Floorstanders with a large sweetspot

>05-09-12: Hornguys
>IMO, there is no such thing as a wide sweet spot.

Sure there is.

With well-behaved polar response you can have correct timbre anywhere in a room and imaging that doesn't require vise-like head positioning although with broader polar response images will shift towards the nearer speaker as you move off-axis.

With higher-directivity (acoustically small dipoles, wave guides, or horns) that's also uniform you can also have a decent sound stage with centrally located center images for several seats (like a three cushion couch) by leveraging the off-axis roll-off so that seating positions farther off center that are closer to one speaker have lower amplitude sound by crossing the speaker's axis somewhere in front of the listeners.

Looking to place the speakers about 5-10 inches from the rear wall and 1-2 feet from the side walls. As far as the sweetspot goes, I would like something more than just a single seat on a couch.

The PSB line of speakers, especially Stratus and Synchrony, have very wide sweet spots and are designed to load the room equally.

5-10 inches is really close to the front wall. Not many speakers are designed for this; I doubt this is optimal placement for the Salks, for example. I used to have North Creeks in my main system, which are designed for this, and are lovely -- definitely worth researching. Audio notes go close to walls, but I understand the require corners, which is not always possible If the speakers are not designed for near wall, I'd be inclined to stay away -- crowding can have really unhappy effects on the sound.

Add in the "wide sweet spot" and you've a really limited search. My Montana EPS2s fare well on this (though you need to be a ways from the speakers), and can be placed surprisingly close to walls for big boxes (18"-30"), but come in a bit above your price point; you might consider others in the line -- there are often good used prices.

In the end, I'd be tempted to drop the "near wall" constraint; in a 12x18 room I'd think you'd be able to find a decor, or negotiate one with interested parties, that would allow placement a bit further into the room, and would leave you with a lot of nice options, new and used, at your price point).

Good luck,

John

Yes, agree with PSB for something more conventional that I have heard that also excels. I could probably live with those! From my experience, those still sound best a couple feet out from the walls. Most speakers do, though some are designed to go flush/couple directly to walls and/or corners with perhaps some sacrifice in soundstage depth, which is not a concern for many. Klipschorn is the classic example. Rear ported speakers tend to be designed to do best further from rear walls in general, so probably avoid speakers that are rear ported.