Speakers placed against back wall

Have been in your boat before, although 6 inches is very close. Totem speakers tend to work okay against a back wall even though they are rear ported - with a little adjustment here and there you can probably make them work. I have the Totem Hawks about 18 inches from a back wall and they sound great. The cabinetry is beautiful as well. Although not necessarily a guarantee, try some front or bottom ported speakers - Spendor, Tyler come to mind. Also I think Gradient has a speaker designed for close placement.

Tyler might also be able to do some custom tuning for your close placement situation as well. Another person you might want to have a discussion with is Duke (Audiokinesis). There aren't many people that know as much about speakers as he does.

Hawks vs. Tyler System 2: Actually have not heard the System 2, only the Linbrooks from Tyler.

I can tell you about the Hawks. They are beautiful to look at and excel in the midrange and in imaging - they really disappear. They are great in a small or medium sized room and benefit greatly in my opinion when paired with a good subwoofer (I use two actually but have a large room). They sound better to me with lots of power - I use a 200W/channel amp - although they cannot be played super-loud or the woofer starts to sound woolly. Don't get me wrong, they play more than loud enough for me. I think they sound better on blues, jazz and quiter rock than they do with say classic or heavier rock.

The Tyler Linbrooks are most deifinitely a step up in my opinion but I am not sure about the System 2. The Absolute Sound did a review this past year on the System 2 and loved them - they also love the Hawks.

Sorry I can't give you more of a direct comparison.

I meant that I have heard the Linbrook Signatures and think those are a step up.

Tom - keep me posted please. Very interested to see what you think of the Tylers and how they work in your situation. If I can swing an upgrade in the future it may well be to the Linbrook Signatures which I think share a sonic signature with the System 2.