I have a desktop setup that has been re-arranged after moving. I used to have the room for KEF Q300 bookshelf speakers on either side of my desk & front, but now they are left/right and slightly behind me, which is less than ideal.
I would like to get the speakers back in front of me, but I have limited space, and my desk is up against a wall. With the KEFs I know it said minimum of 9" off the backwall, and 37" off the sidewalls.
So my question is, are there any speakers out there that you all could recommend for putting close to a wall?
A second question would be, how terrible would it be if the speakers were mounted higher than my ears, but I angled them down towards me?
What is your budget?
You can also look at sealed designs, or front ported designs. Or even speakers that use passive radiators, which have characteristics like a ported design.
If you are just looking for casual music listening then there shouldn't be any issue mounting them slightly above ear level. But there is where you will localize the sound. If you're looking for some seriously critical music listening, then mounting them above ear height isn't going to be ideal. But if you're just looking for some music to be playing while you're at your desk, mounting would be a nice way to keep your desk space clean, and also get some great sound.
With little desktop bookshelves, you won't be getting strong mid bass punch or a deep low end, so you could simply plug the port of any bookshelf speaker you want with a pair of socks and it isn't going to hurt the speaker. You will just have a little less bass.
You could also grab a little 6 ½" or 8" subwoofer from Parts Express and place in under your desk for the low end.
The port plugs that came with your Q300's are provided for that very reason. I use my port plugs because my speakers are closer to the wall than is recomended by Kef, no issues at all with sound quality and provides a smoother integration with the subs. I also don't see an issue with wall mounting the speakers toed in at the MLP.
pase22 , great - thanks - maybe I will use the port plugs, I've saved them all this time, never thinking I'd use them...
Also- are you saying that you do not see an issue with them being mounted above the listener?
Note: The base of the speaker would be at about 6" above ear level, so on the KEF Q300, that puts the bottom port (+2.5") @ +8.5" and the top diaphragm center (+9.5") at +15.5".
If I had them @ 45=degrees left/right. They would be ~36" away and ~45" apart. (If any of that helps)
Even without the port plugs, you can still put the Q300s near the wall. Probably would get increased boundary gain on the bass, which is why they are probably recommending 9" or more out. But if you are happy with the sound, doesn't matter if they are close. So try it both ways
Can't make sense of where the desk is facing. Also have no idea where everything is in the room.
+1 for the photo. We'd like to help, to do that we need to know the layout.
Hmm...would you consider moving the desk to the other wall and placing the stereo gear etc to the window side? Then you could mount the speakers on the wall above your desk. Also, look into the suggestion on NHT.
@sigpig - yes, I have some, but I was hoping to do both, day/time night time listening. Or music aloud when my wife is fine with it , and headphones othertimes
Not before I tried putting them on my desk on either side of the monitors. If they aren't at ear height that way, throw some books under them to experiment. If it works out, then get some stands or some aurelex mopads to aim them up toward your ears.
I wouldn't get NHTs over your Q300s. Any speaker, sealed or front ported, will have some influence with boundary gains putting them up next to the wall. I don't think that the NHTs will offer you any benefits. See how your speakers sound first.
@pase22 & cel4145 - I've been trying to plan this out in my head. My question is, off the centerline, what is a decent maximum angle left/right for the speakers?
Not before I tried putting them on my desk on either side of the monitors. If they aren't at ear height that way, throw some books under them to experiment. If it works out, then get some stands or some aurelex mopads to aim them up toward your ears.
I wouldn't get NHTs over your Q300s. Any speaker, sealed or front ported, will have some influence with boundary gains putting them up next to the wall. I don't think that the NHTs will offer you any benefits. See how your speakers sound first.
I would place them beside your monitors, and then toe them in such that the tweeter is pointed toward you. It's an experiment to see how it sounds. Place with the angle a little bit and see what is best
Thanks all - it took a bit more than 5-10 minutes but I moved everything around ( quite a few times) and have everything re-arranged in a far better manner now. (see attached).
One question I am hoping you can help with - Do you know of a good source for a 6" desktop speaker stand? As you can see the left speakers is on a floorstand (36") , but I have no place for one on the right, so it is on my 30" desk. Suggestions?
I would place them beside your monitors, and then toe them in such that the tweeter is pointed toward you. It's an experiment to see how it sounds. Place with the angle a little bit and see what is best
I don't think there's a right or wrong answer to the amount of angle to put them at. If it were my room, I'd put one where the record player is and the other right by the window. The Q100 and Q300 come equipped with a bracket for wall mounting. If wall mounting is not an option, place the stands as close as you can to the above mentioned locations.
Alternatively, you can move the desk to a better location as mentioned by Dargent or Move stuff off the desk as cel recomended which would be your easiest solution. Wall mounting would keep them out of your way and you wouldn't need to move anything.
And experimenting with placing them on the desk is not permanent and takes 5 to 10 minutes to setup. You should try it and see. Could be you'll like the sound so much and be willing to sacrifice the desktop space. If not, then discuss this further. But right now, it makes more since to experiment some than to discuss it.
And experimenting with placing them on the desk is not permanent and takes 5 to 10 minutes to setup. You should try it and see. Could be you'll like the sound so much and be willing to sacrifice the desktop space. If not, then discuss this further. But right now, it makes more since to experiment some than to discuss it.
That looks a lot better than it was before so you're on the right track. Your best option would be to try fitting in your other stand so both speakers are at the same height and keep it out of your way. The ones I see available on amazon are somewhat expensive and impractical so DIY may be a better solution.
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