The one drawback to In-Wall or more so In-Ceiling, is you have to tear up your walls and ceilings so you can run wire to the speakers.
Obviously not so with free-standing speakers. The other advantage of free-standing speakers is they are not locked into place. If you want to re-arrange the furniture, you simply move the speakers.
However, in-wall can be very discrete, nearly invisible, and it terms of how they sound, you get what you pay for. If you are thinking of in-wall as a way to save money, then you are going down the wrong path. In-Wall will cost as much are free-standing and more when you consider the installation cost.
Next, we have to consider whether your wall can even handle in-wall speakers. If they are brick, stone, or mortar, you are pretty much dead in the water. If they are Stud Frame, then there is some hope. If it is sheet-rock or plaster board over stud-frame, so much the better. While doable, if it is plaster over lath stud-frame, things can get a bit messy, though again, still functional.
Many, rather than cut into their walls, create a False Wall. Typically a basic wood stud construction attached to the wall. You can make a recessed spot and hang your TV, build an equipment cabinet below, and frames in areas for the front and center speakers.
If necessary, perhaps by the next owner of the home, the whole false wall can be easily torn down and removed with very little damage to the underlying wall. Plus, this works nicely over brick, stone, and mortar since you are only screwing to it rather than cutting large speaker holes.
You will find many examples of False Wall in the
Home Cinema Building DIY forum.
Home Cinema Building DIY | AVForums.com - UK Online
These typically show the entire construction process from the bare room, to the framework, to the finishing, to the final product.
Let's see if I can find a good example -
http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-cinema-building-diy/1786738-my-false-chimney-breast.html
You can see the framework he built and eventually created a space for everything he needed in this False Wall. Though small speaker are mounted in surface recesses rather than being actual in-wall speakers, but the principle is the same.
This next one doesn't use in-wall speakers, but it does illustrate the principle being the idea of a false wall -
http://www.avforums.com/forums/home...082-living-room-false-wall-new-extension.html
You can buy in-wall speakers that are as small as satellites or as big as floorstanding speaker. It is really down to your budget -
SpeakerCraft AIM MDU One speaker Hifi Gear
SpeakerCraft DT6 Zero Hifi Gear
Speakercraft AIM LCR3 Three Speaker Hifi Gear
SpeakerCraft AIM LCR 1 Hifi Gear
SpeakerCraft MT8 One Hifi Gear
SpeakerCraft AIM Cinema One Hifi Gear
SpeakerCraft NEAT! LCR Five Hifi Gear
SpeakerCraft AIM Cinema Five Hifi Gear
Just to illustrate the range of possibilities.
Steve/bluewizard