Flush Mounting Event 2030 rear ported 3 way speakers?

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hally
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Flush Mounting Event 2030 rear ported 3 way speakers?

Post by hally »

Hi,
I am considering buying a pair of these monitors, I had an opportunity to listen to them in action recently and I was very impressed with how they sounded and also very impressed with their price, approx €850 for a pair.
http://www.eventelectronics.com/2030

I would like to flush mount the speakers in the already build soffits in my control room however I am a little concerned about the rear port on the speakers...
1. Are there any potential problems that I might encounter by flush mounting these rear ported speakers?

2. Do i simply make sure that there is enough space/ air behind the port in the already built soffit?

Any other thoughts, advise or suggestions are very welcome
thanks
hally
Eric Best
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Re: Flush Mounting Event 2030 rear ported 3 way speakers?

Post by Eric Best »

Rear ported speakers shouldn't be flush mounted.
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Soundman2020
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Re: Flush Mounting Event 2030 rear ported 3 way speakers?

Post by Soundman2020 »

Rear ported speakers shouldn't be flush mounted
In general, yes. But some can be. I've been talking directly to Eve recently, and they assure me that their rear-ported speakers actually can be soffit mounted (flush mounted) successfully, provided that the port is blocked suitably, and the usual steps are taken to adjust the baffle step response curve accordingly.

So that got me thinking: If theirs can, then why not others? I do recall reading someplace that others have soffit-mounted rear-ported speakers successfully, different brand (not Eve), but I can't find that reference right now, and I don't recall which brand!

It seems to me that the only issue with blocking the port is that you'll lose the low end extension (which might not be a bad thing with some speakers, anyway!), but there shouldn't be any other reason why it can't be done. If the LF driver and amp are well designed, there's no reason why there would be any damage from doing that, since the driver would be subject to the same load and impedance at other frequencies anyway (ones where the port is basically "not there", acoustically, or is seen as very high impedance).

I wouldn't do it unless the manufacturer specifically tells me it is OK to do it with his speakers, but there don't seem to be many good reasons why it would be a problem, except that the response curve would no longer match the published curve. You lose the low end extension, sure, but so what? You mostly gain it back again from the infinite baffle anyway...

- Stuart -
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