In-wall Speaker Recommendations

[j_marinelli]

Anyone have good in-wall speakers they recommend using?

I have a Definitive Technology Sub from my past set up and thought about going with that brand since I have had great luck with the Sub but wanted to see what everyone else has had experience with (good and bad).

Any info is appreciated!

[KingOfJericho]

I am a huge Martin Logan fan and they have a wide range of in-wall options. That said, I just picked up a pair of Definitive Technology AW6500 outdoor speakers which I'm also really happy with.

[P1]

Bowers & Wilkins

[Crimson92]

Originally Posted by P1et

Bowers & Wilkins

+1

[nissan]

Triad's in walls consistently get good ratings from a cost/performance perspective. I don't have them, just from my search as I'm looking for the same in a living room setup.

[Bobble]

I have Pardigm's for my in roof surrounds and like them. I have the round version as they blend in with the lighting cans.

[zx10guy]

If you opt for a B&W (Bowers and Wilkins) option, be sure you're ok with a more aggressive mid to high frequency presentation. It's sort of the signature B&W sound. Some like the sound....some don't.

[RedlinePSI]

I have Definitive Technology Mythos line all around, except for my sub. Amazing sound. My surrounds are the Mythos Gems but they are not "in wall". I've never heard a set of their in wall line but they have a ton of options.

[Dog Face Pony Soldier]

Hard to go wrong choosing any Paradigm product.

Disclaimer: I was the NY Metro Area Paradigm Rep for almost 8 years.

[Dog Face Pony Soldier]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

If you opt for a B&W (Bowers and Wilkins) option, be sure you're ok with a more aggressive mid to high frequency presentation. It's sort of the signature B&W sound. Some like the sound....some don't.

I am not sure where you got that idea, but English audio equipment is known to have a "laid back" sound generally, and B&W's offerings are no different. Not looking to call you out; I just want to dispel the false information you posted.

[ShopVac]

I'm very happy with the Episodes I bought a couple years ago. They angle and have a full enclosure like the B&W. Excellent sound....& won't get rocked on the cost. Worth a look IMO.

http://episodespeakers.com/

[Red Bread]

Yeah, my B&W are very neutral, sometimes frustratingly so.

[AW335TT]

Smoothest B&W I've heard was the 802 Diamond on Rotel amps, not a fan of any B&W with aluminum tweeters.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by glennQNYC

I am not sure where you got that idea, but English audio equipment is known to have a "laid back" sound generally, and B&W's offerings are no different. Not looking to call you out; I just want to dispel the false information you posted.

Hardly false. Laid back? I guess my ears are different than yours. And to qualify my "false information", I happen to own 7 B&W speakers. 2 N805s, 4 N804s, and 1 HTM-1.

I've gone through great lengths to ensure proper sonics in my dedicated listening room. The room is fully acoustically treated. I spent a lot of time with placement of the speakers. All the speakers are identical except the HTM-1 center channel which if I were to do it all again, I would have opted for another N804. Oh and it's no accident all the tweeters and mid-ranges across the front are exactly the same height. The rears are close in height to the fronts.




And here's a pic of my two channel system sporting N805s.



And here's some more stuff to show how OCD I was in getting my dedicated sound room done. The below picture shows a 100A sub panel I had installed when I built out my sound room in my basement. I made sure I had 3 dedicated 20 A feeds into the room. Two of the 20 A feeds are going through the two transformers to the right of the sub panel. These are balanced power transformers from Equi=Tech. These balanced power transformers are supplying power to Bryston 6B-ST amp and my two Velodyne subs (HGS15II and DD18). The third/last 20 A circuit has a rack version of these balanced power transformers feeding the components in my rack.



And here's a real time frequency response curve of the bass performance in my room.



I've had musicians over to hear my system and not one of them had anything bad to say. I posted all of this to say that I may have my opinion about the B&W sound. But it is by no means false. I am extremely critical with my audio. When I bought my speakers, the speakers did enough things right for me to want them. But I always thought the upper mids and highs were too forward and at times bright. All of this got fixed when I had my dedicated sound room built with acoustical treatments. I can now crank the volume as loud as I want without feeling like my ears are going to bleed on source material with a lot of high frequency content.

It's not just me feeling B&Ws can be bright. Here's a link to an old thread on a B&W enthusiast forum discussing and qualifying this bright characteristic. So it's not just me with these impressions of B&W speakers.

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthr...peakers-bright

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by AW335TT

Smoothest B&W I've heard was the 802 Diamond on Rotel amps, not a fan of any B&W with aluminum tweeters.

And that's where I was coming from with my statement as my B&W Nautilus speakers all have aluminum domed tweeters. Per my above rebuttal, the speakers did enough right for me to buy them in the price range I had set when compared to the competition. The way B&W dials in the mids/vocals of their 800 series line is one of the prime reasons I like B&W. This was against some speakers I was comparing them with such as Dynaudio and Sonus Faber.

I haven't auditioned the diamond tweeters yet. And I have purposely not done so because I don't feel like going through another round of upgrade-itis. I'm extremely happy with how my system sounds and don't want to tempt fate. If there is one thing I may upgrade, it will be my surround processor. The Meridian 568.2MM is starting to get long in the tooth for me and I may upgrade to a Classe next year.

[AW335TT]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

And that's where I was coming from with my statement as my B&W Nautilus speakers all have aluminum domed tweeters. Per my above rebuttal, the speakers did enough right for me to buy them in the price range I had set when compared to the competition. The way B&W dials in the mids/vocals of their 800 series line is one of the prime reasons I like B&W. This was against some speakers I was comparing them with such as Dynaudio and Sonus Faber.

I haven't auditioned the diamond tweeters yet. And I have purposely not done so because I don't feel like going through another round of upgrade-itis. I'm extremely happy with how my system sounds and don't want to tempt fate. If there is one thing I may upgrade, it will be my surround processor. The Meridian 568.2MM is starting to get long in the tooth for me and I may upgrade to a Classe next year.

Really nice set up you have, I've never heard dynaudio but I did listen to Sonus Faber with McIntosh and I loved it. Sonus Faber is definitely what I would get for my house when the time comes. I used to want the 803 Diamonds, until I heard them back to back on the same amp.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by AW335TT

Really nice set up you have, I've never heard dynaudio but I did listen to Sonus Faber with McIntosh and I loved it. Sonus Faber is definitely what I would get for my house when the time comes. I used to want the 803 Diamonds, until I heard them back to back on the same amp.

Thanks!

I auditioned a set Dynaudio Contours a while back. Not the latest generation ones. I felt the sound and presentation was just flat....lifeless. It just didn't do anything for me. The owner of the audio store where I auditioned these speakers looked at me like I was talking out of two heads. He couldn't believe I wasn't blown away by the sound.

If there is one speaker type I would love to dabble in...now that I make a good living and have a dedicated room...it's electrostatic speakers. I remember loving the sound from speakers like Apogee Stages and Martin Logan Sequels.

[AW335TT]

Not a fan of those either, I've heard them several times. I always felt the sounds had no depth, never heard any great mid bass out of them.

[zx10guy]

Electrostatic speakers tend to be very sensitive with room characteristics and placement. They're also not the easiest of speakers to drive. I remember the Apogee speakers being extremely difficult on amps with impedance dips down to 2 Ohms. I think the depth concerns can be alleviated by integration of a good sub. The Sequels I heard had a 8" sub but I feel they can benefit with additional bass reinforcement.

The thing I always loved about electrostatic speakers is the holographic nature of the vocals.

[AW335TT]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

Electrostatic speakers tend to be very sensitive with room characteristics and placement. They're also not the easiest of speakers to drive. I remember the Apogee speakers being extremely difficult on amps with impedance dips down to 2 Ohms. I think the depth concerns can be alleviated by integration of a good sub. The Sequels I heard had a 8" sub but I feel they can benefit with additional bass reinforcement.

The thing I always loved about electrostatic speakers is the holographic nature of the vocals.

They were Martin Logans with a sub being driven by McIntosh tubes, just didn't like the tonal characteristics of them. I'm very picky, and usually when I like something, I tend to dislike everything else lol.

[Inspired]

I originally bought Martin Logans. The 2 rear were inside the front 3 were outside. The sound wasn't up to my expectation for the Martin Logans. Luckily Bestbuy were nice enough to let me return them.

A friend of mine recommended me to check out Paradigm in-walls. Since I was having my whole place remodeled. The Paradigm was more than twice the price of my Martin Logan but I am very satisfied.

I went with 2 of these in front:



2 of these for the rear:



Paradigm reference series center speaker (discontinued) and SVS PB-2000.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by AW335TT

They were Martin Logans with a sub being driven by McIntosh tubes, just didn't like the tonal characteristics of them. I'm very picky, and usually when I like something, I tend to dislike everything else lol.

Same goes for me.