Which TOWERs work well CLOSE to the BACK WALL?

Audio note is designed to work well close to walls and Art Dudley (I believe it's Art Dudley) from Stereophile is absolutely smitten with the AN E

That is a lot of money. If you are spending that kind of money then a couple of auditions (at least) is in order and move the speakers anywhere you want and get a feel how each of the ones you are considering will perform closer to a wall rather than out into the room.

You may want to look at the Linn Akurate 242's in their new gorgeous finishes as they can be placed closer to the wall than most I have seen. Clarity is the name of the game with these and they can sound SUPERB when in the right system.

But, the most important thing is to go out and listen to as many as you possibly can in your price range. Don't forget that the speaker is only as good as what is in front of it so if you need to get anything straight as far as digital or amps then that shuld be first.

Consider room treatment...Bass traps, first reflection zone absorption and buy what speakers you like that sound the best to you. If your room is untreated, you will never hear the true sonic potential of any speaker you choose. Generally, the closer a speaker is to the rear wall, the more perceived the bass is. All untreated rooms overload with bass and make the frequency response of the room far from flat. That issue robs your speakers, system of it's true sonic potential. Room treatments are the best money you can spend on a system...more so than the components themselves, imo.

There's an old saying "the right tool for the job" and whilst the Revel Salon 2 is an excellent speaker, it is the wrong choice 6 inches from the wall.

Thanks for all the comments.

Before this discussion, I was leaning toward Revel Salon2s. Any thoughts on those?

Audio Note

It seems to me that the best approach would be to get something with an active built-in woofer so you can adjust woofer output to room placement and boundary reinforcement. The Vandersteen 5A is in your price range, has a transmission line loaded 7" woofer and a powered and adjustable 12" subwoofer. The midrange and HF drivers are mounted on a minimal diffraction controlled baffle which should help the imaging and clarity in that range.

The Absolute Sound has a rave review about the Steinway-Lyndorf S system. It's actually designed to work with corner and wall placement.

I also agree that you need not stay away from rear ported designs.

It may help to tell us what amp will be driving the speakers. In general, Audiokinesis models (except the Dream Maker) are very flexible due to the ability to adjust or plug the rear ports. You can also adjust the tweeter characteristics as well.

I think the Von Schweikert VR-33's are designed for this purpose if I am not mistaken!

The Vandersteen Quatro is the one speaker that can be custom dialed in to most any room only an inch out from the wall
In fact if they are too far out into the room their mids and lower bass can get thin.
Cheers JohnnyR
Vandersteen dealer

Allison. :-)

Gradient, some Linns, if in a corner, some Klipschs. . Some of these might only be available used and perhaps for a lot less money. I'd be cautious of using most panel speakers with rear output. Not so sure about your room, lots of glass is usually bad, the atypical hexagonal shape might or might not help, it depends on the dimensional ratios and ultimate size/distance. The Martin Logans and Thiels wouldn't appear to be able to perform their best in your unusual environment. I'm not so sure about the others your considering.

The rear port avoid the rear wall is a fallacy.

The port is a pressure relief system that allows part of the bass wave to evacuate from the cabinet, allowing for greater efficiency which are the Thiele and Small parameters for building a ported loudspeaker.

The total bass output of a loudspeakers takes into consideration all of the acoutcial output of a loudspeaker, placing any loudspeaker closer to a rear wall will increase the way the loudspeaker couples with the room and increase bass output which will directly affect the speakers perceived tonal balance.

A loudspeaker's bass output whether it is a front or rear ported loudspeaker makes overall very little real difference, the combined output of the loudspeaker, the placement in the room and the room's overall acoustics are what matter.

Also a port can be partially blocked which will change the speakers loading.

So I would look at any speaker which accomplishes what you want, you will need to work with any high end loudspeaker no matter what in order to get the loudspeakers to perform.

This will include Shatki, Acoustic System Resonators or similar devices and possibly tube traps.

Definitely stay away from rear ported.

The larger Proacs, Spendors and PMC lines use various bottom and/or transmission line venting.

As far as the room goes, that has more to do with room treatments (drapes, furniture, carpet etc.) than the speakers.

Specific speaker choices will depend on the other equipment in the system. If you provide more info in that regard perhaps you will get better suggestions.