Top 10 Best In-Wall Speakers 2023 Reviews & Buyer’s Guide

In-walls speakers are quite ingenious innovations becoming increasingly popular among home theater enthusiasts. Needless to say, these speakers have come a long way since they were first introduced a while back.

Now, a lot of advancements have been made and we’ve begun to see in-wall speakers competing favorably with their free-standing counterparts.

However, for their space-saving benefit alone, these speakers have already etched themselves a permanent space in the hearts of users. Plus, audio quality is becoming only more impressive with time.

But getting all these benefits without having to give up your home’s aesthetics, is probably the best benefit these speakers offer. No wonder everyone wants to get in on them nowadays, including you.

Well, you’ve taken the right first step by coming here. We’re prepared to furnish you with every bit of info you’d need on these speakers as well as give our suggestions of the best ones available right now. Come with us!

Top 10 Best In-Wall Speakers To Buy In 2023 Reviews

Name	Frequency Range	Power Handling	Sensitivity	Size	Dimensions	Weight
Best Choice Polk Audio RC85i 2-Way Premium In-Wall 8 inch Speakers View Price	Frequency Range 30Hz to 20kHz	Power Handling Not specified	Sensitivity 90dB	Size 8 inches	Dimensions 10.1 x 3.5 x 14.2 inches	Weight 5.5 pounds
Also Great Polk Audio 255C-RT In-Wall Center Channel Speaker View Price	Frequency Range 30Hz to 27kHz	Power Handling 150 Watts	Sensitivity Not specified	Size 5.25 inches	Dimensions 9.8 x 14.8 x 9.3 inches	Weight 6.6 pounds
Also Great Klipsch R-5650-W II In-Wall Speaker View Price	Frequency Range 40Hz to 23kHz	Power Handling 200 Watts	Sensitivity 94dB	Size 6.5 inches	Dimensions 3.8 x 9.3 x 14.3 inches	Weight 7.1 pounds
Also Great Bose Virtually Invisible 891 In-Wall Speaker View Price	Frequency Range Not specified	Power Handling 200 Watts	Sensitivity Not specified	Size 7 inches	Dimensions 15.8 x 13 x 11.1 inches	Weight 13.5 pounds
Also Great JBL SP6II In-Wall Home Theater Surround Sound Loudspeaker View Price	Frequency Range 38Hz to 20kHz	Power Handling Not specified	Sensitivity 88dB	Size 6.5 inches	Dimensions 9.7 x 7.1 x 3.9 inches	Weight 10 pounds
Also Great Monoprice Caliber 8 inch In-Wall Speakers View Price	Frequency Range 50Hz to 20kHz	Power Handling 200 Watts	Sensitivity 90dB	Size 8 inches	Dimensions 14.1 x 10 x 3.9 inches	Weight 17.61 pounds
Also Great Klipsch R-5502-W II In-Wall Speaker View Price	Frequency Range 46Hz to 20kHz	Power Handling 300 Watts	Sensitivity 92dB	Size 5.25 inches	Dimensions 3.5 x 8 x 17.8 inches	Weight 6.5 pounds
Also Great Yamaha NS-IW760 6.5 inch 2-Way In-Wall Speaker View Price	Frequency Range 50Hz to 24kHz	Power Handling 130 Watts	Sensitivity 88dB	Size 6.5 inches	Dimensions 23.5 x 7.7 x 3.2 inches	Weight 5.1 pounds
Also Great JBL Leviton AEI65 Architectural Edition 6.5 inch In-Wall Speakers View Price	Frequency Range Not specified	Power Handling 100 Watts	Sensitivity Not specified	Size 6.5 inches	Dimensions 12.3 x 9.9 x 8.8 inches	Weight 9.85 pounds
Also Great Silver Ticket 5252W In-Wall Speaker View Price	Frequency Range 63Hz to 20kHz	Power Handling 80 Watts	Sensitivity 86dB	Size 5.25 inches	Dimensions 14.7 x 7.4 x 3.2 inches	Weight 4 pounds

1 Polk Audio RC85i 2-Way Premium In-Wall 8 inch Speakers

We begin this review with one of the kings in the world of audio – Polk Audio. Its RC85i is a small, portable, yet effective and sturdy piece of equipment. It’s also quite decently priced too, so it’s within easy reach of most folks which is great.

By looks, these are really sleek looking speakers. Plus, it’s great to know that this versatile pair can easily function as both indoor and outdoor speakers. In fact, they come with moisture-resistant parts so they are also great for use in bathrooms or saunas.

Alright, let’s get a bit more techie here…

These speakers come with a frequency range of 30Hz to 20kHz which means they cover a huge range. Plus, your bass is going to come out real punchy and large. The speakers also come with a 90dB sensitivity so they are real efficient and you can expect really loud volumes here.

As for audio quality, as usual, we are impressed by Polk Audio. These speakers sound excellent and can even hold their own confidently among higher end models. In fact, the crystal clarity of the sound here will make you fall in love with these speakers every time you listen to them.

Altogether, sound here is rich and warm. Highs are clean, mids are well-defined, and the bass? Amazing.

These are reasonably sturdy and therefore, durable speakers. It’s quite obvious to see that Polk Audio chose quality materials from which to build them. As we mentioned already, these are moisture-resistant, so they work in any condition.

Now, although, these will still survive some minor hits every now and then, you should still be quite careful with these if you want them to last.

But overall, we love these speakers and it’s a double treat for us that they are so affordable.

Our rating: (4.6 / 5)

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2 Polk Audio 255C-RT In-Wall Center Channel Speaker

Alright, next up on this review is yet another speaker from Polk Audio. This time, this doesn’t come as a pair. It’s just one splendid speaker with pleasing aesthetics and excellent performance.

This is about the sleekest in-wall speaker you’ll probably find. It comes with a flat face so it fits flush into your walls without being ostentatious. It’s roughly 9 inches in height and about 14 inches in width. So, for the cutout in the wall where this will fit, you won’t need a very large space.

The speakers are to be installed horizontally. This way, the two 5.25inch mid drivers/woofers would be able to create a more centered stereo image. This also comes with a 1 inch tweeter too which you’ll find right between the two drivers.

Alright, back to aesthetics. This comes with a paintable grille, so you definitely can match this to the color of your wall. Also, like we mentioned initially, this is an unostentatious speaker, so it only protrudes about 7 millimeters from the wall.

In fact, the borders on this speaker are so thin that once you paint the grille, it would be nearly impossible to pick out this speaker in the wall.

And now to audio quality… for a speaker this small, we’ve got to admit that the speaker disperses sound really well. The soundstage here is about the same width as larger speakers. And with its 5.25 inch dual band pass bass ports, this creates magic in terms of bass performance.

Of course, you can’t expect the same level of boisterousness as you’d get from a sub, but this does well. In fact, maybe a little too well, as sound from this speaker tends to leak to adjoining rooms.

All the same, this is yet another quality speaker from Polk Audio.

Our rating: (4.5 / 5)

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3 Klipsch R-5650-W II In-Wall Speaker

We’re now looking at this stylish speaker from Klipsch. It’s a little on the high side, but nonetheless, it boasts huge value for money. So, without further ado, let’s see all the reasons this speaker kills it for us.

First of all, the brand behind the speaker isn’t a novice in the business. Klipsch has actually been around for so many years now making quality equipment for entertainment. It’s safe to say that these guys have mastered the business.

In the R-5650 W II, you’ll be impressed to find that this comes with a 1 inch titanium dome compression driver. If you’re quite familiar with high quality speakers, you’d know that this is a staple among them. However, Klipsch takes things a step further by coupling this to a 4inch square Tractrix horn.

And that’s not all, this also features a high quality 6.5 inch Ceramettalic woofer. When these two parts work together (the tweeter and the woofer), they deliver an unbelievably clear sound that sounds like bliss. Even at high volume levels, your sound will still always come out clean.

So, it’s bye bye to distortion when you decide on the Klipsch R-5650-W II.

And that’s not all, Klipsch still improves an already excellent listening experience by including a swivel tweeter here. This way, you can position your speaker and call the shots of where your sweet spot is per time.

We actually kinda like it that this speaker comes singly. This way, you can always buy the exact quantity you need for your setting. Also, as long as your system has the juice, you can connect as many R-5650s as you want to it. There are no limits here.

Finally, this will virtually disappear when you mount it, it’s that slim. Plus, its grille is paintable too.

Our rating: (4.3 / 5)

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4 Bose Virtually Invisible 891 In-Wall Speaker

As the name probably already gives away, these are very minimalist speakers. Bose decided to go with minimal magnetic grill clamps, bezels, with paintable grilles of course. You’d definitely love how these look when you finally get to mount these in your walls.

You can even take off the grille and allow the white lines give a nice contrast with your walls. Or you can totally take the entire grille off. This way it exposes the woofer (7inches) and two tweeters. Thankfully, they are well positioned so you always get awesome stereo sound.

These cost quite a bit no doubt, even for a pair of speakers. However, we would say that they are quite great at what they do. So, if you can afford it, you’d enjoy using these. And from the testimonies of users, provided you install these properly, they can last you up to 5 years. We kid you not.

That said, you’ve got to be super careful when installing these. And to ensure that your speakers are well mounted, you’d need a cavity depth of at least 3.5 inches in your walls.

The Virtually Invisible 891 speakers have a max power of 200 Watts. However, the manufacturers recommend that you keep it at 100 Watts, to be on the safe side, we guess. But either way, these still deliver on loud and powerful sound volume.

Another thing we found about these speakers is that each one comes with an awesome room-filling stereo. So, you don’t even need to redirect the speakers. The sound is always realistic and all-encompassing no matter what.

These bad boys are super easy to install. And once in place, they use the natural enclosure to maximize sound quality and clarity.

Our rating: (4.4 / 5)

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5 JBL SP6II In-Wall Home Theater Surround Sound Loudspeaker

The JBL SP6IIs are excellent in-wall speakers with the ability to deliver on some of the sweetest and crispiest highs. The brand behind the speaker, JBL, is one of the best audio companies in the industry. And today, we have the privilege of reviewing its SP6II.

Firstly this comes with a pretty wide frequency range of 38Hz to 20kHz. This ensures that your speakers deliver on an impressive range of sounds from the highs to the lows. The bass comes out reasonably deep and the higher frequencies are also quite crisp.

As for installation, this is pretty easy work. There are grilles and faceplates here which you can easily paint to match your home décor. Plus, there’s also a paper tab found beneath the grille that makes it easier to remove the grille.

Just be careful though, if you apply too much force, you could totally tear off the tab.

We also love the fact that this speaker comes in a reasonable size which makes it quite space saving. There’s no restriction to where you can install these and you can also integrate them with other speakers to form your setup.

In looks, these speakers are classic with their titanium laminate tweeter. This tweeter helps to enhance the reproduction of high frequency sounds. Plus, this also involves rubber surrounds which help to reduce the risk of damage thereby enhancing durability.

For easy mounting, these come with dog-ear brackets. So, it kinda makes these a bit easier to mount.

And to improve the sound projection of these babies, each speaker comes with its own swiveling tweeter. This way, you can adjust it to ensure the sound fits your tastes.

In all, these are incredible speakers and will make excellent speaker additions for your home theater setup.

Our rating: (4.6 / 5)

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6 Monoprice Caliber 8 inch In-Wall Speakers

Alright, here is another pair of decently priced speakers, this time from Monoprice. It’s a 3-way speaker housed in a white frame with a white grille to boot. It’s super stylish, so we’re sure it will easily fit into any room. But if you’d rather it remained hidden, the grille is totally paintable.

These speakers are obviously well made with high quality materials. The Kevlar cone installed ensures that you only have negligible distortions when playing your sound. Plus, with the extra large magnets, bass response is decent.

Let’s not also forget the ¾ inch titanium silk dome tweeters which keep your high frequencies crisp and clear. And even better, these tweeters swivel so you can redirect them wherever you want to enhance your listening experience.

With an impressive frequency response of 50Hz to 20kHz, this does decently covering a significant range. Of course, you can expect to lose a bit of bass especially on a low volume but hey these try.

Now, here’s one feature that really stands out for us on these speakers: its octave crossover is totally adjustable. This is a feature you don’t easily find even in higher end models. But with this feature you’ll be able to ensure that your speaker still sounds great even with poor room acoustics.

In installation, these will fit flush into your walls, just ensure that you can carve out at least a 3.6 inch depth in your drywall. Thankfully, installation is quite easy so even without experience, anyone can have these up and running in half an hour.

Although, these speakers do quite well in their frequency range, they are still better as left and right speakers. If you want the perfect setup, throw in a quality center speaker, and you’re good.

Our rating: (4.6 / 5)

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7 Klipsch R-5502-W II In-Wall Speaker

However you choose to use the Klipsch R-5502-W II it works. It can form an excellent part of your home theater setup. Or if you want, you can also use this to simply drive music in your home or even your office.

It features a 1 inch titanium tweeter as well as a dual 5.25 inch cerametallic woofer. If you do recall, we also saw this on the R-5650-W II. Together, these two components help to improve sound, making the audio quality here more natural with minimum distortion.

Installed either vertically or horizontally, this still delivers great sound. And with Klipsch’s sure grip, the speaker comes with enough pressure to remain in place for a long term installation. Still on installation, the grille here is paintable so it’s easy for you to blend it in to your home décor.

This speaker is also very customizable to fit any environment thanks to the custom EQ settings here. Plus, it’s super easy to integrate this with other audio systems if you want to jack up your listening experience.

Lastly, we love the fact this comes super easy to install. In fact, you don’t need an expert to set this up. If you’re handy enough, you should be able to handle the installation on your own without much help.

Our rating: (5 / 5)

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8 Yamaha NS-IW760 6.5 inch 2-Way In-Wall Speaker

Alright, Yamaha might be more popular for their musical instruments, but they also make mean speakers as well. Here we have its decently priced speaker, the NS-IW760. This comes as a single speaker rather than a pair, but there’s more to check out so, let’s move quickly.

There are two 6.5 inch woofers in this speaker made of rubber and polypropylene which keeps your sound from being distorted. This remains so no matter how high you crank up the volume of this thing.

There’s also this  1inch soft domed tweeter in between both woofers. Aside its practical function, this also makes the speaker quite attractive. And if you want, you could even decide to take off the mesh grille altogether.

Installing this can go either horizontally or vertically. However, it’s far easier to install this vertically. Installing this horizontally would require a bit more complex technicalities to make it work.

Plus, with its impressive frequency range, this gives you a real balanced audio with the highs and lows duly covered. And although it works great as a center speaker for a 7.1 setup, this also works for left and right channels.

Now, if you plan to install a couple of this, then ensure you keep them at least 6 feet apart… 10 feet would be great. This is to ensure optimum sound reproduction.

In all, this is a pretty large speaker so it uses that to its advantage to deliver excellent sound.

Our rating: (4.5 / 5)

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9 JBL Leviton AEI65 Architectural Edition 6.5 inch In-Wall Speakers

These speakers are really pretty in their design plus they come in a high quality construction. It’s obvious that JBL puts its foot into making these speakers. From the testimonies of users, these speakers are actually quite durable. So, trust us, your investment is protected on these speakers.

You’ll also find that these speakers come super easy to install. Everyone who has every installed these speakers had the same thing to say. It hardly took time and didn’t give any hitch.

As for sound quality, we’d say that these speakers are quite great and reasonable actually. They work great as stage speakers for a 7.1 surround sound system. Distortion here is at a minimum, and the lows and highs are quite clean.

Most of all, it’s great that these come decently priced. So, it’s within easy reach of most customers.

Not to get things twisted though, this might not deliver on super excellent sound like high end speakers. But if you need something entry-level budget speakers, you’re making a great choice with the Leviton AEI65.

Our rating: (5 / 5)

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10 Silver Ticket 5252W In-Wall Speaker

Lastly, we check out the Silver Ticket 5252W. You might not have heard of the brand but you sure will love its speaker. Well, just keep your expectations reasonable, this is our most affordable speaker after all. It definitely won’t be able to keep up with higher end models but it does well for its category.

With an 80 Watt peak power, this might not come out super loud but the sound quality, nonetheless, is still great. The bass is also solid even though the trebles are not exactly topnotch.

Now, this tends to draw a lot of power, so you’re going to have to use a strong amp with this. Plus the frequency range (63Hz to 20kHz) is decent but it still causes a bit of distortion. And you will definitely lose some notes especially at lower volumes.

But one area where this speaker scores super high is in construction. It’s quite strong and pretty durable. Plus, it’s easy to mount either horizontally or vertically. As you know, more options are always a pro.

Altogether, this is just a decent speaker at a super attractive price. If that’s what’s up your alley for now, then by all means give it a shot. Sound is good enough and it will definitely see a lot of years of use.

Our rating: (4.7 / 5)

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Buying Guide For Best In-Wall Speakers

There’s only a little difference between in-wall speakers and your regular cabinet speaker. And that difference is in the cabinet. While free-standing speakers come in a box or cabinet, in-wall speakers are mounted into the wall. This is the same operation that in-ceiling speakers also follow.

Now, generally, you’d find in-wall speakers mostly in a rectangular shape while in-ceiling speakers would usually come in a round shape. However, there are other more important features to look out for when making the choice of an in-wall speaker. Let’s see some of them below:

Would I Need Different Speakers For Different Rooms?

When it comes to in-wall speakers, it’s never a one-size-fits-all affair. Now, let’s look at a few settings.

In your living room, for instance, you’d be sitting at a particular spot to see a movie, perhaps. So, in such a setting, what you need are big, high-quality sounding speakers. Also, you want to position at ear-level (when in a sitting position) for max listening experience.

On, the other hand, if the scene is a dining room or your kitchen, you probably just need something low-key but evenly distributed. Bathrooms and halls too use background audio mostly. So, for these scenes, you might want to just get a single stereo dual voice coil speaker.

One thing though, speakers you plan to install in the bathroom or laundry room must be moisture-resistant.

What Sizes Of In-Wall Speakers Should I Go For?

Here’s one rule of thumb to remember, bigger speakers produce cleaner, louder sound even at lower volumes when compared to smaller speakers. So, with bigger speakers, you’d hardly have to crank up volume all the time.

However, the area of the room in question equally plays an important role as well which brings us to another rule of thumb. Go for a 6.5 inch speaker, at least, if your room is greater than 15 by 20 feet in area. In fact, for such settings, an 8 inch speaker is actually best.

Now, there are 3 common sizes for in-wall speakers.

Other factors you should check out include:

Power Handling

The power specification on a speaker is the indication of the max amp power the speaker can handle. Of course, the higher the power rating, the louder your speaker will be able to sound.

Frequency Response

Averagely, a human hears at a frequency range of between 20Hz and 20kHz. So, when you see a frequency range on a speaker, it tells you what portion of this range the speaker will be able to play.

Hence, a speaker with a frequency rating of 50Hz to 20kHz will give a wider range plus deeper bass than a speaker rated 65Hz to 20kHz.

Efficiency

This tells you if your speaker is effectively using the power it receives from its amp. For instance, a speaker rated 87dB will need more power than a 91dB speaker at the same high volume.

Also, you’ll find that some in-wall speakers come with swiveling tweeters. This helps you to angle your sound directly to you per time. There are also speakers that feature bass and treble controls which also help to customize audio experience.

Subwoofers – To Get or Not To Get

If you’re getting your in-wall speakers for a home theater setup, then absolutely, you need a sub. It’s the only you can taste the full audio spectrum.

Most people will simply use a regular powered sub. And thankfully, bass is omnidirectional, so it’s still possible to be discrete with your sub.

Now, here’s a tip: when getting a sub for your speakers, think of getting something that’s at least 2 inches (or 3 inches) larger than your front speakers.

Conclusion

Our best in-wall speakers today are definitely the Polk Audio RC85i 2-Way Premium In-Wall 8 inch Speakers. These perform super good but we love the fact that it still comes decently priced.

Another speaker we really loved was the Bose Virtually Invisible 891 In-Wall Speaker. However, it is super pricey. If you can afford it, though, we also highly recommend it.