Advice on speaker upgrade to match a short heigh cabinet

[meven3000]

Hi, just wondering if someone can provide some advice on speaker upgrades.

Current scenario:
Denon X3300W
Dali Zensor Vocal Center
Dali Zensor 3 Front L/R
Dali Zensor 1 Back L/R
B&W ASW 608

Issue, new TV cabinet that my partner purchased only has a 17CM gap for a speaker and not allowed to put it on top

Was looking at options to upgrade using the center height as the primary issue. only to note I can't get a 3 way centre as they are all to high ;( .
Ideally was just going to get some good quality seconds hands, but this is a bit hard with the height requirement so likely need to buy new.

Based on this i've found the following which are possibilities:

Dali Oberon series (Center looked like it was front firing)
B&W 600 S2 or 700 S2 (cheaper now as S3 have come out) (if absolutely need to can cut a hole in the back of the cabinet to reduce resonance or use some sound dampening foams)

The area I'm in doesn't really have any good Audio shops, can probably find the B&W S3's... might be luck if some S2 are still around. But out of luck for Dali's.

Any advice/options would be much appreciated

 

[Head_Unit]

new TV cabinet that my partner purchased

Ha ha, no option to return the cabinet I suppose? Assuming no, to answer your questions about holes and dampening foams, a PICTURE would be good. Also of the room, that can help for suggestions.
- I'm a bit confused, it seems your current Zensor Center will fit. Or is the cabinet just an excuse to upgrade? ("Oh honey what a nice cabinet, however now I need to get new compatible speakers...). Oberon Vokal is specified as 441x295x161 so it should fit if you really have 17 cm (I assume you actually measured the gap???)
- If you're liking your Dali keep within Dali. Also their finish is usually nice which can help partner acceptance. Nicer than S2 I think (???).
- Yes 3-way center is nicer, though it matters most for listeners to the side of the center sweet spot.
- Yes it is very good the Oberon Vokal has the port out the front due to the cabinet issues, someone was smart about that. Hopefully there is not port resonance much.
- What also matters a lot is to experiment with the aiming of the center, and getting it as high as possible within the cabinet, and as close to the front as possible or even sticking out a bit. (The new cabinet has doors???). Foam around it does help in our experience.

 

[meven3000]

The previous cabinet was open back, but eventually placed it on top which was much better than it is now. Guess the sound is just different, certainly don’t like it compared to before. Noting this, there have always been points where the sensor vocal can be hard to hear voices which is not ideal.

Size is exactly 17 c/m in height, but also need to put some rubber feet on the speaker to stop the base scratching.

Will need to get some foam over the weekend to see if it will help the issues at all.

Given the speakers were my first drop into proper audio, figured this is now an excuse to improve (and fix). Ideally would have just got high quality second hand but that isn’t really an option due to the size issue. Figured forward firing would be best for this situation, maybe that’s just an issue for bass!

Trying to ensure overall it’s an improvement to what I’ve got now.

Also found the Sonus faber Lumia Center which is not rear firing and does fit. Maybe if it smaller I could angle it more…

Cabinet has doors on the side, the Center is open at the top which is where the speaker sits. All made of proper oak.(not mdf) mashed on where the couch is located it’s about knee height now

 

[Head_Unit]

Sonus faber Lumina Center

That vents to the rear, which won't work unless you cut a huge hole in the back of the cabinet. Plus the woofers look small, 120 mm supposedly but appear like 4"-the 5" of Vokal is better. Even with a subwoofer, left/center/right still have to put out midbass.

 

[meven3000]

Says the reflex port is on the front side for Lumia or is this something different?

Ref: The reflex ports give additional versatility for the models’ range, placed on the frontside of the bookshelf and center channel speakers and on the base, down firing, on the floor stander. Thanks to this solution, Lumina speakers are less sensitive to the placement allowing Luminas to sound excellent even when placed close to a backwall or in a bookshelf.


Assuming front firing will improve the sound slot in this situation?

 

[Head_Unit]

Assuming front firing will improve the sound slot in this situation?

I'm not sure what you mean by "sound slot" but you can just put this speaker in the cabinet and not worry about it. With a rear firing port into a cabinet, you'd have to cut a hole for the port to breathe. The hole in the cabinet becomes another kind of port in line with the speaker port = the cabinet can amplify or choke the port unpredictably.

 

[meven3000]

Questions, assuming the answer in a negative. But can you mix speaker generation?

e.g had seen some b&w 705 s1 and wasn’t sure if they would work ok with hot, 72 s2?

 

[Head_Unit]

Questions, assuming the answer in a negative. But can you mix speaker generation?

e.g had seen some b&w 705 s1 and wasn’t sure if they would work ok with hot, 72 s2?

Sure, there is no magic about that. Newer generations *should* be better...but maybe not 100% always. And mixing different brands or generations is not such a taboo really. More important is buying with hopefully a fair return shipping and restocking fee charge-or if purchased used, so cheap you won't cry if you don't like them.