Hey all, is the necessary room behind the speakers due to the bass section or the top section (holding the midrange through tweeters)? I'm sure its for both (probably) but was wondering if you could get away placing the top sections a little closer to the back wall (separate from the bass).
Thanks,
Jim
It's both. I've experimented moving them separately, and there are different deleterious effects for each. Moving the bottom section closer quickly reduces the bass output. As it gets within a foot or so of the wall it's a very noticeable reduction in bass. I found that three feet is really the bare minimum, though more is recommended. For the top section you start to get some significant timbral effects, I found it started to sound sort of boxy and indistinct. It's somewhat better if the surface is really diffusive and not a flat blank wall. I have mine in front of a pair of book shelves right now and the bookshelf fronts approach a little closer to the speakers than three feet, but they are open front and full of stuff.
If space is tight then I strongly recommend the LXmini. I've heard them both back to back in the same room and it's quite surprising how similar they sound despite being such different designs. Yes the LX521 does a lot of things better, but it does need the space and in a small enough room the mini wins.