Question In wall speakers for home theatre

[Ambienz]

Hi,

Our downstairs TV is mounted above a fireplace. The wife wants to box everything up, putting floor to ceiling cupboards on either side so it is one clean line.

This will mean ditching the existing black speaker boxes and moving to a build-in LCR system in white.

Does anyone have personal experience or recommendations with these speaker set ups? I once looked at the B&W CWM range, but realised it was going to get very expensive for the 3 + possible subwoofer.

Thanks

 

[ShanePJ]

Depending upon your budget, there are a number of ways you could go. Kef Produce the T-Series in white for such occasions. If you wish to use a boxy system which delivers great sound from a small compact speaker solution the Monitor Audio Radius range are certainly a good place to start as you can mix and match all the speakers within the range to create a bespoke setup or a standard one off the shelf like the R90HT1

If neither of these are ideal, here is a selection of white surround sound speaker packages which may or may not suit your room

If you are going for an LCR system, I'd suggest that the Radius R225 x3 plus a Rel T-Zero Subwoofer as a good starting point, but this will depend upon your overall budget

 

[Ambienz]

Thanks Shane, that's a comprehensive list, but (correct me if I'm wrong) I don't think any of them are in-wall / built in. I was looking for something to hide the boxes and build into new cupboards

 

[ShanePJ]

Apologies, I missed the "in" part of your in wall speaker title

So what size cut out are you looking at then?

 

[ShanePJ]

Depending upon the size, you could look at three HC-LCR speakers The grills are paintable meaning you can choose what ever colour you wish. They also have a magnetic system to stick them to the speakers meaning they also have clean lines. They are also our own line which means we have taken the middle man out to offer a better performing speaker at a low price.

If you are however looking for a branded model, you could look at the Monitor Audio W150-LCR which is a very popular in-wall LCR speaker

Woofers on the other hand which are in-wall are a bit more difficult. Here are a list of in-wall subwoofer, you can see that Monitor Audio are one of only a few speaker brands to offer an external amp, back box plus woofer which create a discrete woofer solution once installed (these components are (IWS-10 - IWA-250 - IWB-10). Spending this king of money on a free standing unit will of course produce a much better experience and depending upon the rooms size, you may be looking at a pair of IWB-10 and IWS10 in-wall components to fill the room fully whereas with a free standing woofer, there is usually always somewhere to hide it

 

[Harkon321]

Rough budget and room size?

 

[NorvernRob]

I have a mix of Monitor Audio in-wall and ceiling speakers (all bought from AV online, some as open box bargains - highly recommended). WT150 used as a centre and WT180’s as L&R, CWT240 in-ceiling surrounds. Sounds great and looks nice and neat.

 

[Gerry557]

in wall speaker reviews are difficult to find. Although anything with a white or paintable grill should be ok. What size can you fit might be more the question. Dali phantom s280 are quite large, just store x2 dvds!

could you put acoustic white fabric over shelf space and hide current or new (bookshelf) speakers.

Failing that good luck at attempting to find useful info on in walls. The posters above have some experiences to share

MK - well regarded but top end
Sonance Visual Performance - might be better price and size wise
Monitor audio cp iw260 - I liked the silver series but floor stander size if thats an issue
Kef CI range including a THX version
Dali phantom smaller versions just in case you dont like 8 inch woofers

I did hear one of the smaller MA in walls and wasnt that impressed but the bigger version should be better.

I suppose a budget expectation might help

 

[Ambienz]

Thanks all for your replies and information. Some answers to your questions:

Budget - Its planned to be a secondary system, so not looking to spend a great deal. Ideally would be looking for something good second hand (a few hundred per speaker), but don't think there are very many second hand items floating around. Not looking at the Dali Phantom / B&W CWM 8.3D price bracket.

Can I use current speakers.
They are currently too deep, but I guess I could just build cabinets deeper to accommodate. Good idea @Gerry557

So what size cut out are you looking at then?

Nothing set in stone. I will build floor to ceiling (2.4m) cupboards and put cut outs in those to suit what ever speaker. They will go beside 65" LG OLED so prob no taller than that.

Woofers on the other hand which are in-wall are a bit more difficult.

Maybe I just need a big hole covered with white mesh and put traditional sub in there. Good idea @ShanePJ

Rough budget and room size?

The area is 5m Deep x 4m wide, (but part of an open plan room that is 14m wide).

 

[ShanePJ]

Maybe I just need a big hole covered with white mesh and put traditional sub in there. Good idea

The only issue with placing a speaker which is housed within a box inside another box can create it own issues. However, if you have as you say a large enough mesh front end, then it will be more like at the cinema's and this should work. Just ensure you use a forward facing woofer and it is married up to mess. Don't forget that bass is omnidirectional and the mess front end needs to be more than the size of the speaker (otherwise you will create than box within a box sound)

As for the right speakers for you. I will add that what speakers have you in the main room. Staying with that manufacture is always a good starting point as even in-wall speakers should deliver that familiar sound which I hope helps steer you in a direction

 

[Nidhoggr]

Did you look at Focal? Their 300IWLCR6 looks like it could fit your requirement. Review.

Or go for the 100 series if budget is an issue, but I am not a fan of that vertical directivity, so I would never use that as a centre front.