Hi all,

I have been into home theater for quite some time but it has been a long time since I have changed anything up. My wife would like a more stealthy system going forward so I have started looking at in-wall speaker systems. I currently have MTM bookshelf fronts and center with indirect reflective rears. All are matched and sound wonderful but the room is fairly small and in wall is attractive to us going forward. My subwoofer is an infinite baffle in our attic with 4 15" drivers. I like my bass. My system is still 5.1 and I'm considering adding Atmos if it will work with my room.

Now my actual question:
I'm new to Golden Ear so am trying to imagine a comparable setup to my current system with regard to sound level and sound stage. I am considering a SPS for my center (mounted in my 45 degree angled ceiling about 2 feet above and 2 feet forward of the screen), MPXs for left, right and surrounds (side wall). I am also considering ceiling mounted HTR7000's x 2 mid room sides in the ceiling for possible Atmos.

I'd appreciate any feedback on the above choices.

Thanks,
Darren

Hi Darren, The system you're considering should work quite well for both music and home theater applications. The Invisa SPS is a great sounding center speaker. The Invisa MPXs would great as your surrounds - mounted into the side walls of your listening room. (Their angled drivers produce a nice blend of spaciousness and focused sound.) The ceiling mounted Invisa HTR7000s would make great Atmos speakers.

The million dollar questions becomes... which speakers to use for your main front left and right speakers. If you prefer a spacious quality to your system, I'd stick with the Invisa MPXs. If you prefer a focused sound quality, I'd recommend using a pair of Invisa SPSs. The Invisa SPSs are truly reference quality speakers mounted into your wall surface. Happy Listening!

That is a good question. I probably prefer the SPS for left, right, and center so they are matched. I'll be installing the left and right inside a book case/cabinet and am trying to figure out if they would cause things to dance around or if they would be easy to isolate from the surrounding cabinets in some way. I wish I could audition the speakers somewhere but haven't found them locally. I am sensitive to some forward sounding speakers but that is subjective.

Hi Darren, In your application, the Invisa SPSs seem like they'd be a good choice. They have a neutral tonal balance, yet they sound open and detailed. They also have great imaging and 3-dimensionality. I would recommend placing a good amount of fiberglass insulation behind the speakers. This will help dampen their bass response. If you're using a subwoofer in your system, I'd recommend setting your receiver/processor to small front speakers - with a crossover of 80hz. This should provide a good blend between your speakers and subwoofer. (It would also keep the amount of vibration transmitted through the bookcase/cabinet down to a minimum.) Happy Listening!