded boxy. I lined the shelf with sound absorbing foam and added speaker fluff behind that—improved a bit. I had these monitors on their sides so the dispersion pattern was all screwed up. Then it hit me—center speakers are designed for horizontal placement. I took out the monitors.  I had a def tech center, added another and put them in as L and R. Big improvement in sound. 
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