Bookshelf speakers on floating shelf

jjharrison · 13 Jul 2017 at 16:59

Hi all,

I own a pair of audio engine a5+ and like most, love them. However after a recent purchase of 2 27" monitors I under-estimated how much desk space they would take up.

I'm looking at putting the speakers on a floating shelf to free up some room on my desk for my PC and have a couple of questions:

1. has anybody done this with say a floating corner shelf and have they experienced and vibrations as apposed to placing the speakers on a firm solid surface.

2. Wall clearance here is my main issue as audioengine recommend at least 6inches. I'm thinking with the size of shelf I'm looking at my wall clearing will be about half that. What are the consequences of this/is it the end of the world?

Many thanks

Marsman · 13 Jul 2017 at 17:17

No idea about how they will perform on a floating shelf, but I would guess if the shelf is solid enough, it shouldn't be a problem. If a shelf just slides on to something for example without being secured solidly, there is perhaps a greater chance vibration will cause a noise.

As for the distance from the wall, there's no hard and fast rule, despite what manufacturers claim as a recommended distance. Some speakers perform poorly when too close to a wall, for some, there is no real detrimental effect to the sound. This is something you can experiment with though, certainly more easily than you can with trying them on a floating shelf, without actually having a floating shelf.

Rroff · 13 Jul 2017 at 17:24

Yeah definitely watch out for position in relation to walls, etc. especially with ports - my Edifiers sound slightly suffocated if there isn't about 4-5 inches of clearance behind them. Might be worth testing vertical position as well - again with my Edifiers noticeable difference in the sound depending on their height relative to my ears.

jjharrison · 14 Jul 2017 at 09:35

Thanks for reply guys... so as I'm impatient I went ahead and bought the shelves as they were cheap. Height was something I hadn't really considered but actually placing the speakers slightly higher in my case has done the world of good since I tend to sit back if I'm listening and not be up close and personal to my monitors. As for the wall clearance, I'm able to bring the speakers out to at least 6 inches so I'm happy as the shelves are solid enough

thanks again