Small speakers for kitchen

NotAGolf

NotAGolf

NotAGolf

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I'm looking to utilise the zone 2 feature on my Denon AV receiver and put a pair of speakers in my kitchen.

I've got Tannoy TFX speakers in my living room and the size is perfect. However, I don't think a couple of these on their own without a sub would have the guts. I've got a pair of old Denon bookshelf speakers kicking around which sound great, but they're far too big for where I want to mount them.

Can anyone recommend some speakers which have enough guts to be used on their own but are small enough to be mounted in the corner of the room without looking ridiculous?
 
What you want doesn't exist. The Laws of Physics mean that small speakers are bass- and mid-range limited, just like your TFX's. Put it another way, if small speakers could do bass then you'd already have a TFX-like system without a sub.

The closest you'll get is something along the lines of mini monitors such as Monitor Audio Radius R90. They're physically quite small, and although they won't go as low as the Denons they're still respectable for stereo listening without a sub. The alternatives would be ceiling speakers. The bulk of the speaker is hidden in the ceiling. I'd go for something in 6~6.5" that get down to at least 50Hz and with high efficiency (87dB or better). You'll spend about £250-£400 per pair plus the cost of fire hoods, but it'll be money well spent.
 
Thanks Lucid. Even those R90's you've linked are quote a lot bigger than I'd like. I'll take a look at ceiling speakers. I didn't even consider them as I didn't know they were used in the home.

The other option I have it to try and build my bookshelf speakers into the wall. This should be possible as the back end will be under the stairs so I can cut into this without issue. There's two problems with this approach though:
1) I could only use one speaker in the corner of the room which isn't ideal
2) It would involve 'boxing in' the speaker, which I guess might not be an idea as the port on the back will not be blowing out air as freely as designed?
 
There might not be so much of an issue blocking the bass port. There's a fair few speakers that will work quite happily that way. Some are even sold with foam bungs to restrict the port when the speakers are used close to the back wall. Have a look at the instructions for your speakers.

Positioning is one of those compromises you'll have to make. You could always look at a sub/sat system and bury the sub in-wall if you don't mind the work to do it. This would take a bit of work to strengthen the wall to avoid vibrations.
 
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