Placing RTi A3 Bookshelves in a cabinet / cubby

PrazVT

Hey guys - need some advice. My cousin just moved to a new house and their entertainment area looks like the image below. He's going to have it redone a bit so that a flat panel (~55") is mounted in the middle and there will be a cubby on the sides and above / or below to place speakers.

The plan right now for the front stage is to use something along the lines of the following:

Polk RTi A3s for the fronts
Polk CSi A6 for the center

**Note, towers aren't an option for him.

The image below I think is what it looks like right now or similar.



I guess he read online that having rear ported speakers in a cubby may limit their abilities somewhat. I know that the RTi A series have the power ports on the back w/ the plates. Would that help mitigate any issues? If not, I guess the other options would be sealed (can't really find any in the same price range) bookshelves or perhaps front ported (Klipsch RB-xx II series).

Thoughts? Advice?

Erik Tracy

PrazVT wrote: »

Hey guys - need some advice. My cousin just moved to a new house and their entertainment area looks like the image below. He's going to have it redone a bit so that a flat panel (~55") is mounted in the middle and there will be a cubby on the sides and above / or below to place speakers.

The plan right now for the front stage is to use something along the lines of the following:

Polk RTi A3s for the fronts
Polk CSi A6 for the center

**Note, towers aren't an option for him.

The image below I think is what it looks like right now or similar.



I guess he read online that having rear ported speakers in a cubby may limit their abilities somewhat. I know that the RTi A series have the power ports on the back w/ the plates. Would that help mitigate any issues? If not, I guess the other options would be sealed (can't really find any in the same price range) bookshelves or perhaps front ported (Klipsch RB-xx II series).

Thoughts? Advice?

Room constraints are a pain -but hey, if that's what you have to work with then you gotta adapt.

The RTiA3s do have rear power ports that 'flair' the bass for rear dispersion, so they are designed to help mitigate mounting configurations that are close to the wall (or in a cubby).

So, the RTiA3s would 'work' - the HT gods will not descend upon your cousin in wrath and wreak terror and destruction on him.

I had to wall mount my RTiA3s as fronts in my room setup so they were about 8" from the front wall. It worked pretty well, imo.

A front ported speaker might be the better option though. But - I think he is still going to experience some bass reinforcement/coupling to the cabinet and the wall.

It then becomes a tradeoff of price/performance for the speakers being considered.

PrazVT

Thanks Erik!

Yeah if the HT gods descended on him, he would probably descend upon me

A front ported speaker might be the better option though. But - I think he is still going to experience some bass reinforcement/coupling to the cabinet and the wall.

You mean with either port configuration?

Erik Tracy

PrazVT wrote: »

Thanks Erik!

Yeah if the HT gods descended on him, he would probably descend upon me



You mean with either port configuration?

In general, any speaker will experience bass reinforcement/coupling the closer you put them to the wall - ever more so if they are in a corner.

PrazVT

Okay, got it. Thanks.