Hi there! Welcome to the forum
I'm planning on using on-wall speakers in my home theater as well, so I've been listening to several on-wall options.
Long story short, I find most on-wall speakers to be pretty disappointing. One of my main criteria for a good surround sound system is having a perfectly seemless soundstage across the front 3 speakers. In other words, if a sound pans across the front, going from Left to Center to Right - or vice versa - I want that sound to not change at all as it travels from speaker to speaker! This is far easier said than done, since the center speaker is positioned horizontally, while the Left and Right speakers are positioned vertically (at least in most cases). That difference in layout most often means a change in the timbre of the sound as it pans from speaker to speaker, even when all three speakers are literally identical!
In fact, having three literally identical speakers is often the problem because having the tweeter flanked on either side by the mid-bass drivers alters the sound vs. having the mid-bass drivers above and below the tweeter when that exact same speaker is positioned vertically.
So while popular on-wall speakers like the Paradigm Millenium and Definitive Technology Mythos all sound pretty good when used as vertical Left and Right speakers, I've found them to be less than satisfactory when the center is placed horizontally. I want those pans across the front to be seemless and perfect, and they just aren't!
Now, the Revel M10, C10 and M8 are a different story. I actually bought some, brought them home and gave them a proper audition because I was quite impressed with them during a store demo. Ultimately, I returned them, but not because I found them disappointing! I'm simply at a stage in my home theater experience where I'm looking for an even higher level of quality than what this price point could provide. I'm basically now settled on eventually buying some $3000 EACH Focal on-wall IW 1003 Be speakers. I'm just saving up, since, obviously, they ain't cheap!
You can read my impressions of the Revel on-wall speakers in
this thread here .
To be honest, I found the Revel on-walls to be the best sounding speakers in the price range. But they DO have their limitations. You most definitely need a subwoofer and you need to cross it over fairly high at the 110Hz level that Revel recommends. They also can't play extremely loud - although they do fairly well on that front considering their very small size and very light weight. The slightly altered design of the C10 center works well though. And, as I say in that post, these are definitely on-wall speakers. That's where they sound their best. Sitting them on a TV stand or a shelf of any sort does alter the sound. But if you're mounting them right on the wall (as intended), they really do sound pretty darn good!
You also have the nice option to use the Revel S12 surround speakers, which are actually some of my favorite surround speakers, period. The reason I like the S12 so much is because it gives you the option to run the speaker as a di-pole (two sides out of phase), a bi-pole (two sides in phase), a monopole (only one side firing) or a dual monopole (literally two separate speakers in one cabinet). That's the most flexible surround speaker I've come across, and it matches really nicely with the M10 and C10 on-wall front speakers. So if you prefer a more diffuse surround speaker - like I do - I can highly recommend the Revel Concerta S12. It's a fairly large speaker though - although it still mounts easily on the wall and isn't actually any thicker from front to back than the M10 or M8 speakers. But it just looks a lot bigger because it's much wider from side to side
You might also want to check out
this thread here where I talked with another forum member who had some similar questions.
In that thread, I mention the GoldenEar SuperSat speakers, which are in a very similar price range. Now, I found the SuperSats were really not deadly accurate at all. But they ARE quite pleasing to listen to, and I found that they work quite well in compromised placements - like inside an entertainment unit. Basically, I found the Revel on-walls to be more accurate speakers, but they have to be positioned correctly - on the wall and clear of any other surfaces. So if you just have a blank wall with a TV mounted on that blank wall and the Revel on-wall speakers mounted around that TV...that's ideal. But if you have an entertainment unit, or bookshelves or a built-in shelf unit that you're using, the GoldenEar SuperSats are definitely worth an audition, IMO. They aren't as linear and accurate all on their own, but I did find that they handle compromised placements better than most speakers. And their design makes them sound quite pleasing with less than stellar recording quality - like most modern mp3 and iTunes files
The other speakers I mention are the Jamo THX on-wall speakers, which are a bit more expensive, but not a crazy amount more. These are champs if you want LOUD output.
One final option to consider are the Ascend Acoustics HTM-200SE speakers. These are not dedicated on-wall speakers, but they CAN be wall mounted and work pretty darn well that way. They're bigger, boxier-looking speakers though, so if you really like the sleek, slender look of something like the Revel on-walls, they might not be quite what you're wanting in terms of looks. But for their low price, they're really good speakers that can play a bit louder than the Revel on-walls, they're very linear and accurate, I really love the SEAS SE tweeter that they use, and they're just a bit over 6 inches from front to back, so they're not much thicker than the dedicated on-wall speakers.
So, those are several good options. I think one of them should fit your needs nicely
You've got the Revel M10 and C10 on-walls - with the option of M8 or Concerta S12 surrounds. I really like them overall. So if you don't need super loud output and you get a good sub that you can cross over at around 110Hz, they're champs for good sound and sleek looks. You've got the GoldenEar SuperSats, which aren't as linear and accurate as the Revels, but they handle poor placement about as well as any speakers I've heard. You've got the Jamo THX on-wall speakers, which cost more, but can really belt out the high volume levels if you need them. And you've got the Ascend HTM-200SE, which are considerably less expensive, really good, but maybe don't look as good and might not fit the space below the TV or look as good hanging on your wall
Hope that helps!
