In-wall speakers or recessed alcoves?

[QED]

I have a question regarding an in-wall installation which my dealer has been unable to answer.

Specifically, I am constructing a home theater in my celler. The television will be recessed into the wall. I would like the speakers to be flush with the wall as well.

Which of the following options will allow me to acheive better overall sound?

OPTION 1:

Constructing a recessed alcove on each side of the television and placing a Paradigm Reference Studio 40 in the alcove. I am already planning on constructing a recessed alcove above the television for either a CC-470 or CC-570. If an alcove is recommended, what should the dimensions be, relative to the speaker itself?

OPTION 2:

Using a pair of SA-35 in-wall speaker for the front left & right channels and using a recessed alcove CC-470 or CC-570 for the center channel.

Any guidance would be most appreciated.

 

[Lincoln]

Box speakers need space around them to sound their best, so in your case you will be better off using in-walls unless you can build the alcoves large enough to leave at least 2 feet of space on all sides of the speakers...more space would be even better.

 

[tedmjr2]

I chose a hybrid of both options with the Paradigm Studio 20s. They're installed almost like in-wall speakers. I chose the CC-470 because its port is in the front (CC-570 has a rear port).

The speakers are recessed with 1/8" clearance around the front perimeter of the speaker cabinet. I added 1 1/2" moulding on the wall around the speakers to give a clean-looking frame effect. The grills are exposed, protruding from the wall.

Since the speakers are front ported, your dimensions behind the wall are not critical. I understand this is not optimal for box speakers, but overall they still sound more accurate than in-wall speakers.

BTW, I'm using Paradigm SA-30s for my rear surround speakers.

 

[av-man]

Putting box speakers into a hole will change their sound. In-walls are better suited for this. If you want Box or monitor sound out of an inwall the look at the inwalls from Triad. They are box speakers that are engineered to go inwall.
www.triadspeakers.com

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

In-walls

Use in-wall speakers. Towers and bookshelves are hard enough to place in an open rooom. Just make sure you have enough volume behind your in-walls to reproduce some mid-bass. Joists stuffed with insulation prevent bass. Take the time to tweak the walls to the speakers. You may want insulation up 3 feet from the floor, then from there - nothing to the ceiling. You can also open up the joists if you are running a larger inwall, like BIC's Muro's that have 8" woofers as well as directional tweeters. They can really thump with enough volume in the walls. You really need to understand the physics when using in-walls, but they can be your best friend if you set them up properly.

 

[QED]

av-man:

The Triads look fine but very expensive...also they look like any other speaker, just mounted inside a wall. What specifically makes them sound better?

Also, Since Paradigm doesn't make an in-wall center channel, aren't they assuming you'll be mounting a center channel in a recessed alcove?

Just wondering...

buckeyefan1:

Would reinforcing the studs with cross-bracing to stiffen the wall be helpful? If so, how much volume should I leave between braces? Also would using plywood instead of sheetrock for additional stiffening help? (I know I would probably have to sheetrock over the plywood to meet fire codes)

Thanks

 

[mazersteven]

QED,

Take a look at Speakercraft's new In-Wall series. I have auditioned them, and they sounded great. Nice clear highs, and very full mid-range. I was very impressed.

AIM LCR
Pivoting In-Wall Home Theater Speaker

www.speakercraft.com

 

[RLA]

Hello
RBH has a speaker designed specifically for this application SI-770
Has a modified crossover and sounds fantastic

Frequency Response: 45Hz-20kHz (+3dB)
Sensitivity: 90dB (2.83V @ 1 Meter)
Power Handling: 200 Watts
Drive Units: (2) 6 1/2" Aluminum Woofer
(1) 1" Silk Dome Tweeter
Tweeter Protection: Yes
Crossover Frequency: 2700Hz
Crossover: 24dB/Octave
Impedance: 4 Ohms
Cabinet Material: Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF)
Color: black cabinet w/ black cloth grille
Dimensions: 22"H x 8 3/4"W x 11 1/2"D
Weight: 39lbs (each)







They also have High End In walls that will blow away conventional in-walls
The SI-6100 is essentially the same as the T-1 used in the reference system here at A/H They are about 1/2 the price of the Triad

System Type: In-wall
Frequency Response: 40Hz-20kHz (+3dB)
Sensitivity: 92dB (2.83V @ 1 Meter)
Power Handling: 500 Watts
Drive Units: (4) 6 1/2" Aluminum Woofer
(3) 1" Silk Dome Tweeter
Tweeter Protection: Yes
Crossover Frequency: 2500Hz
Crossover: 24dB/Octave
Impedance: 4 Ohms
Cabinet Material: Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF)
Color: black/white cloth grille
Dimensions: 56"H x 14"W x 3 1/2"D
Weight: 62lbs

 

[QED]

Thanks RLA & Mazersteven...very interesting!

Also interesting that Paradigm recommended almost exactly what tedmjr2 described.

 

[av-man]

av-man:

The Triads look fine but very expensive...also they look like any other speaker, just mounted inside a wall. What specifically makes them sound better

Traid took their cabinet speakers and re-engineered the cabinets to give the same sound in an inwall application. They are well known as one of the best in-walls in the business.
When installing in-walls in a job where Triad does not fit the budget I use Tru-Audio. They have a wide variety of in-walls that sound really good and are under-priced for the sound and build quality. I do not use their subs. i use Reel Acoustics subs on these jobs.
www.truaudio.com
www.reelacoustics.com

 

[RLA]

Also interesting that Paradigm recommended almost exactly what tedmjr2 described

Demo the Paradigms and then Demo the RBH I think you will be shocked when evaluating the perfromance differences

 

[WmAx]

av-man:

Also would using plywood instead of sheetrock for additional stiffening help? (I know I would probably have to sheetrock over the plywood to meet fire codes)

You could go as far as to build a complete cabinet into the wall, that is very well damped and structurally reinforced with bracing, if you want optimal results.

So far as using standard box speakers, and inserting them into the walls, this can be accomplilshed, with some stipulations: (1) You muse use a shelving filter to compensate for the BSC(baffle step correction) shelving filter that is designed into all box speakers. If you don't use a shelving filter to reduce the amplitude of midrange and bass output, relative to upper midrange and treble amplitude, the speaker will sound 'chesty', 'thick', etc.. (2) The front of the speaker must be as flushed as possible with the wall, with no gaps between the speaker and wall. However, you may wish to use a thin and soft gasket material between the wall edge and speaker in order to prevent it from physically coupleing with wall(possibly leading to audible resonances).

It will probably be beneficial to add some convulted acoustic foam(s) to the wall surrounding the speakers, especially if the speaker baffle shape prevents a perfectly flush fit.

-Chris