Floorstander back space

[kamaaina1]

Aloha gang,
B&W 704 S2’s
I don’t have much wiggle room due to room space, but do I need space behind my speakers? There is a vent hole that can be fitted with the included foam inserts. Not sure if I need or should put those in or not in my situation.
Any thoughts?
Thank you!!

 

[bikdav]

Based on my experiences with rear vented speakers, I would try about 8” or more of space behind them. Experiment and see what happens.

 

[shadyJ]

For the best sound, speakers should have stand-off distances from nearby walls. Since you don't have that, your speakers will not sound as good as they could, but that doesn't mean they have to sound bad.

In that placement, if the bass sounds boomy or overbearing, use the foam inserts to plug the rear ports. That will reduce the bass output which should hopefully result in a more natural sound.

 

[Bucknekked]

The instructions that came with my Salk Songtowers, which have a rear port, is to maintain at least 2x the port diameter from the closest wall for best effect. 4" port means at least 8" of clearance to the closest wall. This will let the port do its job.

Like Shadyj said in his post, just because you don't have the clearance doesn't mean things will sound bad. Experiment a little and see what the affect of moving them may be. I'll wager you'll do just fine.