It sounds like this setup is going to be acceptable. The cabinets and shelves are all built-in. The shelves come out from the wall 12" and the cabinets another 12" beyond that or 24" total. If I remove the books on the shelf at speaker level, that leaves me a good 15" or so behind, without books, if my math si right. I can put the speakers at the front edge of the cabinet top with no problem.