One of the most popular trends in home theater systems is to install your rear and side speakers in either the wall or the ceiling. The effect of this is add greatly to the listening experience while getting rid of the clutter associated with satellite or free standing speakers. If your home is designed in a modern style then the clean uncluttered look of ‘in wall’ speakers is essential to maintain your style.
Unlike conventional home audio speakers the added benefit of the ‘in-ceiling’ speakers or ‘in-wall’ speaker is to provide an installation that greatly improves the overall sound quality and depth of your system. Rather than having the left and right speakers driver mounted in a cabinet containing the speaker the ‘in wall’ system has the driver mounted in a frame that is then placed in a cavity in the wall. This then results in the speaker having a much better bass response and a greatly improved speaker performance over an equivalent freestanding speaker. Some may be confused about the concept of the ‘in wall’ speaker and the ‘in ceiling’ speaker. Rest assured they are both the same speakers in the same mounting frames, the only difference is one is in the wall and the other in the ceiling.
You can choose to use either round or rectangular speakers in the wall or ceiling. Traditionally the rectangular ones are found in walls and round speakers are found in ceilings. It does not matter technically. In either case the most important thing is the proper installation in the wall or ceiling; size of the opening and the ability to firmly anchor the speaker is critical.
Improper installation can greatly degrade the frequency response of the speakers and the sound quality of your whole system. The choices you make for your in wall speakers are just as important from a technical point of view as when buying freestanding speakers. Available rough in kits and the correct size and type of speaker wire are also important to consider. Make your decision based on room type, music types and available budget. This is an area where you certainly do get what you pay for. You really do want dramatic movie sound from your home entertainment speaker system!
Some of the technical factors to pay attention to are frequency response – both on the high end and the low end; power rating – it is very important to match and balance your system’s power handling with your amplifiers. Finally the overall efficiency and features of the speaker pairs are to be considered. Once your choices are made on the types of home theater speakers to buy … the actual position of each speaker is critical to the overall enjoyment of your system.
Since you will be making holes in the ceiling and / or walls to install the speakers – changing the location is a major expense and job. Think through the seating and listening positions and sound disbursement patterns before finalizing the layout. Also, allow for any new seating you may acquire in the future. Keep in mind that the center channel speaker is critical to listening to movie dialog so its position in relation to the ear is very important.
The overall setup and installation can be done by professionals or yourself, but be sure to research everything carefully in either case. The distance and angle to the speakers, the type off accessories you will use like iPods, digital music and game players all play a role in deciding on the correct speaker position and the type of speaker and receiver to be used. Many people end up with a combination of both in-wall flush mounted surround speakers and freestanding front left and right stereo speakers, center channel speaker and the sub woofer. The decision depends on your room and the type of cabinet your high end performance audio equipment will be placed in.
When you have finally gotten all the decisions made and the speakers installed – you will be thrilled with the benefits of your in wall surround sound system. Full rich sound with no compromises to your home decor. Clean and uncluttered. The only thing visible will be a simple wall or ceiling grill which can be painted to match and will disappear into the background color.