Home theater speakers in stereo mode: design perspective

Most owners of surround systems know that they can play music CDs or enjoy great quality from other sources of stereo sound, such as satellite radio or even turn-tables. The surround home theater system can attempt to use all the speakers you have installed, or you can disable the surround mode. The second option probably produces better sound that is more true to the original recording, because the center speaker is disabled. One problem, however, remains. Your home theater system is calibrated and focused with the big screen as its main feature. Now, do you really want to sit in front of a blank screen listening to your favorite music? Probably not. In fact, there is something very unsettling about this. And yet, this is what you would have to do, if you want to hear the music at its best. There is a solution, however. You can set up a mode in which the home theater system will use the rear and the side (left or right speakers), thus focusing the audio on a different corner of the room. Add comfortable seating in that corner and you have a whole new way of enjoying music in your home.

Architectural speakers (inwall speakers) - pros and cons

If the design you chose for your media room is miles away from the ordinary techno look of today's electronic devices, something you might want to do is conceal the speakers. This is achieved by using so called architectural speakers (or inwall speakers, which sounds a lot less sophisticated somehow). These speakers can be easily recessed in the walls and cabinetry. Sometimes they can even be painted, completing the illusion that the sound is coming from the walls. Architectural speakers are manufactured by some of the leading brands, so techically there is no need to skip on the quality of the sound in your home media room (read below, however). Now, add to this the fact that inwall speakers greatly reduce clutter and you pretty much have the pro side of this argument. How about the cons?

• It is not easy to install architectural speakers. Holes must be made and cords have to be laid down. Once the deed is done you cannot move these speakers. You better be sure that they are exactly where you want them to be.
• In a traditional speaker the enclosure ("the box") is carefully designed to resonate just the right way thereby improving the performance of the device. Architectural speakers have to rely upon the surrounding material of the wall, so the sound is not always ideal.
• Loud sound coming from the inwall speakers can resonate through the walls (and the halls!) of your house. This may even end up in some objects hanging on the wall to rattle or shift.

So, while the manufacturers are trying to find workarounds for these issues, why not use a combined approach, and install some speakers in the wall, while leaving a few in their natural state, so to speak?