Struggling with speakers

[Dave5210]

My concern is that my main speakers will be placed in a HT cabinet. I originally wanted Paradigm monitor 5's, but noticed they're ported out the rear. Would this be a problem? I thought about B&W's for the mains and the rest Paradigm....does that present enough of a problem with timber match etc. to cause me to reconsider? Thanks.....

[soundhound]

Your'e fronts and center are a "must" for timbre matching, even series wise if possible, and the rest become a little more forgiving. As far as the ported mains, is this an in wall installation (cabinet) where as the speaks will be there as well? My Klipsch RF's are ported and are about 5" off of the back wall, and all is well.

[gd]

You're right to be concerned... make every effort to keep speakers out of a HT cabinet, rear-ported or otherwise... it's virtually impossible for a speaker to perform to its full potential while residing in yet another box.

There may be a few acoustic suspension (sealed box) designs that may be less problematic in a cabinet, but they're few and far between... it's still the least desirable option.

If speakers need to be discrete for the purpose of decor, you might consider in-walls or on-walls, now available from many manufacturers... but do yourself a favor and keep whatever you get outside the cabinet.

Ditch the cabinet.

[Dave5210]

You're right to be concerned... make every effort to keep speakers out of a HT cabinet, rear-ported or otherwise... it's virtually impossible for a speaker to perform to its full potential while residing in yet another box.

There may be a few acoustic suspension (sealed box) designs that may be less problematic in a cabinet, but they're few and far between... it's still the least desirable option.

If speakers need to be discrete for the purpose of decor, you might consider in-walls or on-walls, now available from many manufacturers... but do yourself a favor and keep whatever you get outside the cabinet.

Ditch the cabinet.

I sure wish I could ditch the cabinet gd. Unfortunately, I made a deal with the wife to try and hide my new system as much as possible. I get new toys.....she get bookshelves and more room to put things on top of other things. This is going to be a custom-built 3-piece cabinet going across the whole wall and I'm thinking about housing the speakers in a cabinet with pocket doors and a sliding shelf that can be pulled out slightly when in use. Would that help any?

[gd]

deal with the wife... custom-built 3-piece... speakers in a cabinet with pocket doors and a sliding shelf that can be pulled out slightly when in use. Would that help any?

Your WAF is acknowledged.

Kinda speculative (haven't encountered that exact solution before), but I think that may help quite a bit, esp if that shelf can be pulled out so that the speakers (including the center) can be positioned entirely in front of the surface of the cabinet (or as much as possible).

Otherwise, be willing to research and shop speakers beyond B&W / Paradigm... they're certainly good makes, but there are so many other types and designs out there that you might want to investigate, esp when you have a challenging environment to deal with.

Happy hunting.