In-wall, on-wall, in-ceiling or bookshelf speakers?

[curtankerous]

Hi All. We are renovating and I don't think there will be enough floor space in the new living room for my floor standers.

 

Looking at a range of options, including Dali opticon wall mount LCR speakers, VAF soundwall, in wall speakers from Krix and others. Also thinking that just mounting some book shelf speakers on the wall in dedicated brackets might work ok. Will consider a sub (maybe the Rel Habitat) but would love to get away without a sub.

 

This is for music, I'm not really into home theatre.

 

Amp will either be Anthem 225 or Rotel pre power combo.

 

Budget is $3k to $4k.

 

Has anyone recently made the move from floor standers to wall speakers? What did you go with? Were you happy with the results? Can I really put a sub in a cabinet or on the wall and be happy with the results or will it be much better in the floor?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

KC

Edited April 11, 2021 by curtankerous
clarified

[curtankerous]

Has anyone got VAF soundwall panels? Happy with them?

[aussievintage]

Here's an off-the-wall suggestion (pun intended).    My mono system is in a small room with my record library.  No room for anything!!!    I put what is essentially an open-backed/baffle speaker  on a TV mount bracket, up in the corner of the room above head height.  It is angled to fire down at the listening position, and so also benefits from the reflections from the room corner behind it.

 

I was surprised how good it sounds !!

[curtankerous]

18 minutes ago, aussievintage said:

Here's an off-the-wall suggestion (pun intended).    My mono system is in a small room with my record library.  No room for anything!!!    I put what is essentially an open-backed/baffle speaker  on a TV mount bracket, up in the corner of the room above head height.  It is angled to fire down at the listening position, and so also benefits from the reflections from the room corner behind it.

 

I was surprised how good it sounds !!

Thanks for the advice. What speaker did you use? My mate has proac clones mounted on wall brackets and I think they sound great, so I'm open to trying different things. I think it comes down to a balance of invisibility vs sound quality and I'm not sure which way to tip the balance.

[aussievintage]

2 minutes ago, curtankerous said:

Thanks for the advice. What speaker did you use? My mate has proac clones mounted on wall brackets and I think they sound great, so I'm open to trying different things. I think it comes down to a balance of invisibility vs sound quality and I'm not sure which way to tip the balance.

 

Well,  I was going for the old school jukebox sound.  So I used a 12" 12PX Rola full-range driver.   If I ever see a 12UX for sale at a reasonable price, I will upgrade.  Rola, a great old Aussie brand,  became Plessey-Rola with the C12PX version.  Also a great guitar amp speaker.

[curtankerous]

Interesting... So did you build the driver into an open back/ baffle enclosure, DIY?

 

How does it perform across different types of music? The old school jukebox sound would suit my CW Stoneking records but maybe not everything I listen to.

Edited April 11, 2021 by curtankerous
Fixed typo

[aussievintage]

22 minutes ago, curtankerous said:

Interesting... So did you build the driver into an open back/ baffle enclosure, DIY?

 

How does it perform across different types of music? The old school jukebox sound would suit my CW Stoneking records but maybe not everything I listen to.

 

 

No, although that was my first intention.  However, and offer came up on eBay.  An old Bell&Howell movie projector extension speaker box.   I remembered them from primary school.  A speaker box with a clip-on back, that also housed the cables etc.  They typically used these same 12" drivers.  So, leaving the back off,  it is basically an open-baffle, with sides (which you can think of as extending the size of the baffle).  So that's what I used.

 

The response of the driver is 35 to 45 Hz low end 12 to 15kHz kHz high end depending on version and reference etc.  The 12UX is better I think, and can handle more power.  I drive mine with a 6L6 push pull valve amp, so 20 to 30 watts of the 12PX is fine.

 

By jukebox sound,  I just mean hifi valve amplification from the 60s. Just happens it had way more bass and better sound, than most people had in their homes at that time.    It is fine for most types of music.

 

Edited April 11, 2021 by aussievintage