Best In-wall speakers for a challenging setup - Large air cavity behind wall and off-axis listening area

[Quantum Noisemaker]

Hey folks, I'm new to the audio scene, but I've been working on installing some In-wall speakers in a newly purchased house, and have run into some snags. This forum has been really helpful in getting me up to speed, thanks a lot for that.

When the house was built in the early 2000's, it was pre-wired and pre-cut for in-wall speakers. However, the cut-out locations in the main living room are somewhat challenging for two reasons:
1) The cavity behind the cut-outs is very large, leaving a large volume of air behind the speaker.
2) The living room has a raised ceiling (two stories), and the speaker cut-outs are located on the second story (the house is a somewhat open concept style). This means the listening space is off-axis from the speakers by about 45° below.

For the first try, I went somewhat off the beaten path and chose CI70X from PhaseTech. I heard some good things about them from here and here, and liked the idea of going with a US-based manufacturer, so I tried them out. The speaker quality overall seems solid, but when installed they definitely struggle with the 2 above issues (I'd describe the sound as somewhat tinny and a bit distorted. Also ran into some issues with the magnetic grille resonating with the bass and vibrating, but this only occurred on a particularly bass-heavy song. On-axis listening improved the sound quality, but the balcony isn't really the desired listening area). As the speakers themselves seem good, I'm going to try them in some of the less challenging areas (i.e. dining room).

As the living room is likely going to be the main listening area, and there isn't any good space for traditional floor standing speakers, I'd like to try to get in-walls that perform better in this set-up. The speakers are will be purely used for music listening (not a home theatre room). The speakers are paired with a Bluesound POWERNODE Amp.

To solve issue #1, I'm looking at getting speakers with backboxes, as suggested here. Right now I'm looking at Monitor audio's CP-WT150 or CP-WT260.

To solve issue #2, I'm at more of a loss, as I'm not sure how to go about this. What speaker qualities should I look for in regards to off-axis listening?

Any Speaker suggestions or overall pointers are most welcome, Thanks for your help!

Previous thread about this project regarding the wiring here.

 

[Eppie]

Off-axis response is usually only measured by reviewers, and few reviewers test in-wall speakers. That may be why you haven't received a response yet. Having the main speakers up that high was likely a design choice and will present plenty of issues. Some in-walls have adjustable tweeter angles, but 45 degrees is a lot. Have you ruled out surface mount completely? I friend of mine could not use in-walls so he went with speakers on brackets. Specifically the B&W AM-1which is an outdoor speaker but was used for an indoor application. Paired with a Tannoy subwoofer they sounded pretty good and can be angled to the seating location. There is a forum member who deals in Triad speakers, made in the U.S., if you want to consider a custom made solution for in-walls.

 

[DigitalDawn]

Hey folks, I'm new to the audio scene, but I've been working on installing some In-wall speakers in a newly purchased house, and have run into some snags. This forum has been really helpful in getting me up to speed, thanks a lot for that.

When the house was built in the early 2000's, it was pre-wired and pre-cut for in-wall speakers. However, the cut-out locations in the main living room are somewhat challenging for two reasons:
1) The cavity behind the cut-outs is very large, leaving a large volume of air behind the speaker.
2) The living room has a raised ceiling (two stories), and the speaker cut-outs are located on the second story (the house is a somewhat open concept style). This means the listening space is off-axis from the speakers by about 45° below.

For the first try, I went somewhat off the beaten path and chose CI70X from PhaseTech. I heard some good things about them from here and here, and liked the idea of going with a US-based manufacturer, so I tried them out. The speaker quality overall seems solid, but when installed they definitely struggle with the 2 above issues (I'd describe the sound as somewhat tinny and a bit distorted. Also ran into some issues with the magnetic grille resonating with the bass and vibrating, but this only occurred on a particularly bass-heavy song. On-axis listening improved the sound quality, but the balcony isn't really the desired listening area). As the speakers themselves seem good, I'm going to try them in some of the less challenging areas (i.e. dining room).

As the living room is likely going to be the main listening area, and there isn't any good space for traditional floor standing speakers, I'd like to try to get in-walls that perform better in this set-up. The speakers are will be purely used for music listening (not a home theatre room). The speakers are paired with a Bluesound POWERNODE Amp.

To solve issue #1, I'm looking at getting speakers with backboxes, as suggested here. Right now I'm looking at Monitor audio's CP-WT150 or CP-WT260.

To solve issue #2, I'm at more of a loss, as I'm not sure how to go about this. What speaker qualities should I look for in regards to off-axis listening?

Any Speaker suggestions or overall pointers are most welcome, Thanks for your help!

Previous thread about this project regarding the wiring here.

Take a look at these Triad In-Walls. Excellent speakers with completely sealed cabinets. https://triadspeakers.com/products/home-cinema/inwall-home-cinema/iw-bronze4-lcr/

 

[Eppie]

@Quantum Noisemaker I was hoping DigitalDawn would chime in. Triad does make some great in-walls. The big challenge will be finding something that can either be aimed down towards the main floor or that has a nice flat response curve at 45 degrees off centre. I think it might be worth contacting DigitalDawn via private message for some consulting. Gene from Audioholics does consulting as well. Might be easier in the long run than trying different in-walls one after the other.

 

[panteragstk]

In-walls with cabinets are going to be the best you can get. I have some without and wish they had them. I could make them, but my space doesn't really allow for anything more.

Also, @DigitalDawn is great to work with. My theater wouldn't be complete without her.

 

[DigitalDawn]

In-walls with cabinets are going to be the best you can get. I have some without and wish they had them. I could make them, but my space doesn't really allow for anything more.

Also, @DigitalDawn is great to work with. My theater wouldn't be complete without her.

That's so nice, thanks!

 

[DigitalDawn]

@Quantum Noisemaker I was hoping DigitalDawn would chime in. Triad does make some great in-walls. The big challenge will be finding something that can either be aimed down towards the main floor or that has a nice flat response curve at 45 degrees off centre. I think it might be worth contacting DigitalDawn via private message for some consulting. Gene from Audioholics does consulting as well. Might be easier in the long run than trying different in-walls one after the other.

Thanks Eppie. We offer a Free Triad Speaker Design Service for those folks who want to buy Triad.