eCoustics: "How Speakers Radiate Sound: Why Wall Units are the Enemy?"

[Suhit Gupta]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/118971.html' target='_blank'>http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/118971.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"When we see a forward-firing loudspeaker facing us, it seems reasonable to assume that it is radiating its sound output toward us, producing little or no sound to the sides and rear. After all, it's called a "forward-firing" speaker, correct? And its drivers are all mounted on the front panel of the speaker enclosure, facing the listener. But this simple label overlooks an important aspect of loudspeaker performance that becomes crucial when home theater fans want to place speakers into a secondary enclosure like a big, custom-designed wall unit with special cavities intended to accommodate floorstanding speakers."</i><br /><br />Very interesting. I had never actually though about wall units from this point of view. I still wonder though what the best way to hide speakers is? I used to have mine above bookshelves before I got floor standing ones that have no hope of being hidden, but I have seen people hide speakers in all kinds of places that would clearly cause problems with radiation of sound. What techniques do you guys use?

[Philip Colmer]

We haven't bothered to hide our speakers. We've got a surround-sound configuration using M &amp; K K-series speakers:

http://www.mksound.com/Kseries1.htm

The three front speakers are all K-5s. The left &amp; rights are mounted horizontally underneath corner cabinet units so that they aren't immediately obvious. The centre speaker is currently on top of the TV but when we move to a plasma screen, I'll probably mount it on the wall underneath the display.

The side speakers are K4s - excellent triple cone speakers.

The rear speakers are K5s.

The beauty of the K4s &amp; 5s is their size - they are not very big at all but they are fantastically clear and powerful.

--Philip