[nature boy]

I am putting together a two-channel system for my uncle including a vintage am/fm receiver, cd/sacd carousel player and cassette deck (he has a lot of old cassettes he wants to play).  The receiver will likely be a Harman Kardon 930, which puts out 45-50 real watts per channel.

Space is at a premium in his older home.  Any recommendations on either bookshelf or floorstanding speakers designed for placement very close to walls.  Direct wall hanging or in wall speakers are not an option.

I am looking for something under $500/pair and will definitely consider purchasing a used pair.  Thanks for your suggestions.

NB

[Carlman]

I had an HK integrated connected to a pair of DCM Timeframe 600's that was a nice sounding system.  The Timeframes are kind of like monoliths but sounded very nice.  They made a smaller pair of 400's... If you could find either I think they'd be a nice compliment for this system and under budget.... No stands needed, either.

Older Snell's might also be a good option.

For more modern bookshelves, the best value would be a pair of Usher S-520's, followed by the VR1 and maybe a VR2 (used) would be good options... I think the 2 would push your budget considerably.  don't forget the cost of stands if you go with a bookshelf.

If you'd said $600, the best speaker you'll find used at or near that price to me, is an Usher X-718.  These may be the most placement sensitive of the bunch... I can't remember if the VR1's are ported in the rear or not... all others are ported in the front.

Best of luck,
Carl

[zybar]

Look for British or European speakers.  They tend to be built to work very close or up against walls due to smaller living spaces.

I know a little pair of Linn Tukans or Kans, or whatever they call their smallest speaker would work nicely against the wall. 

You can also check out Rega, Naim, Spendor to name a few brands.

George

[chadh]

For what it's worth...

I used to own Von Schweikert VR1s, and still think they are awesome speakers.  They're not a bass reflex design, (they talk about using a pressure-release damping system, whatever that means), but this means that the little hole in the back isn't actually a port in the usual sense.  So, it's not really rear or front ported.  I used mine close to the back wall and enjoyed them a great deal.

When I was looking to chage speakers, I auditioned one of the small Rega floorstanders.   After the VR1s, I really didn't like the Regas at all (although, I have no idea how much of this was a result of the showroom).  The bass was boomy and loose, and the treble was instantly irritating.

Chad

[tvad4]

The VR1 that chadh mentions perform their best in cloose proximity to a rear wall. They are a good choice. Also consider Totem Arro. Both the VR1 and Arro can be found close to $500 used.

[Zero]

I've gone through numerous amounts of monitors in this price range (used).  Von Schweikert VR-1's, Meadowlark Swallows, Rega R1's, Norh 5.1's, Polk Lsi-7's and Lsi-9's, Audio Note Ax-Two's, Ascend Acoustics CBM-170's, Raw Acoustic HT-1's, Klipsch Rb-3's, Totem Acoustic Mite's, Energy C-3's and Onix XLS monitors. In hindsight, I should have never gotten into this hobby! 

All of the speakers listed above were at one point or another, were placed only an inch or so from surrounding boundaries. It should come as no surprise that most of the speakers listed above required space to breathe for proper bass integration. However, there were three speakers in particular that performed very well considering such harsh conditions. In no particular order;

Audio Note Ax-Two.  The roots of this speaker can be seen within vintage Snell designs. Audio Note designed this 'general purpose' louderspeaker to work in realistic home applications. In the UK, where Audio Note (UK) hails from - space is a premium. The Ax-Two, like many Audio Note speakers - was designed to work well when placed next to or even against a wall. Retailing at only $480 USD, these speakers have been my favorite for years when it comes to versatility with ultra linear performance.  They sound great with solid state gear and even better on tubes!

Rega R1.  The R series has been a big success for Rega, and for good reason - the whole line is great at making music. The R1 is a half-pint sized monitor that I found to work exceptionally well in tight quarters. The custom woofer never tries to be something its not, and while far from sounding full range.. the output it does have is nice and taught down to the upper 60hz range.  It took me a few days to become accustom to the voicing of the speaker, which initially struck me as being on the 'thin' side of things (even when voiced with the matching Mira 3 integrated). But once I settled in with them, I began to appreciate the R1's ability to capture the fundamentals of the music. At $495 USD a pair (someone correct me if I am quoting an inaccurate price).. they are solid buys. The Ax-Two from Audio Note however... is a pretty heavy hitter at that mark.


Lastly, the Meadowlark Swallow. While Meadowlark Audio is no longer in business - the Swallow was perhaps one of the finest crafted affordable monitors under 1k to grace these eyes/hands. With a solid wood baffle draped by real wood laminate on the side, Meadowlark's S series just oozed craftmanship. I personally loved the sound of these speakers, especially when matched with warmer sounding solid state electronics. Their front slotted port allowed themselves to be placed near walls without much of a fuss - giving a very coherent and balanced presentation. Part of that of course, is due to their time alignment/phase correct design!  Of the three, this would be my choice. But theres just one problem; they rarely pop up on the used market - typically when they show up its within the $500 range.. give or take.  In fact, of _all_ the speakers listed above, the Swallows are one of my top picks for an over-all satisfying compact musical box. There was not a genre of music they could not handle, and boasted great resolution and timbre that suggested you were listening to a pricier speaker.

Thats my story and I'm sticking to it!! Good luck in the hunt!

[ebag4]

You might find a used pair of Ed's Horns for $500.  They are made to be placed in a corner but close to a wall will work as well.

[Parnelli777]

Heard a little bit at my favorite dealer- very nice. Not for corner placement though.

http://www.allisonacoustics.com/one.html

[nature boy]

WOW, thanks for the recommendations.  It never ceases to amaze me how much knowledge AC members have.  Thanks so much for sharing, I'll look into the various suggestions - the Audio Notes and VR-1's are at the top of my list.

NB

[mcrespo71]

I'd say Neat, Rega, or Naim speakers.  They are all designed to be used at most a foot from the wall.  In fact, Naim speakers are designed to be right up against the wall.  I use Neat Mystique 2's and they are 6 inches from the front wall.  Sound very good that way and my SO is very, very happy.

[JoshK]

What makes a speaker good for near wall versus out in the room has a lot to do with how much baffle step it uses.  This usually is an easy in the field modification to adjust to your needs.  The other particularities that make for near wall proximity ease are porting from front or down if ported and tuning low (below room gain mode). 

All of these above can typically be done to speakers without change the overall xo slope, points, etc.  If you can get the manufacturer or other knowledgeable person to point out the baffle step compensation inside the xo, you can adjust the network to take out the BSC or lessen it for near wall placement. 

Speaker manufacturers have to design for the GCD and thus typically split the middle when choicing how much BSC to use, assuming most audiophiles have a setup somewhere between a Cardas setup and on wall placement.  This is not optimal for either extremes.  Fortunately it is easy to tweak without messing other things up.