[kbuzz3]

Hello All:

I have a few vintage low powered tube amps and am looking for new speakers. Unfortunatley Im in an NYC apt with infant twins and have only one placement location which  euphmistically put - sucks. I would appreciate any user comments on the Decapo placement near or up against the near wall. More speficic room layout and listening position is listed below. It may be simply that my room does not allow for great sound but im not an imagining freak. I do like my mid range and no harsh top end.

Basically the speakers would have to placed within a one side recess within a larger two room apt,  on stands flanking a 6 foot tall AV amiore. Even more problematically, the right speaker would have to be in a corner thus a few inches from both the side wall, the amoire and the near wall.  The left would be a few inches from the amoire but open to the hall.

So how bout it folks? This room set up certainly doesnt work for my coincidents. AM I doomed mid fi sound? Other considerations are horne shop horns, omegas or if i can find a smaller front ported high efficency speaker.

[gja]

Dear Kbuzz,

As much as I love my de Cappos, I think you may not want to use them in this situation. I have found that they want to be fairly far from the back and side walls (sadly, in my room I can only accomodate the back).

A friend has Castle Isis speakers which are designed to go very close to the back wall. They image and play wonderfully, and cost alot less than the de Cappos. The only catch is that they are not very efficient, about 88DB I believe. He drives his with my old Moscode 300 at 150 WPC.

Perhaps other list members can offer possitive close back wall placement experiances. I can't.

Hope this helps.

Andy

[Jonathan]

My experience putting the De Capos close to the back wall differs from Andy's.

Although I agree that my speakers do sound much better pulled out a ways into the room, due to my wife's aesthetic realities, the De Capos are usually pushed back almost as far as they can go. In fact, my set up doesn't differ significantly from yours: the speakers are back almost against the wall with a 29" Sony TV between them. The left speaker is pretty much in the corner, although the TV is far enough away so that it's not really confining the speaker. The right speaker is just inside the doorway leading out into our foyer. In spite of this far-from-ideal setup, the speakers still sound wonderful in the room.  

If you have the opportunity to try them out (I think In Living Stereo in Manhattan is a De Capo dealer and may let you audition them or at least offer some kind of return or exchange policy), you should do so before deciding that they won't work.   Good luck.

Jon

[mcrespo71]

I put the speakers against the wall just to see how they would sound and IMO, you aren't hearing the De Capo I's as they are meant to be heard that close to the wall.  The bass is bloated, with huge measured spikes in my room.

Why don't you look at Audio Note speakers?  They are easy to drive and are MEANT to be placed up right against the wall to achieve the correct tonal balance.  I love the De Capo I's, but they sound maybe 60% as good against the wall as they do 3 feet out.

[kbuzz3]

Thank you everyone for the info and suggestions