Is putting speakers in a cabinet a no-no?? (1 Viewer)

[Mickey Swor]

Hi all! It's been a long time since I've posted, but I have been lurking and now need to ask a few questions of the experts here. I have posted this question over at AVS, but I am hoping I can get some help here as well.
My wife and I will be building a new home which, lucky for me, will include a dedicated theater room. The room's dimensions are 15' wide, 19' long and 9' tall. I have looked at a lot of the member's theater pictures and know that I want my theater to include a combination of many of them.
However, while I like the look of the real-theater-like stage w/ proscenium walls, I really like the look of a front wall of built in cabinets with the speakers built into them with a u-shaped cut-out in the middle for the screen.
I have seen a lot of these type setups in magazines but none on this site. Are there too many drawbacks to this setup (cabinet resonance, boominess, etc)?? I have several related questions:
1) My front speakers that I have now are Klipsch KLF-20's w/ rear ports. I feel like I will need to go away from a rear ported speaker. Is this true?? If so, any suggestions on new speakers for this setup??
2) I would like to be able to hide my sub in the cabinetry as well. It seems like this would cause huge rattling problems in the cabinets. Is it possible to fill the area between the sub and the cabinet walls with enough insulation to stop the vibration transfer??
3) Would I be better off using an in-wall speaker set-up mounted inside the cabinets?? Would their specs be better suited for this application?? If so, what could I do with my sub??
As you can see I have a LOT to learn and I will be asking a lot more questions. I would like to get set on what type set-up the front of the room will have first.
Thank you all for your help!!
Mick

 

[Drew Eckhardt]

All speakers sound less flat and more muddled when placed within a foot or two of a reflective surface, with the exception of in/on-wall units on a single flat wall; away from the corners, floor, and ceiling; and with cross-overs designed for the large baffle.

IOW, if you want actual cabinets and they are essentially flat walls, an in-wall speaker would be a fine idea.

If you want to keep your speakers but hide them, consider a perforated screen with the speakers behind it and/or a faux-wall of acoustically transparent grill cloth. One of the posters here did that, and from the pictures it looks good.

 

[Kerry Hackney]

Putting speakers in a cabinet/shelf is definately less than optimal. If you decide to go that route, you'll have to stay away from rear ported speakers. I have a center channel mounted in my entertainment center. It is not ported and the "hole" where it sits is sized so that it just fits into the space. I have foam sheets stuffed in around what little air gap is around it. From the viewing position you don't see the foam packing. For me, that works fine. I haven't noticed any bad effects to the sound compaired to when it sat on top of the TV.

I have also heard speaker sitting on an open shelf in a cabinet. They did not sound good at all. To me they were boomy and muddy sounding. Almost like they echoed.

 

[Mickey Swor]

Thanks alot guys for responding. After reading your responses and doing more research, I'm starting to wonder if the faux-wall with the transparent cloth covering that Drew mentioned might be the better way to go.

I like that look as well, but I was going to use cabinetry to house my DVD collection. However, after studying my plan, I think I can do away with the metal equipment rack recesssed into a side wall, and just have a cabinet recessed into the wall that is big enough to hold my equipment as well as my DVD's.

Do you think I could still use my rear ported fronts with this setup?

Mick

 

[Kerry Hackney]

Sure, I don't see why you would have any problem with rear ported speakers that are not in a shelf as long as there is a little room behind them. When you build in your equipment make provisions for the wiring and even better a way to access it from the rear. It is no fun having to unload the shelves everytime you want to change something or add a new piece of gear. :frowning: Or at least that is what I've heard. Not that I have that problem... Oh I am smarter than that... NOT>>>>