In-wall speakers appeal to homeowners because they want to hear, not see, their speakers. While the average performance of in-wall speakers has increased dramatically in the last decade, the look of them has barely changed at all since the 1980s. In most cases, they appear as a ¾-inch wide bezel surrounding a perforated metal grille. Increasingly, though, interior designers are starting to consider the look of a standard in-wall speaker to be déclassé, even if it’s painted to match the wall treatment.

With its new Architectural Series line, Sonance seeks to satisfy these style specialists, offering three new options. Your can order your speakers with a slim bezel measuring about a quarter-inch wide; with no bezel at all; or with a white front baffle and no grille, thus leaving the woofer, midrange, and tweeter drivers exposed. With all three options, the speaker is flush with the wall, instead of sticking out by a fraction of an inch as most in-walls do.

When the speakers are installed without the bezel, you can see that the edge of the wall cutout around the speaker is so precise, it’s as if the wall was molded around the speaker. Anyone familiar with in-wall speakers or home construction techniques will immediately wonder, “How do they do that?”

In a sense, the wall is molded around the speaker. Sonance achieves the flush-mount look and precision edge by pre-attaching the speaker’s mounting bracket to a piece of 20-by-20-inch Quiet Rock soundproof panel, a laminate drywall-type material used for sound isolation in media rooms.

The Quiet Rock panel can be used for new construction or retrofit installations. For a retrofit installation, the panel with the bracket is attached to the wall studs after making a 20-by-20-inch cutout. Then a drywall contractor patches, sands, and textures (if necessary) the wall around the panel to the outside edge of the bracket.

Once the panel is installed and drywalling is complete, the speaker (with or without a bezel) is attached to the bracket with six machine screws. Several thin layers of drywall compound may be necessary, but when done properly the bracket, and thus the speaker and grille, are perfectly flush with the wall. Any good drywall contractor should have no problem feathering in the frame so it has a perfect edge and it’s indistinguishable from the rest of the wall.

The Architectural Series is available in round, square, and rectangular shapes, and with 4-inch, 6.5-inch, and 8-inch woofers. The Z8 is a three-way rectangular speaker with an 8-inch woofer, a 4-ingh midrange, and a 1-inch dome tweeter. Surprisingly, all of the drivers’ domes and cones are made from beryllium, an extremely light and stiff metal that’s also extraordinarily difficult to use in manufacturing because it’s so brittle; we normally find beryllium used only in high-end superspeakers, not in in-walls.

The midrange and tweeter are coaxially aligned on a pivotal mount for directional control. Both are isolated in their own chambers, and each has a three-position level control for tone adjustment. Dual speaker connections for biwiring or biamplifying the speakers are optional, as is a back box that improves bass response and helps prevent sound from the woofer from leaking into other rooms.

While a sleek appearance might get the nod from interior designers, the speaker won’t find its way into many walls unless it sounds good. Here, the Z8 is highly likely to please critical ears. It offers excellent vocal clarity, a transparent midrange, and a big, open sound.

Brazilian vocalist Ana Caram’s voice in “Sem Legenda” from her Rio After Dark album sounds detailed and natural, with a distinct in-room presence, and her fingers on the guitar strings reveal the speaker’s very quick transient response. The shimmering percussion in “Viola Fora De Moda” from the same album has excellent treble definition with no sizzle.

Even when portraying exceptionally spacious-sounding recordings, such as singer Sara K’s “Closer Than They Appear” CD on Chesky Records, the Z8 captures the acoustic feel of the recording venue—quite a feat for an in-wall speaker. With many recordings, it sounds as if the speaker doesn’t exist and the singer is performing live in my living room. These qualities make listening to the Z8 quite enjoyable, even over extended periods of time.

Given their unique and undeniably appealing look, this speaker probably wouldn’t have to sound all that great to sell well—but it does sound great, making it a testament both to Sonance’s clever industrial design and to its acoustical engineering acumen. Since your designer can choose the look, the grille material, and practically any size or shape of speaker he or she desires, the Architectural Series ought to make the decor-oriented members of your home as happy as it makes any resident audio enthusiasts.

DESCRIPTION
In-wall speaker for stereo or home theater use

COMPONENTS
8-inch beryllium cone woofer, 4-inch beryllium cone midrange, 1-inch beryllium dome tweeter

CONNECTIONS
Spring-loaded speaker connectors; biwiring capability optional

DIMENSIONS
14.25 x 8.38 inches (hw), 3.88 inches installed depth

PRICE/CONTACT
PRICE: $3,500 per pair
CONTACT: 800.582.7777, Sonance.com