Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Need Help deciding on 'Stealth' system

For the ultimate in aesthetically-pleasing wall-mounted speakers, check out Artcoustic. They look like framed art.

Caveat: I have no idea how they sound, but I'm guessing not nearly as nice as they look.

The W series should be the compromise for the wife. Typically women just don't like to see big box speakers and cables all over the place.

A reasonable compromise would even be bookshelf speakers like the M3ti with the Full Metal Bracket. As it is, you will still have to drill holes in your walls for speaker plates and (assuming) a hole in the floor plate from the basement to run your wires down through the basment and back up to your source amplifier.

The difference is that with the W series, you simply cut the hole larger and you see NO wires.

Since you state that 80% is home theater, the W series makes the most sense to me. Or, if you have deep pockets, check out the Triad or Monitor Audio CP series or equal. Just make sure that what ever model you do look at has an enclosure.

I think the problem w/ bookshelf speakers attached to the walls is the bulky-ness factor (I would install the wiring in-wall anyways). I was planning to spend around $2.5K for all 8 speakers.

In reply to:

---

I was planning to spend around $2.5K for all 8 speakers.

---

That statement has Axiom written all over it. The problem is that the law of diminishing returns plays a big role in speaker purchasing when you use Axiom as the base or standard. You can spend a lot more and get "better" but I don't think it is worth it unless you can some how snag an exceptional deal somewhere. You can wait a long time for that.

This is where the 30-day policy would be ideal for you. Try the W series and if you can swing some temporary mounts on the wall or from the floor (pedestals) then that will give you the best idea of what your sound will be like.

As others have stated here, the key is that time must be spent properly adjusting the levels of each driver. Once you have them "dialed-in" you will likely find that you enjoy the sound and get your wife to imagine what it would look like without all the wires and exposed components.