On-wall/Flat Panel Speaker Thread:

Thanks for starting up this thread. Great idea!

I''d love to hear impressions from those who have auditioned or own the on-wall B&W FPM series or the Totem Tribes. There are just a few reviews out there on the web, so I'd like to hear about your observations, to supplement the auditioning I will eventually do.

Right now I am driving a pair of PMC GB1's with a Bryston 4BSST amp, through a Bryston BP20 preamp.

I am curious to hear how they sound when compared to floorstander and monitor speakers. I have considered the idea of replacing my 2 channel setup with a 5.1 on-wall setup. (space and budget considerations)

I will still want to do 2 channel listening from time to time.

Thanks!

Definitely a good idea for a thread, it would be great to have it stickied - there seems to be an in-wall/ in-ceiling thread that pops up a couple of times a week, and these threads get only a few (if any) replies because the subject is discussed so often.

Lets get some momentum on this thread:

I don't have the big bucks like some of the people who post here do, so I'm not willing to spend over $300 for a pair of ceiling speakers that will function as the surrounds.

I ended up ordering a pair of Proficient C650 LCR In-Ceiling Speakers from The home technology store. They will be used as surrounds in a 5.1 system for now, and when I upgrade to 7.1, bookshelfs will be the rear surrounds and these will be the middle speakers.

I like the fact that these are directional (15 degree) on the woofer as well as having a directional tweeter. I am by no means an audiophile, nor have I listened to them , but from what I've heard about them they seem to be pretty good bang for the buck.

I will post my humble review (in this thread) when I get them installed.

Hey why wasn't this ever stickied?? (hint hint moderators )

I'm looking at a setup where I will create a faux-wall to install the TV and speakers in (So they're flush with the wall) and am looking at the Sharp Aquos 52" 1080p and Millenia 200's as fronts with probably the 20 for center (possibly 30) and I'm not sure on the rears yet but they will be ceiling mounted.

I auditioned the Millenia 200s alongside the Studio 60 V4's and honestly I found the 200s sounded better for most music that I put to them, it just sounded a lot more vibrant. The Studio 60's sounded good, but something was missing. I'm going to have to go back to do a more in-depth audition as well as a few other speakers (and I'm going to drag in my current speakers to compare with). Unfortunately I was not impressed with the bass response on ANY speaker that I tested (although I have a 1200W subwoofer in my car, so I'm spoiled). I fired up a large(-ish) Paradigm sub that was in the room (not sure on the model number) and at maximum gain the bass was just barely acceptable. So I'm a bass whore . Needless to say the 200's had almost no bass response (even worse than the Studios) however since I'll almost certainly be adding a subwoofer I really don't care about raw bass out of the front speakers themselves.

Anyone have any suggestions for other decent front speakers that can be wall-space mounted (at most 8" deep, don't require wall mounting hardware because I do that myself)?

Although preferred by some, the upper bass hump in the 60s was probably smoothing the sound out, masking some of the liveness.

Great thread! I'm in the same boat, researching flat panel options. I'm not in a good area for speaker demos and dealers, but have read good things about the Energy Take LCR/FPS.
http://www.energy-speakers.com/v2/pr...page.php?id=33

Nice looking speaker but I don't have a dealer nearby to go listen to them, and can't find anyone with the LCRs in white (WAF issues as well). I think if I found them in white anywhere online, I may just gamble on them. Anyone help?

NHT offers a nice looking product as well, but it's over $400 each.
http://nhthifi.com/2006/products/ht/l5.html

Has anyone heard the boston P4 series?

Being over $400 each is pretty cheap for good speakers... "getting up there" is approaching $1500/pair.

I guess if you have nowhere to go to test speakers then you may be SOL, but for me at least it'd be worth up to an hour, possibly 2, drive from where I live if I means that I could test a large number of speakers directly and myself so I can hear the differences. But that's just me.

My wife really likes the looks of the Klipsch SLX speakers (and the fact that they can rotate once mounted) I am trying to find some good speakers that look similar, and would be a better speaker for the same price

dthree:

know you posted this a while back, and thread seems to have died, but was wondering if you ended up with these or got any reviews of them. I' plooking at getting these or the klipsch slx, admittedly for looks, and will prob buy w/o getting to hear them... thanks. there's gotta be some folks out there with thoughts on flat wall mount speakers!

Klipsch XL-23 ($449-499) and XB-10 ($499/pr) are new to market a few months ago.

Focal Sib XL ($399/ea) and Sib ($199/ea)

Cambridge Soundworks MC650HD ($499/ea)

Polk Audio VM20 ($449/ea) and VM10 ($299/ea); they're also very recent.

I've listened to Focal Sib/XL and Polk VM20. Despite the lower price, Focal Sib XLs sound better than Polk VM20. They have great clarity, dynamic range, and mid.

Hear them first!!!! I found them awful, a waste of money; so did a friend of mine who bought 5; he just sold them on Ebay to buy Paradigm Cinema or Monitor Audio Radius.

They can be found cheap, but be careful and audition them.

If you have read various threads about onwalls you probably have seen my postings; as I did extensive auditioning of onwalls in that price range.

Forget the Millenias, go for the 330's. I didn't find any advantage of the Millenia 20 or 30 over the 330, just looks. IMO, not worth the extra money.

Consider the following options in the same price range (order of preference):

Paradigm Cinema 330

Monitor Audio R225 (almost head to head with the 330, but the 330 being somewhat more dynamic helps it to win, as they will mostly be used for HT and dynamic helps in that area, but if you want music and HT consider the R225)

Energy Take Series (good, but not as good as Paradigm or MA)

Klipsch RVX-42 (loud, very loud, would consider them only for HT)

Klipsh SLX (don't waste your money)

If you want a few bucks less, consider Paradigm 220 and MA R180

If you have the dough, consider Vienna Acoustics and Martin Logan onwalls. The VA's are very nice sounding, but $800.00 ea.

I just got a Monitor Audio Radius setup. For the front L/C/R I got the R225 and for the surrounds, R90. I read lots of good comments on these speakers (including PR Audio's) and heard them myself. I'm no expert, but they sounded very nice.

The dealer I got them at said the Paradigm Millenia series is nicer, but the price was quite a bit higher. For what I paid for all 5 MA's, I would have only gotten the L/C/R Millenia series.

I didn't listen to the Cinema 330's, but I will say that the appearance of the MA Radius is way better than Cinema series. Funny thing is originally I had ruled out the Radius from the pics on the web, but in person they are very nice (again, PR Audio and others gave me this tip!). You can get real wood veneers or piano black, which is what I got. Only downside is they are already covered in fingerprints, and they aren't even hooked up yet!

If anyone is interested, I will take some pics once I get them wall-mounted and hooked up, hopefully in the next couple weeks.

Anyone hear the new HTD Flat panels? I thinking of trying 3 flats with there middys as a setup. They do have a 30 day demo. Which is nice if you don't like them.

Add DefTech Mythos series to the list (Mythos 2,3,8,10,GEM,GEM XL)

How about the sunfire on walls.

Nice on wall with a ribbon tweeter.

Pics are always welcomed...

I'd love to see the pics too

me too.

So nobody on the Bostons? I can get p460's for $350 ea, but have to take a chance w/o hearing them, and like the look of the 34" long speaker flanking my lcd, plus figure the extra cabinet space is always going to help acoustics. They don't have to sound perfect, just not "tinney."

Usually you cannot go wrong with BA, as they make good speakers at a decent price. I looked at their P Series, as there were very good prices in the internet. The problem was that I couldn't find many user reviews, nor pro reviews to go by. So, I decided to pass.

i am very happy with my ws series athena's, great speaker for the price!

Haven't heard them but the Atlantic Technology FS-3200's look like another nice option.

thanks, helps to know BA makes a good speaker, well may just have to take the chance, lots of good options here, but these meet my wants/needs/price better than anything, and since I'm currently on a panny home-theater-in-a-box setup, I should be easy to please... anybody else interested i'll come back and post a review.

NHT L-5 on walls, on closeout at www.listenup.com. I bought five, great for HT!

For L/C/R, I have the Klipsch SLX. I bought them because I liked the sound, form factor and price. I found they sounded much better at home, then they did in the store. They mount and dismount easily from the wall, and the mounts allow for tilting adjustments. For HT, I find them to a very nice speaker. They are very efficient, and can get really loud. With my Denon 3806, a loud movie tops out at -22. Any louder and it becomes painful. As a center channel it is especially clear and does a great job with voices. However, for strictly music listening they're not the best. The lack of mid bass is the problem. For HT with a good subwoofer I think that they would satisfy a lot of people.

I'm actually looking to try out a new L/C/R because I find myself listening to more music. I hope to find a decent monitor/bookshelf. I'm leaning towards the Ascend Acoustics Sierra-1. I have listened to the Dynaudio Audience 54, Totem Mani, Era D5, Paradigm Studio 20 and 40, Vienna Hayden Grand, and the B&W CM1.

I'm going to miss having speakers that almost disappear on the wall next to my LCD TV. Maybe I'll just get a set of bookshelf speakers, use them for music and keep the SLX.

Hi all,

Well, things aren't totally completed with my installation, but here are some pics showing the R225 L/C/R around my 42" TV. There is still work to be done patching holes, repainting the room, and hooking up everything, but you get the idea. I think it came out pretty well.

Pics of the project hanging the TV and speakers:
http://flickr.com/photos/txhokie/set...7603952682040/

I'll post more pics as I do more work!