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In search of small bookshelf speakers with front port, tricky placement situation

mvnchies

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Hi, I am having a bit of problem finding a pair of speakers for my slightly tricky situation.

I have a small living room, in which I can only fit a TV bench that is 160cm wide, my TV is 120cm wide, which leaves 20cm on each side of the TV for speakers... and that also means not a lot of room for toe-in?
Additionally, I can't have any real distance from the wall to the rear of the speakers, depth maximum is about 38cm, which means front-ported, from what I have gathered.
There is some space to the sides of the TV bench, but it's not possible to put speaker stands there, just thinking for acoustics. It's a little bit akin to a desk setup, just not as near-field.
Distance to the listening center spot is about 2.5 meters.

For amplifier, I have the Loxjie A30, which I am very fond of, and would rather keep if it's not a problematic one :) very good space-saving solution.

As for sound... I am not super concerned about sub bass extension being below say 80Hz since it seems very unrealistic without a subwoofer, but I do like a good balanced sound after that- and I like a good stage/image.
With all my space requirements and such, I am not expecting anything fantastic. Just trying to get "as good as possible" for my situation.

Budget is preferrably under €1000, but willing to stretch if it will be Much better. Buying in Europe (Sweden), some US-based companies don't sell their products here unfortunately.

small edit: would definitely prefer to have ones with a mesh cover, but I heard some can greatly reduce sound quality.

Hope there's something that can be done here, and let me know if you might want/need any more information.

Cheers!
 
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mvnchies

mvnchies

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Sorry for bumping - I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the new Wharfedale Diamond 12 series. They are getting really nice reviews, but I was only able to find 1 measurement from a youtuber JoeNTell which seemed good, although with the "BBC Dip" which I'm not super familiar with. Some say it sounds less detailed, some say it just makes it slightly warm.
 
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mvnchies

mvnchies

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Why not get something from Revel Focal Aria series. or Neuman KH120
Revel do unfortunately not make anything small enough in width, but I absolutely love the way they sound!
As for Focal, the Aria series in particular are also too wide :-(
Neumann KH120 definitely look good, but they are €1400 or so for a pair here, I'm not entirely sure I want to stretch the budget yet.

Thank you for the suggestions!
 

lowkeyoperations

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Perhaps a second hand pair of KH120s would be in budget. They are getting to be quite old models so they pop up regularly. The benefit of active in your situation is the attenuation switches for bass, mid and treble. That can overcome wall proximity to some degree.
 

Berwhale

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A speaker with an MTM configuration would give you something tall and narrow to fit either side of your TV.

mtm speakers - Google Search

I would suggest the iLoud MTMs that I use in nearfield, but they may not be loud enough at your listening distance.

Presonus also make front ported MTM active monitors, I don't know if they are good, but I like my Presonus Sub8...

Eris E66 | PreSonus
 
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Zvu

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Adam A3X
Focal Shape 50
Hedd Type 05mk2
 

daftcombo

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If the KH120 are small enough, I think the Genelec 8030C will be even more. They don't cost a lot more than 1,000€ in Europe.
 
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mvnchies

mvnchies

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Perhaps a second hand pair of KH120s would be in budget. They are getting to be quite old models so they pop up regularly. The benefit of active in your situation is the attenuation switches for bass, mid and treble. That can overcome wall proximity to some degree.

yes I was considering this and actually looked it up, but was unable to find any in Sweden... they are small enough, but not a lot of toe-in would be possible. perhaps not a big issue with these? I would have to look it up a bit more. but the switches definitely seem handy :)

A speaker with an MTM configuration would give you something tall and narrow to fit either side of your TV.

mtm speakers - Google Search

I would suggest the iLoud MTMs that I use in nearfield, but they may not be loud enough at your listening distance.

Presonus also make front ported MTM active monitors, I don't know if they are good, but I like my Presonus Sub8...

Eris E66 | PreSonus

I looked this up but I wasn't able to find a lot of data on whether this changes the sound drastically, it's super interesting as an idea though, might open up for a lot of options! the iLoud seem really good for nearfield, but as you say, might not be as good for the distance. I'll have to do a little bit more research there.

Thank you!

Adam A3X
Focal Shape 50
Hedd Type 05mk2

A3X look really good here - wondering how they would sound at a distance. I always perhaps wrongfully assumed the Adam monitors (I've heard a pair many years ago actually, sounded great on a desk) were meant strictly for narrow nearfield... will have to do some reading! :)
the Focal might not work with the... passive radiator on the side? or does it need room to 'breathe' so to speak? additionally, it might just be a hair too wide at 191mm... no room for any kind of angling.

If the KH120 are small enough, I think the Genelec 8030C will be even more. They don't cost a lot more than 1,000€ in Europe.

also considered the Genelec, but the WAF is unfortunately super weak on these... they're strangely enough wider than the KH120, which I didn't expect from seeing photos of them, thought they would be tiny. will consider, but not entirely sure it'll be possible!

the rest I was hoping to be able to cover with a mesh, so even the very studio-looking ones might be tolerable there... :D



Thank you everyone for the suggestions - I realize most are active so perhaps I will have to give up on the Passive dream for now...
 

Berwhale

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If the KH120 are small enough, I think the Genelec 8030C will be even more. They don't cost a lot more than 1,000€ in Europe.

Yes, you are correct, they are both under 20cm wide. They were too wide for my nearfield use case (either side of a 34" UWQDH screen) and I had to go for the MTMs which are only 13cm wide :)
 

Berwhale

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also considered the Genelec, but the WAF is unfortunately super weak on these... they're strangely enough wider than the KH120, which I didn't expect from seeing photos of them, thought they would be tiny. will consider, but not entirely sure it'll be possible!

The 4030C comes in lots of colours...

4030C - Genelec.com
 

daftcombo

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also considered the Genelec, but the WAF is unfortunately super weak on these... they're strangely enough wider than the KH120, which I didn't expect from seeing photos of them, thought they would be tiny. will consider, but not entirely sure it'll be possible!
The Genelec look ugy on picture but super cute and mineral in person.
 
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mvnchies

mvnchies

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Yes, you are correct, they are both under 20cm wide. They were too wide for my nearfield use case (either side of a 34" UWQDH screen) and I had to go for the MTMs which are only 13cm wide :)

the iLoud MTM I take it? I really like that they come with a microphone... I really need to figure out how loud I listen, the distortion measurements don't look too promising.
"And most definitely don't think of using them in far field listening." comment was also a little concerning, I'm not sure just how far that would be!

The 4030C comes in lots of colours...

4030C - Genelec.com

oh wow, every colour of the rainbow! I'll have to try again with a different presentation angle... maybe some powerpoint slides could help :D

The Genelec look ugy on picture but super cute and mineral in person.

I'll have to try and find them IRL, they seem really good!

Thomann ship to Sweden ...

ahh yes, I didn't think to look for B-stock there... good call. price is still a little on the higher side, but they seem super solid in terms of performance. I have to think about it some more.

---

I realize they might not be super well-known on here but I found a free shipping 30-day trial of the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 (170mm wide) that I'm thinking of jumping on, was unable to find much in terms of measurements, and the only ones on here are from a different series.

if I don't like these, I'm thinking of combing through the suggestions given here a bit more, and try to demo them as well.

Sorry for hopping a different direction, but also big thank you everyone so far, I might be back soon :)
 

Trell

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Thomann ship to Sweden ...

I live in Sweden and have I've bought from Thomann on several occasions things like Genelec monitors and subwoofer, Earthworks Audio microphones and RME ADI-2 DAC fs. They have competitive prices along with excellent after service support.

Thomann has a 30 days "try-at-home" that I used once to get a bigger Genelec Subwoofer and all I had to pay was about Euro 15 for the return postage. They extend the guarantee to three years. They have Swedish speaking customer support as well, at least when contacting via email, if that is important to you.
 
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