Real "Bookshelf" speaker 4 bookshelf or wall-mount

Lotusm50:

The worst scenario ... putting a speaker on a shelf inside a bookcase or wall unit or even on top of an armoire, for that matter, will pretty much kill the soundstage of the speaker. Sealed/acoustic suspension speakers will work out better than bass reflex speakers (whether you plug the ports or not) ... but the placement is very far from ideal. I have this situation today with two of my systems. The sound is still good and enjoyable... but I am not taking full advantage of all that the speaker has to offer.

An open shelf makes for a somewhat better situation, but it is still a real challenge for the loudspeaker. Also, most shelves are not at a proper height for "sweet spot" or "critical" listening ... they are usually higher.

Granted this is a real world problem for bedroom or office systems ... but it is not a market segment that many manufacturers have actively pursued. I can name some speakers that may work ... but not many speakers. Granted most audiophile speakers will sound good ... but not great in these types of set-ups. .

I would not spend major dollars. I would still keep with a sealed box design (think NHT SB 2 or SB 3) or possibly, a front ported speaker design. Some of the Gallo speakers (single & double) may work out really well here. They are at least designed for this type of duty.

Good luck, Rich

Thanks Rich, you're dead on. I just didn't have the time, at the time, to go into it. peace, warren

I don't beleive Lotusm50 or I am taling about placing a spekaer inside a bookcase or on top of an armoire, although I can see the practicality of that placement in many instances.

Rather, I am talking about either directly mounting the speaker to the wall (with either dedicated or generic mounts to do this), or placing the speaker on a dedicated shelf not much bigger than the speaker (and firmly mounted to the wall and at a proper height).

The prognosis, based on your assessments appears dire. Maybe I should stick to the Mirage Omnistats. Simply mounted to the wall (masonary mounting) as per Mirage's instructions, I have a pretty impressive soundstage and imaging. The soundstage goes well outside the bounds of the speaker positions, and there is very well-defined depth. I definately have images out in front of speakers, and sound that seems to come from deep in the wall. Seperation of sounds is distinct, and they all seem to have their own body or volume. I'm sure some of the crossover mods have helped, as has the Kora amp, in creating this. Maybe Mirage's basic design of the Omnistat nails the challenge of how to make a wall-mounted speaker perform. Instead of looking at a set of Revel M20's or similar monitors, perhaps I should just continue to tweak the Onmistats to continue to refine the sound (hmm, a pair of Alpha Core air core foil Inductors might do nicely)...

Any other thoughts on wall-mounted sound quality?
Many thanks.

Supposedly the Infinity Intermezzo 2.6 has a setting for wall-mount. Not sure, but worth looking into. Stereophile Class A and adjustable freq response for room fit.

Bookshelves are for books. Not for speakers. Never the twain should meet. There's no setting on a speaker that will save it (sonically) from the deleterious effects a wall of books will have. Don't waste your money on world class bookshelf speakers. Man, how anything can be (sound is the better word) world class sitting on a bookshelf is beyond me. Hey, do you think I feel strongly about this? peace, warren