Audio as a Part Of Your Interior Design – I

Every new home being built has some form of audio incorporated, ranging from something as simple as a TV with in built speakers to a full-blown, dedicated home cinema room with a projector, screen, recliners, and of course cinema quality speakers. For many decades, big speakers that made as much of a visual statement as they delivered a stunning audio experience were all the rage. Over the last few years however, as interior design trends have trended toward the more minimal, there has been increasing interest in speakers that disappear into the design of a home, with no compromise on the audio experience. In this post, we will look at in-wall and in-ceiling speaker solutions. 

In-wall speakers are great options for minimalist audio designs, be it for home cinema solutions or music listening. Most of these types of speakers are just a few inches deep, and with advances in audio technology rival their floor-standing (but boxy looking) counterparts for sound stage, tonal quality, and image depth. The only component these speakers miss out on is bass, so adding a subwoofer is a must – and subwoofers are also available in in-wall options. Klipsch and Jamo in-wall subwoofers are just 4” deep, but paired with the right electronics, can go as low as 21Hz – which is better than most floor standing subwoofers from the competition!

If the aesthetic goal is to not see grills on a wall, today there is even the option of doing an entire home cinema using just in-ceiling speakers. In-ceiling speakers use technologies like pivotable or fixed angle drivers to make it appear as though the sound is coming from your TV or screen and not from overhead. Jamo’s flagship in-ceiling speaker has 5 drivers and an array of dazzling acoustic technology. Klipsch’s premium in-ceiling models are timbre matched to their Reference Premiere floor standing counterparts, giving premium sound in a small package. Klipsch even has an in-ceiling subwoofer, being one of the only brands in the world to be able to provide a full 5.1 in-ceiling solution!

Most in-wall and in-ceiling speakers have grills that are paintable, to match whatever surface they are installed on. Some brands even produce THX certified in-wall and in-ceiling options, which guarantees the speakers provide cinema quality sound in a home environment. Klipsch offers one of the world’s only THX-Ultra certified in-ceiling speaker, which is a true marvel of acoustic engineering. At Cinebels, we’ve used the THX in-ceiling range in a room that is 30’ x 20’, and the client’s jaw dropped when we demoed the system to him for the first time as he swore it sounded like there were speakers hidden behind the screen instead of in the ceiling.

Klipsch and Jamo also put significant thought also into making speakers easy to install. Sometimes positioning in-wall or in-ceiling speakers can be difficult because of practical constraints such as beams, pipes, or conduits. Pivotable drivers give installers the flexibility of moving the speakers around to accommodate these constraints, as they can then rotate the drivers to point to the listener. Speaker depth is another thing that is sometimes a challenge. To address this, some extremely shallow in-ceiling models are also available, which are just 2” deep, and which can sound as good as deeper speakers (of course at a heftier price).

Today, speaker brands like Klipsch and Jamo have woken up to the fact that customers want minimalist looking audio solutions with zero compromise on audio quality. As a result, no matter what audio solution a person wants in their home, there is a huge range of in-wall and in-ceiling options to choose from to give them exactly what they need. Delivering a system design that not only fulfills audio requirements but also marries the interior design of a home has become the goal for all audio solution specialists today. At Cinebels, our decades of expertise in working with homes of every shape and size combined with the enviable range of products we have at our disposal ensures we will be able to provide you a solution no matter what your requirement is!