In-Wall Speakers?

[Newbie_in_Phoenix]

Hi:

I have an old pair of Radio Shack speakers which I purchased about 20 years ago. While they still work fine, my wife has made a few comments about the space the speakers occupy. My question is how is the quality of in-wall speakers by comparison to floor standing speakers? I found a pair of JBL SP8II which are around 300 bones. My concern is will the in-wall speakers have the same depth of sound as the floor speakers? I don't want to go through the process of installing the speakers if the quality is not there. I should note the current system is not used for a TV. I stream the audio over a wireless link from my great room HTR.

Thank you in advance for your opinions!

[Rob71]

I heard a demo of Triad speakers a few months ago that were amazing.

[JimShaw]

Originally Posted by Newbie_in_Phoenix

Hi:

I have an old pair of Radio Shack speakers which I purchased about 20 years ago. While they still work fine, my wife has made a few comments about the space the speakers occupy. My question is how is the quality of in-wall speakers by comparison to floor standing speakers? I found a pair of JBL SP8II which are around 300 bones. My concern is will the in-wall speakers have the same depth of sound as the floor speakers? I don't want to go through the process of installing the speakers if the quality is not there. I should note the current system is not used for a TV. I stream the audio over a wireless link from my great room HTR.

Thank you in advance for your opinions!

My wife had the same thougthts. I went with SpeakerCraft speakers and I think they are great

http://www.speakercraft.com/

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by Newbie_in_Phoenix

Hi:

I have an old pair of Radio Shack speakers which I purchased about 20 years ago. While they still work fine, my wife has made a few comments about the space the speakers occupy. My question is how is the quality of in-wall speakers by comparison to floor standing speakers? I found a pair of JBL SP8II which are around 300 bones. My concern is will the in-wall speakers have the same depth of sound as the floor speakers? I don't want to go through the process of installing the speakers if the quality is not there. I should note the current system is not used for a TV. I stream the audio over a wireless link from my great room HTR.

Thank you in advance for your opinions!

You'd probably be better off going on-wall instead of in-wall. You can tilt and swivel on-wall speakers for directional control, and have far better results.

High end in-wall speakers can sound terrific, but some have active amplifiers or other features running into thousands of dollars. The cheaper in-wall units aren't usually very well designed, and are limited to ambient sound, not excellent audio.

In the price range you're looking at, Definitive Technologies makes the Gem series - small speakers with terrific sound, and good looks, too. You can get great sound without the usual rectangular box.

Klipsch also makes nice on-wall units at reasonable prices. And if you're going to do all the wiring in the wall, it's less messy (and less permanent if you change your mind) if you go on-wall.

[moviefan]

Originally Posted by Blu-Dog

In the price range you're looking at, Definitive Technologies makes the Gem series - small speakers with terrific sound, and good looks, too. You can get great sound without the usual rectangular box.

Klipsch also makes nice on-wall units at reasonable prices. And if you're going to do all the wiring in the wall, it's less messy (and less permanent if you change your mind) if you go on-wall.

Excellent advice!
My Klipsch SLX on-wall speakers (now replaced by the IKON series) have been great.
The Def Techs are very good too.
When I updated my system I considered in-walls, but no one could explain how they could work well with no enclosure. Some high-end in-walls have a recessed enclosure that should solve this problem.

[Sherm]

I went with the Polk In-walls and were amazed at how they sound. you can look at my Gallery and see how they look. The LC series I have in the Den is a better speaker than the TC series I have in the Theater room.

[crackinhedz]

http://www.monoprice.com/products/su...08&cp_id=10837

I'm thinking of getting the 8" in-ceiling speakers...

[jeff92k7]

Originally Posted by moviefan

When I updated my system I considered in-walls, but no one could explain how they could work well with no enclosure. Some high-end in-walls have a recessed enclosure that should solve this problem.

Not having a back box (enclosure) is not really a problem if the speaker is properly designed. Without an enclosure, the manufacturer just has to make the woofer with a tighter suspension since there is no, or little, rear pressure to help control it's motion. A speaker in an enclosure, will reduce pressure in the "box" as it extends and increase pressure in the box as it recesses. These pressure differentials help to control the motion of the woofer and keep it from overextending. Speaker cones can easily be manufactured with a tighter suspension so that they don't have to rely on the pressure of a "box" to help control their motion. Good in-wall speakers are made this way.

Now you may be asking, what about speakers with tuned bass ports. They still rely on the pressure differences to a point. Just having a small opening (bass port) in a large enclosure will not make the speaker act as if it is in open air. Physics tells us that all the air can not escape a small hole all at once, so there is still a pressure build up or reduction in the box.

Simply being a free air type speaker does not mean it will sound bad. They can actually sound very good, and in some cases even better than a standalone, enclosed counterpart. The most important thing in speaker construction is to keep the sound waves that emminate from the rear of the cone from immediately interacting with the sound waves from the front of the cone. If they are allowed to immediately interact, then the pressures will cancel each other out vastly reducing the speakers volume output as well as drastically altering it's measured frequency response. An enclosure (box) or a wall (in-wall) both serve to accomplish this. They keep the sound waves on each side of the cone separate so that they don't cancel each other out.

Now, how can an in-wall speaker sound better you ask? Simple. As bass frequencies generate from an in-wall speaker, they form along a parallel surface (the wall) that extends far beyond where the front face of a "box" speaker leaves off. These frequencies can continue to expand along the wall and, in effect, turn the entire wall into part of the speaker. With a properly designed in-wall speaker, this effect can be put to use to make the speaker sound much larger than the same speaker drivers would in a box enclosure.

As with any type of speaker, quality costs money, so don't expect to get excellent sound from the bargain basement type of in-wall speaker. In fact, you probably have to be even more cautious when buying in wall speakers to make sure they aren't just cheap in-cieling speakers that were originally designed for overhead paging or similar and placed into a rectangular faceplate instead of a circular in-ceiling faceplate.

I have in-wall speakers for my surround channels and absolutely love them. They sound far better than the standalone satellites that I had a long time ago. I highly recommend in-wall speakers, IF you take the time to research them and find high-quality speakers that will fit your room AND take the time to properly measure the acoustic properties of the room to determine where to install them. These can't be moved once they are installed without major wall repair, so be sure you know where you want them before cutting that first pilot hole.

[kingofgrills]

You might want to consider in-wall speakers from Definitive Technology as well. Def Techs always have a good rep, and their in-walls are surprisingly affordable.

The MK Sound in-walls look great, since they're largely in-wall versions of their acclaimed studio monitors, but their prices are a bit higher than the Def Techs

Check it out:

http://www.abt.com/category/659/In-Wall-Speakers.html