Hi,
I'm wondering what is the minimum distance from the back wall for an m60 so that it does not color the sound too much. I would post a pic of my setup but I do not have an html link for it right now but I hope my question is clear.
Thanks!
The minimum distance from the back wall doesn't relate to "coloring" the sound but rather giving the rear ports room to "breath". A few inches are enough.
The most important factor in placing a speaker so that boundary effects with the nearest room surfaces don't create uneven response is to have the center of the woofer cones at different distances from these surfaces(floor and two walls). This is to minimize the boundary effects piling up at the same frequencies, causing a big bump and a deep dip.
Hi elsewhere,
To add to JohnK's explanation, the closer you put any floorstanding speaker to the wall behind (or a side wall or both, e.g. a corner), the greater the emphasis of bass frequencies. However, as JohnK pointed out, the emphasis may be quite uneven, causing some frequencies to "boom" or seem to stand out, and others to almost disappear.
It really doesn't have anything to do with the rear ports. The same thing will occur with a sealed acoustic suspension speaker it it's moved closer to the wall behind it. As you move a sealed or ported speaker away from walls (boundaries), the bass emphasis will be reduced.
Regards,
Alan
I used to have m60's and think they were about 4" away from the wall. My current m80's are a little further out, maybe 6-8" but would sound great if they were closer.