Home Theater in a Cabinet (1 Viewer)

[Brian.M]

Howdy experts, I've seen in numerous AV magazines pictures of RPTVs, speakers and AV equipment all tucked neatly away in a recessed wall or gigantic cabinet. Is this wise, especially for speaker sound? I understand more space and an exhaust fan for the AV equipment, but the speakers are my main concern. I once saw a picture of the center and main speakers all placed in a line above the TV cabinet.

 

[Brian.M]

Howdy experts, I've seen in numerous AV magazines pictures of RPTVs, speakers and AV equipment all tucked neatly away in a recessed wall or gigantic cabinet. Is this wise, especially for speaker sound? I understand more space and an exhaust fan for the AV equipment, but the speakers are my main concern. I once saw a picture of the center and main speakers all placed in a line above the TV cabinet.

 

[Frank Zimkas]

Depends on the speakers. Most here will agree that in order for a speaker to perform the best it needs to be moved away from any rear and/or side walls. First-order reflections can really degrade the sound of any speaker.

Your best source of information regarding placement of any speaker is directly from the manufacturer.

 

[Frank Zimkas]

Depends on the speakers. Most here will agree that in order for a speaker to perform the best it needs to be moved away from any rear and/or side walls. First-order reflections can really degrade the sound of any speaker.

Your best source of information regarding placement of any speaker is directly from the manufacturer.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

One of the biggest complaints you see in reviews of in-wall speakers is their poor imaging. I expect that if you flush-mount regular speakers in the wall, you’ll suddenly find they have the same problem.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

One of the biggest complaints you see in reviews of in-wall speakers is their poor imaging. I expect that if you flush-mount regular speakers in the wall, you’ll suddenly find they have the same problem.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Brian.M]

And so the experts have spoken, thanks!

 

[Brian.M]

And so the experts have spoken, thanks!

 

[Dave Milne]

It's true that imaging is somewhat degraded when mounting speakers very near, against, or in the front wall. But in-wall mounting doesn't have disastrous results. It depends on what your priority is. For my family room theater, I wanted a clean look and sound quality wasn't super-critical so I designed and built speakers into the wall with cloth-covered panels as you can see here (with the panel removed: .

For my dedicated theater / listening room, I wanted to maximize the capability of the high-end system... so the speakers ended up nearly two feet from the front wall as you can see here: