In-Wall Speakers

Crush2019

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Hi,

I'm looking at installing some wall speakers myself. I have Acoustics Speakers 7.1 at the moment - but would like to get rid of the centre and the two main front speakers for in wall speakers.

What do you suggest? - I keep looking on the web and it says need to a professional custom dealer to fit them and configure them.

Looking to spend £600 on each speaker... I would like the speakers flush in the wall and an option to paint the grill the same colour as the wall.

Thanks in advance..

Lil
 
Hi Lil,

I changed my 4 surrounds to MK IW85 inwall speakers, there is also the MK IW95 speakers both of which should fit your budget.

These speakers need less than 4" mounting-depth and are very easy to install. They are supplied with a white metal grille that can be painted, I was going to paint my own after the install but preferred the white finish against my walls but I know that would depend on your own wall colour.

Most importantly the speakers sound superb and work equally as well for the fronts as they do for surrounds.

Dave :smashin:
 
many many thanks for your prompt reply - I will look at those now..
 
Would it be possible to take a photo of your speakers, and post it so I can see this feature

"Unlike virtually all other in-wall speakers, MK Sound's in-wall speakers don't require the plastic “picture frame” that can be so visuallydistracting to interior design."

thanks
 
When I installed my speakers the room was finished and clean so it wasn`t feasible to use them as a proper inwall speaker so I decided to have them as an onwall speaker and built an mdf housing to fit them in and this would act as the cavity for the speaker, it`s the same install principle though.


68a.jpg



72a.jpg



There are some more photos on my room thread HERE

If you can imagine; the front of the speaker is a flat metal plate with the driver / tweeter, there is a bolt hole in each corner and 4 small disc magnets to hold the grille securely.
There are long machine-screws that screw through the front and into a flat metal plate inside the hole / cavity. This plate is approx 3" wide and the length of the speaker and fits vertically at each side of the speaker frame.
When you screw down the gap between the thin rear plate and the front frame reduces so it acts as a clamp. Because of this the hole in the wall does need some form of edge or lip at each side of the speaker to clamp onto. Easy enough if it`s plasterboard but a little more tricky with a brick wall.

Well worth the effort though for these speakers, especially for home cinema use.

Dave :smashin:
 
Would it be possible to take a photo of your speakers, and post it so I can see this feature

"Unlike virtually all other in-wall speakers, MK Sound’s in-wall speakers don’t require the plastic “picture frame” that can be so visuallydistracting to interior design."

thanks

these are my IW85`s as mentioned by Jacked earlier

this one shows the cutout into the plasterboard and no need for anything else, the border is actually masking tape to seal the p/board and the sponge inside the hole is supplied with the speakers

DSC00315.jpg


and this is it in situ without the grill which only protrudes about 4-5 mm

DSC00320.jpg


they work great for fronts but are superb as direct radiators for surround.
duties, I use 2 x 85`s and 2 x 95`s.

cheers

Allan @ Ideal AV
 
many thanks for all the help and is there a grill that goes over them?

I will probably go for these for the centre and front, and then ceiling speakers for the surrounds (7.1) any suggests there?
 
Yes, these do come with a white-paintable grille.

This is how mine ended-up looking when I`d finished, I didn`t bother painting them though !


84a.jpg
 
excellent thanks for that so I will use 3 x 95's for the front and the centre.

Can anyone recommend ceiling speakers for surround?
 
excellent thanks for that so I will use 3 x 95's for the front and the centre.

Can anyone recommend ceiling speakers for surround?

yes to the 95`s for the front LCR, they will be excellent

we use 85`s for surrounds, inwall and inceiling which work very well in either position

also their is a new IW5 ceiling speaker with round & square grill which are very very good, these should be available towards the end of June.

cheers Allan
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Out of interest what do you use to power the Mks. I have a Pioineer SC-LX56 and was wondering if you think this is powerful enough. I am looking at IW150 or IW95 In Wall Fronts.

Do you have any advice for me?
Thanks
Nigel.
 
You seem to be getting a handle on the situation, but you might still find some insight in this other thread -

"in-wall" speakers? | AVForums

Summarized -

- The range of speakers available to you is huge, from tiny completely invisible In-Wall Speaker, to In-Wall speakers that are the equivalent of floorstanding speakers.

- Give due consideration to what it means to place speakers In-Wall and/or In-Ceiling. They do not magically appear in place, and more importantly neither does the wire. Generally that means cutting holes in your walls and ceiling to put the speakers in, but also tearing up your walls and ceilings to get the wire in place.

- Consider the construction materials of your walls, if they are standard wood frame covered with plaster board, then you should have no problem. However, if they are brick, stone, masonry, or non-standard construction, etc... then your best bet is to build a False Wall made of wood and plaster board. This applies mostly to In-Wall speakers.

Most people who are going through the trouble of building a False Wall will also build in a place to mount the TV and the rest of the Audio and Video Equipment.

Some build Floating Walls with back lighting making the whole unit look like it is ...well... floating.

There is an existing Home Cinema DIY forum, and you should be able to find many examples of False and Floating Wall projects -

Home Cinema Building DIY | AVForums

Here is just one example of a very basic Floating Wall with in-wall speakers -

Living Room Flush Floating Wall 5.1 Build with AV Rack | AVForums

One last point, picking In-Wall and In-Ceiling speakers is like picking any free-standing speakers, you have to choose the speaker that does the job you need done. If you want big floorstanding like sound, then you need to pick in-wall speakers that mirror that. If you want the equivalent of tiny Satellite speakers, then you have to choose the speakers appropriately. If you want speakers capable of standing on their own as music speakers, then again, you have to choose appropriately.

So, it is important for you to truly know what it is you are trying to achieve, before you start buying equipment. Further it is important for you to understand what the installation of these speakers means, before you start buying speakers. In-Wall are not so complicated you simply drop wire down to a Terminal Plate below the speakers. However, if you want full in-wall wiring back to the amps, you have to understand what that means in terms of getting the wire from the speaker to the amp.

I have nothing against In-Wall or In-Ceiling, but you need to understand it before you commit to it. That's all I'm saying.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Out of interest what do you use to power the Mks. I have a Pioineer SC-LX56 and was wondering if you think this is powerful enough. I am looking at IW150 or IW95 In Wall Fronts.

Do you have any advice for me?
Thanks
Nigel.

Having looked at the specs of the SC-LX56 it looks more powerful than the Onkyo 818 I was initially using to run my MP150/S150T on wall speakers, so I don't think you'll have a problem running the IW150/IW95 from it. I have since added a separate power amp, but your SC-LX56 is more powerful than my 818 so perhaps it would show less improvement anyway adding one to your set up, so by no means an essential purchase (just a potential future upgrade).

The IW150 are very similar to the MP150 I have (though the tweeters in the IW150 are the older version, so they may tend to sound slightly brighter than my MP150s). However, unlike many in wall speakers at least you could have a demo of the MP150 on wall version and get a very good idea of what the in wall versions will sound like before you install in walls.

You will of course need a decent subwoofer to go with these in wall speakers. I had the BK Monolith when I first got my MP150s and it worked OK, but when I added my own pair of DIY 15" subs this raised the performance of the whole system to another level. I'm not saying you need to go out an build a pair like I have, but perhaps consider what sub options there might be in your budget to complement these speakers.
 
Thanks For your input Kevin, spoke to Rob at Gecko (MK Sound uk) and he came to the same conclusion. Although for the sub I will need a separate amp to supply enough power. I agree that a separate active sub might be a good idea and keep the power clean.

Good to hear a review from someone who owns the MK speakers.
 
You will of course need a decent subwoofer to go with these in wall speakers. I had the BK Monolith when I first got my MP150s and it worked OK, but when I added my own pair of DIY 15" subs this raised the performance of the whole system to another level. I'm not saying you need to go out an build a pair like I have, but perhaps consider what sub options there might be in your budget to complement these speakers.

Kevin I would be interested in hearing more information about your custom subs. If this keeps the cost down and for the short term acceptable performance vs off the shelf £1000+ subs. I might build my own also.

I have some experience in this area, I built many sub enclosures when i was younger for car stereos and comps, as back then this was our only option. I'm a little rusty as it's been so many years but should pick it up again.

If build my own I could afford more and fill my sound stage more effectively. (I would presume)


Nige.
 
I used the very helpful DIY sub section in the subwoofers part of the forum for advice, plus I basically built the closest thing to the USC15 sub which I'd heard at Gecko when demoing the MK sound speakers.

I bought my cabinet from 'Gordy' off eBay which saved me a lot of hassle building (and pretty cheap too), plus 2 x FiQ series drivers, a Beringer NU6000DSP amp plus sundries such as connectors and cable. I reckon it came to about £1400 for the pair which is the same price as buying a single ready made USC15. I'd say that mine are more 'assemble it yourself' than 'DIY' but I'm very pleased with them.

My room suffers from a wide null when using a single front of room subwoofer, so the second sub helps not only with extra headroom, but it also 'fills' this null, so I get a very smooth response.

This is a link to my build thread, but there are other better looking and even more monstrous home built subs in this section:

My build (skip the first pages starts around page 8/9 photo on page 15 of the 'table' sub, just finishing the front 'black sub' so will add photos later):

2 x 15" Fi Q series build | Page 9 | AVForums

DIY section:

DIY Subwoofer Build | AVForums
 
It certainly saves a lot of the hard work, though to achieve a highly polished finish like JamesVicky has done requires even more effort even if the cabinets are bought in. I don't know if they are suitable for you but he is selling the empty high gloss black cabinets in the forum classifieds:

For Sale - Kef R700's & R200c & 2x 15" matching subwoofer cabinets | AVForums

(No connection to the seller, though I have met him recently at the Gecko meet a few weekends ago).

My own front sub didn't turn out too shabby just using satin black paint and a roller, but it's fairly hidden when in place, so the finish is less critical than some; it just depends on where you plan to put it/them.
 
So today has bee interesting, I went for a demo at Gecko on Monday. Extremely impressed with the setup. But found so much bad mouthing and quite disturbing chat about the reputation.

Things around speakers supplied by MK and a thread regarding his custom subs. Quite frankly I cannot ally believe any of it as his setup was fantastic and as you have said in the past his custom sub sounded amazing.

I got I touch with the new owners of Mk sound today to clarify where they source their parts for the MK speakers, as with all company histories there are always to sides to the story. Let's just say I'm satisfied with how things are progressing with the new Danish owners.

And quite frankly the Danes really know how to make speakers, so it can only be a good thing.

Going to call Rob tomorrow and discuss the sub.

Thanks ever so much for the link to those enclosures.
 

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