True home audio enthusiasts aren’t going to load up their living room walls with woofers and tweeters like the back seat of a bass-pumping Cadillac. In fact, high-quality speakers are coming in more compact packages than ever, and are easily hidden. In-wall and in-ceiling speakers are gaining popularity and are being built to the same specifications as their floor- and shelf-model predecessors.
“In-wall and in-ceiling are the fastest-growing speaker categories, and they’ve come a long way,” says Jason Sloane, vice president of sales for Sonance. “Today’s speakers provide audiophile quality sound in a variety of speaker sizes, so you can find the right model for your application.”
Speaker manufacturers such as Sonance, Paradigm, and Onsia offer speakers with sleek grilles that allow the speaker to be flush with the wall. In many instances, grilles also can be painted to match the wall color. Other camouflage options include framed art as speaker fronts, and speakers designed to blend in with acoustical ceiling tiles.
For true invisibility, look for models that sit inside the wall cavity and are covered during the drywalling process. Regardless of the concealment option, homeowners will benefit from high-quality audio without having to design their rooms around bulky speaker systems.
