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Bookshelf speaker to put on a bookshelf?
#287170 01/16/10 11:39 PM
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I am looking at the M3 and M22 as potential speakers for my 10 x 15 office. The room is setup with bookshelves completely along one of the narrow walls and my desk in the middle of the room facing the shelves. My listening position puts my ears about 12 feet from the front of the bookshelves. The shelf spacing is 14" which means the M3 would stand upright but the M22 would have to be laid on its side.

I was leaning towards the M22 but I'm concerned that laying it on the side will mess up the imagining.

Stands are out. I had speakers on stands in here and they are in the way with my limited floorspace. If I were going that route I'd just go to floor standers since they take up the same amount of room and give better low end and are more stable.

I also have no real desire to add a sub to the mix. The speakers need to give nice tight bass for upright bass and electric bass. I'm not a pipe organ fan.

I listen to everything from Alison Krause to Megadeth to Charlie Christian so the speakers need to cover a lot of musical territory and do it well.

I'm leaning heavily towards the M3's since I think the imaging will be better with them standing upright vs. the sideways M22's. I'd appreciate hearing some input from those who know more about this stuff than I do.

Re: Bookshelf speaker to put on a bookshelf?
Wuchak #287171 01/16/10 11:59 PM
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Also keep in mind that for best bass reproduction, the rear bass ports need to have room to filter into the room. I'm guessing putting them on a bookshelf with no space behind would affect performance.


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Re: Bookshelf speaker to put on a bookshelf?
Wuchak #287177 01/17/10 02:32 AM
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Wuchak, with the restrictions that you describe(unless a section of shelving can be removed to allow more height), it appears that the M3s would be your best choice. The speakers shouldn't be recessed into the shelf so that the rear ports have a few inches of "breathing room". The front edges should extend a fraction of an inch beyond the shelf to minimize reflections and diffractions from the shelf.


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Re: Bookshelf speaker to put on a bookshelf?
JohnK #287180 01/17/10 02:53 AM
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Thanks Sir Quack and John. I wasn't sure about that rear bass port on a shelf and I didn't know about extending them beyond the edge but it makes sense. The shelves are 14" deep and the M3's are 8 1/4" so extending them 1/4" beyond the edge would give 6 inches of space behind them. Would that be enough for the bass port to work? I'm also hoping some reinforcement from the wall will help the bass a bit.

The shelves are 3" wide and I can leave those the speakers are on empty except for the speakers.

Re: Bookshelf speaker to put on a bookshelf?
Wuchak #287181 01/17/10 02:58 AM
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This also has me thinking of giving the M3's the nod

"I’ve had the opportunity to test hundreds of different loudspeaker systems over the past decade. From 80 to 100 Hz upward, the best systems—and I mean best in an absolute sense—have been 6.5" two-way designs." Tom Nousaine http://theaudiocritic.com/plog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=28&blogId=1

Re: Bookshelf speaker to put on a bookshelf?
Wuchak #287182 01/17/10 03:01 AM
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6" is fine. I take it that you don't want to consider surgery on the shelf to create more vertical room.

Excellent article from the Audio Critic, by the way.

Last edited by JohnK; 01/17/10 03:03 AM.

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Re: Bookshelf speaker to put on a bookshelf?
JohnK #287184 01/17/10 03:42 AM
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Sounds like the m3's might be a good choice for your application...


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Re: Bookshelf speaker to put on a bookshelf?
SirQuack #287196 01/17/10 05:39 AM
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Form what has been described I would go with M3's as well \:\)


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Re: Bookshelf speaker to put on a bookshelf?
JohnK #287222 01/17/10 05:00 PM
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 Originally Posted By: JohnK
6" is fine. I take it that you don't want to consider surgery on the shelf to create more vertical room.

Excellent article from the Audio Critic, by the way.


Nope, no surgery on the shelves. I have a five that match and cutting two up would not fly with the wife. \:\)

I like the Audio Critic webzine a lot. They cut through the quasi-religious audiophile nonsense and replace it with meaningful measurements and sound analysis. I also agree with their assertion that once you have a good source and an amp capable of delivering a clean signal, both of which can be had for reasonable money, the only thing that matters is speakers. It's the only part of the chain that makes a measurable difference to the sound.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Looks like I'll be ordering up a set of M3's to audition. Bonus time is right around the corner and new speakers are going to be my gift to myself this year. Now I just need to decide what color to get.

Re: Bookshelf speaker to put on a bookshelf?
Wuchak #287223 01/17/10 05:01 PM
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You could check the audition thread in the "hearing things" section. Might be someone in your area with m3's.


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