Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions M22ti : Up against the wall ?

Wife and I are designing cabinetry to go along the wall in our family room. Imagine a 24" deep base cabinet with bookshelves on the wall above. The base cabinet is going to hold the audio equipment and the TV will sit on the countertop. The issue is placement of the M22Ti's we use as our front speakers. She of course would like to put them on a shelf with their back against the wall (Actually she would like to put them inside the base cabinet with grille clothe in the cabinet door but I think I have defeated that proposal). I would leave them on their stands in front of the new cabinet or on the countertop next to the TV, in front of bookshelves, which would put the back of the speakers about 12-15" out from the wall.

It seems to me the M22Ti can't really sit within an inch or two of a wall on a bookshelf because of the rear porting, but what do I know? So can somebody answer this : how close to a wall can you put a rear ported speaker without affecting the quality of the sound ?

Hi Harvey S.
I have M22's on stands up front and only 3.25 inches from wall,with great sound.
Ian stated in one of his posts 4-5 months ago,you could go as little as 2 inches from the wall without it being to close because of the port hole.
I think 1 inch is a bit to close,but Ian or Alan can answer that question better.

Harvey_S
Paul is correct. You should be able to push them back to the "wall" within 3 or 4 inches easy. Generally, the closer to the wall the more bass reinforcement you get. But your bigger problem could be boundry /reflection issues IF you set them "inside" a bookshelf of some sort - with cabinet sides and/or shelves that actually stick out further than the front of the 22s. If you do put them on the cabinet (next to the TV) then try to pull them out as close to the front edge of the cabinet to avoid reflections from the cabinet walls/shelves. Just imagine a location that mimics the placement of the 22s on stands in free space and about 6-12" from the wall. You may need to experiment a bit, but I think you can find a decent "compromise" for placement, sound, AND a happy wife.

Good Luck!

Randyman

Hi Harvey_S,

Paul and Randyman's advice is solid. The space behind the port is the least of your concerns. Surrounding or nearby surfaces (shelves, cabinetry, walls) can have profound effects on a speaker's sound. Thank heavens you nixed the notion of sticking them inside the base cabinet behind grille cloth (Ian would weep!).

Your plan to use the countertop or leave them on stands is the most desirable. You could do some A/B experiments, putting one speaker in a temporary location and the other M22ti elsewhere, switching between the two to see how much the sound changes. You may be surprised.

Regards,