Mounting Book Shelf Speakers

[Howard]

I just bought a pair of Dynaudio Audience 52 SE speakers that will be placed in a wall unit. The speakers sound phenomenal. Both the sales person, who I have known for more than twenty-five years, is extremely knowledgable, and whom I trust implicitly and the speaker literature strongly suggest that the speakers should be placed so that they have a clearance of 18 inches to the back wall of the unit. I might be able to squeeze out 10 inches if I put the speakers on the edge of the shelf, but there is no way that I can get them out another eight to ten inches. Can anyone suggest some type of bracket that might attach to the back wall andthe speakers so that the speakers can be extended away from the wall when in use and retracted when they are not. Any other options would also be appreciated.

[NickWH]

Dynaudio makes brackets for the Audience 42 & 52 that will let you mount them on the wall:

http://www.dynaudiona.com/mainmenu/brochure/pdf/manuals/wallmnt.pdf

I don't know exactly how far away from the wall it will put them, but I imagine you will still need to use the port plugs. Most rear-ported, and I'll say ALL Dynaudio speakers need to be out away from room boundaries for them to sound their best. They definitely should not be stuffed into a wall unit. If you spent the $1500 on a pair of bookshelf speakers, I would think that you would be interested in getting the best performance out of them. This usually means mounting the speakers on 24 - 28 inch tall, rigid, heavy, mass-filled stands in the $200/pair and up neighborhood, placed in the appropriate location for your room. There are many good stands out there, here is the Dynaudio model:

http://www.dynaudiousa.com/products/stand2.htm

[topspeed]

I'm in complete agreement with Nick. If you are at all concerned with good sound, get some stands.

The problem you're going to get placing your Danes in your wall unit is the rear port isn't going to have enough room to breath. At moderate to high levels, you'll likely encounter "chuffing" and other nastiness as the air tries to find a place to go. This is exacly why your trusted dealer told you a they need a minimum of 18". If Dyn supplies plugs, you're going to need to use them if you insist on bookshelf placement. The downside is a noticeable reduction in dynamic range. Considering your speakers, that kind of untapped potential is somewhat like have a Ferrari with gears 3 thru 6 locked out. What fun is that?

Sorry Howard, but you and/or your dealer should have considered this before you purchased rear ported speakers. Unless you can return them, I'd start looking for stands.

Good luck.