Floormount loudspeaker replacement with bookshelf. Suggestion?

[lsfarzo]

Hi all,

I moved few weeks ago. A new home with very little spaces for my hifi.

I built a WorldAudioDesign 6550 PP power amp of 40W per channel and a couple of ProAc Clone 2.5 with a dedicated enclosure for the xossovers.
Now that all the space I had has gone away I need to replace this loudpeakers, which are too large for my room, with 2 bookshelf which has to be placed near the wall ().

I live in a building and so the sonic pressure can't be very high, too. I listen from sympnonic music to rock music.

I would like to try some full range loudspeakers , maybe Fostex but I'm a little afraid concerning the low frequencies issues...

Please, do you have some suggestions? I would appreciate them a lot in order to understand where to start from

Thank you very much
Luca
Italy

[Jim Shearer]

Luca,

I'm not sure about the size issues w/ your current speakers, but I have built Fonkens w/ Fostex FE127e drivers and Metronomes w/ Fostex FE108eSigma drivers. Both turned out quite well, but they each have their own sound signature. The Fonkens need stands--putting them on actual bookshelves would be a crime! The Metronomes, on the other hand, are floor standers, but VERY slender, and high WAF! If you have room for stands for the Fonkens, then you have plenty of room for Metronomes. Neither will produce thunderous sound to fill a large room w/ rock music or large scale symphonic works. Either could be very satisfying if you have a smaller space and reasonable expectations.

In both cases, I use a subwoofer to fill in the bottom end. If a system doesn't reach down to 30 Hz, I can't be happy with it. The both the Fonkens and the Metronomes I built reach down to 40Hz -- something of a puzzle, as others are only getting 60 Hz from their builds. Might be due to my equipment (I use classic SS receivers from the 1970's and I employ BSC might be the rooms I have them in; or it might be that the audio gods smiled on me.

Good luck with your decision.
Jim

[planet10]

Originally posted by Jim Shearer
The Fonkens need stands--putting them on actual bookshelves would be a crime!

They likely won't be at their best against the wall, but it also means they'll get more room gain.

I have a set of mFonken at the computer shop and they work fine sitting on top of a bookshelf.

dave

[Jim Shearer]

Dave,

We're all victims of our own experience. And my experience has been that nothing good (sonically speaking) ever came from putting a book shelf speaker on an actual book shelf. And a speaker as good as your Fonken deserves better!

(Still lovin' those Fonkens!)

Jim

[chrisb]

Originally posted by Jim Shearer
Dave,

We're all victims of our own experience. And my experience has been that nothing good (sonically speaking) ever came from putting a book shelf speaker on an actual book shelf. And a speaker as good as your Fonken deserves better!

(Still lovin' those Fonkens!)

Jim

I definitely concur - while not the tiniest box in which the driver (in this case FE127) can adequately perform, when well positioned the Fonkens certainly pull off quite a disappearing act, don't they?

Dave & I just spent part of yesterday afternoon listening to a series of little monitor style speakers - including a pair of mythical British little 2-ways.

It had been at least 20yrs since hearing these or owning my own KEF 101s - just goes to show just how far things have progressed in the past 30 yrs, and how much music and emotion can be served up by a single 4" driver in a synergistic enclosure.

[PeteMcK]

Re:'And my experience has been that nothing good (sonically speaking) ever came from putting a book shelf speaker on an actual book shelf' - well, there's a challenge, any speculation as to why, and how it could be remedied?

[Jim Shearer]

Pete,


I have no hard data to support my view on the matter; as I said, just my experience, but a few things occur to me:

-- maybe puts the driver at the wrong height; Too high or too low will result in image/sound stage issues.

-- too close the the wall or back surface of the bookshelf.

-- stuff around/near the speaker.

-- just not the right placement in the room; placement profoundly affects the sound: imaging, sound stage, frequency response & smoothness. Room effects are a HUGE issue w/ how a speaker sounds. Consider the extreme case of moving a speaker from a living room filled with big, over-stuff sofas & chairs with heavy drapes and thick carpet into an empty room with a bare wood floor. Do you have any doubt that the sound will be different?


Cheers, Jim

[rjbond3rd]

This one should be non-controversial. Take the bookshelf speakers and put them against the wall. Bass improves, imaging suffers. Put them on stands pulled out into the room, with no obstructions between them, and bass becomes less but imaging becomes more noticeable (sometimes, magical if you like imaging!) This is easy to verify, and is not subtle at all.

[PeteMcK]

Gents, I don't disagree with any of that, I'm just wondering what it would take to make a good bookshelf speaker (if possible at all...). Perhaps everything would need to be make adjustable - L pad for tweeter, adjustable baffle step, even being able to angle the tweeter for each individual situation???

[Gabdx1]

Mezzo 2 standmount by Mordaunt-short ! best thing i can think of

link