Passive stereo speakers for 30cm deep shelf

[JJSEA]

I am looking for passive speakers to go on either side of a TV on a shelf that is 30cm deep. I have an SMSL DA-8s on order for the amp. There are two recliners in front of the TV with a coffee table between them, so the listening position is off center. I would use the speakers for movie viewing and listening to music, mostly classical, using CDs or Spotify. I would prefer to avoid a sub (to minimize cables and clutter) but might add one later if I felt I really need it.

I live in Thailand, and I would prefer something available here. I am reasonably flexible on budget. I was thinking of the Elac B6.2, but would be OK with something substantially more expensive, if it made sense in the context of the overall system and provided there was an objective difference that I would be likely to notice. I don't think of myself of an audiophile, and I think I am pretty average in terms of my ability to discern differences.

I plan to use a cheap DAC to start with, or perhaps an HDMI audio extractor, and then upgrade to something better later. The miniDSP SHD is tempting, but seems like it would make for a rather unbalanced system in terms of costs, unless I went for fancy speakers. So I might go with a miniDSP 2x4 HD or an SU-8s/SU-9 DAC, whenever that's released. I guess my room is far from optimal and would be helped by room correction.

Would be grateful for any advice. Do I need to get front-ported speakers? Is something like the Elac B6.2 good enough for my use case, or would I get a better experience from something more expensive? I am not sure how I should prioritize between better speakers and room correction.

At a stretch, I could put the speakers on stands on either side of the TV shelf. Is that something that would make a big difference?

 

[somebodyelse]

Front ported or sealed are more likely to sound as intended, and ideally you should get something designed for bookshelf use. Most active monitors will have switches to select for positioning, but passives don't. What are the width/height restrictions? I'd expect the DSP to be able to help with the asymmetry (delay the nearer speaker so the sound arrives together) as well as evening out the bass. Depending on what sort of classical you listen to there may be little deep bass anyway, or you may just not miss it.

 

[JJSEA]

Thanks for your reply. There's about 47cm on either side of the TV. There's no shelf above, so no height restriction.

I feel a little foolish. In my previous place I had a traditional 5.1 system, but I had put it into store because my new place didn't have space for it. I bought it 10 years ago, and I had forgotten that I had spent quite a lot of money on good quality rear speakers: ProAc Studio 110. I haven't checked then yet, but it looks from the specs that they would fit and they are also front-ported. So I should get them out of storage and give them a try.

Now I wonder if I have made a mistake with the amplifier. It uses the Infineon MA12070P, same as the SA300. Only 40W/channel at 8 ohms.

 

[somebodyelse]

I hope they work well together for you. Note that Infineon quote that power at 10% distortion in their datasheet.