Horizontal bookshelf speakers (1 Viewer)

[Steven G. M.]

I'd like to set up a minimalist system (2 speakers, perhaps a subwoofer)for about 50/50 Music and HT. There are a number of constraints due to the presence of a "sacred" (to my wife) wall unit. My options are to place bookshelf speakers oriented horizontally, or floor standing speakers (or bookshelves on stands) in a corner situation, close to a wall. I know that neither is ideal, but.........
Are there any bookshelves that were DESIGNED to be placed this way? Alternatively, any floor or bookshelf speakers that won't be too affected by proximity to a wall?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[felix_suwarno]

what about using 3 center speakers for the front 3 channels?

 

[george king]

First, welcome to the forum and the addiction.

Second, to answer your question, for bookshelf speakers you need to audition speakers with a coincident design like Kef (which I own and love) or Tannoy. With this type of design, the tweeter is placed in the acoustic center of the woofer, and it does not matter if the speaker is horizontal or vertical.

As to floorstanders, speakers with a front (as opposed to a rear) firing port are generally less affected by being close to a wall.

Hope this helps.

 

[Paul_Fisher]

JBL S38's were designed to be placed horizontally, look into those.

 

[Steven G. M.]

Thanks for the suggestions. Is there a particular KEF line that you recommend? Were you talking about using 2 of their CC speakers such as the 200?

 

[george king]

In terms of bang for the buck, the Q series is probably best. You could check out the new line Q1-Q7. Or you could go with last years line, which can be found pretty cheap ($200/pair) - the Q15.2 would be a good choice.

For real sound quality, I really like the RDM 2, but it lists at $1200/pair, but can be found for about $900/pair.

Hope this helps.

 

[Phil Iturralde]

I 2nd Paul Fisher's JBL S38 recommendation - Winner of the coveted CEA Innovations 2000 Design and Engineering Award. The JBL Studio Series incorporates technologies and design innovations used in JBL TEC Award winning LSR Recording Studio Monitors.
FYI: Here's what a couple of professional reviewers wrote:
Daniel Kumin wrote in Sound&Vision Magazine . . .
JBL – Studio Series S38 Speaker by Daniel Kumin

Quote:

For more JBL S-Series Speaker INFO & Reviews w/links, see my web page Why you should add JBL N & S Series to your audition list!.
NOTE: Because my website is 'FREE', hosted by GeoCities, if too many HT enthusiasts visit, GeoCities will shut it down for an hour or so because it exceeded the specified 'freebie' Data Transfer Rate. Sorry about that, just bookmark it and visit my site an hour later or when everyone has gone to bed!
Phil

 

[Jason Wilcox]

yeah the s38....it is ginormous though

 

[felix_suwarno]

http://www.thielaudio.com/THIEL_Web/Pages/scs3.html