Best in-wall and in-ceiling speakers for 2025

I always told them that traditional box speakers aren't the end-all-be-all for home audio. Advancements in speaker technology have enabled modern in-wall and in-ceiling speakers to give exceptional results for music and home theater that rival conventional speakers. They take up zero floor space and are hidden from sight.

But how do they compare to normal speakers? Do they sound just as good? Read on to find out, and see our top picks.

What's better, in-wall or in-ceiling speakers?

This is a question I often got, and my answer was simple: Both are awesome. I recommend choosing what fits your room and application best. Need speakers throughout your home for background music? Go in-ceiling. Looking at setting up a dedicated two-channel music listening room? Either will work, though in-wall speakers are the better bet since they fire at ear level. Wanting to create an incognito home theater system? You can use both!

In-wall and in-ceiling speakers blend seamlessly together. Use them all around your room to build a hidden home theater system.

If you need guidance on choosing the right in-wall or in-ceiling speakers for your project, check out our in-wall and in-ceiling speaker buying guide.

Are in-wall speakers as good as tower speakers?

If you've been in the home audio game, you're likely familiar with tower speakers. They often use multiple drivers and woofers and can fill a room with sweet sound. They're used in home theater and music setups alike. Some higher-end models give standout performances full of subtle nuance and detail.

The in-wall Focal speaker shown here (left) uses the same woofer and tweeter tech as the Focal tower speaker (right). Their sound is surprisingly similar!

From my experience, in-wall speakers can sound as good as tower speakers. Many in-wall models use the same driver technology and crossovers as their tower counterparts. They also use optimized drivers that use the space inside your wall as their "cabinet".

Do in-ceiling speakers sound good for music?

In-ceiling speakers provide a stealthy option for getting sound in a room without taking up any of its precious real estate. In-ceiling speakers, much like their in-wall counterparts, often use the same drivers and tech as traditional speakers, making them a stellar choice for music.

One thing to consider with in-ceiling speakers is that most of them project sound straight downward. That's great for filling a room and for casual background music, but not the best for accuracy. If you're using in-ceiling speakers and want more directionality and detail, I recommend getting speakers with aimable tweeters, so you can direct the high frequencies toward your listening position.

In-ceiling speakers often have aimable tweeters that can be adjusted to fire directly at your listening position.

How do in-wall and ceiling speakers get power?

In-ceiling speakers are passive, meaning they need connection to an amplifier for power. You'll need to run speaker wire from your amp to the speaker in the ceiling. The same is true for in-wall speakers.

Are in-wall and ceiling speakers right for you?

Before taking the plunge and picking up in-wall or in-ceiling speakers, you need to take a few things into account.

First, make sure you're comfortable doing some light drywall work. You'll need to cut into the walls or ceiling of your room to install the speakers and speaker wire. Most speakers come with some sort of template to simplify the job and attach to the drywall using L-shaped brackets that clamp them on.

Second, consider whether you plan on moving or redecorating in the next few years. Unlike traditional box speakers, in-wall and in-ceiling speakers present difficulties when you're moving. You can leave your investment behind and leave the speakers in the wall or ceiling, or you can remove them and bring them with you. The latter will require patching the holes left behind.

You'll also need to do some planning for the install. You'll want to make sure the speakers are exactly where you want them, since you can't move them once they're in place. If you're doing in-wall speakers, make sure the tweeters are going to be level with your ears once installed. If you're doing in-ceiling speakers, make sure they're right over your listening position, or that their tweeters are aimed at it.

Proper positioning of your in-wall and in-ceiling speakers is key. You want to try and have an equilateral triangle between your listening position and your front speakers.

If you're buying multiple speakers for the same room, I recommend buying speakers that are all of the same brand, and if at all possible, the same line. "Voice matching", as that process known, removes the potential for uneven or muddy sound.

The last thing to take into account is the overall look once the speakers are installed. A lot of in-wall and in-ceiling speakers come with paintable grilles so you can match them with the rest of your room. If you don't want the white grilles visible, grab some paint beforehand so you're prepared once the speakers go in.

This all assumes your home is already built and you're adding the speakers to an existing room. If you're thinking of grabbing in-wall or in-ceiling speakers for a new construction, there are pre-construction brackets available to "mark" the speakers' location beforehand. Having those brackets in place lets your contractors work around the speakers and make post-build installation easy.

Pre-construction brackets are useful for marking speaker locations prior to drywall being installed in your new home.

Our top picks for 2025

By now, you're likely wondering what we recommend. We carry in-ceiling and in-wall speakers for just about every scenario, and having an ocean of choices can make choosing the right ones a little confusing. To help you out, here are a few of our top picks.

Best in-wall speaker for home theater — Focal 300 IW6 LCR

The Focal 300 IW6 LCR is part of the company's line of custom install speakers. It uses the same drivers and materials as their high-end Flax series box speakers and delivers the same impressive performance without taking up floor space.

This in-wall speaker uses a 1" aluminum magnesium inverted dome tweeter, a dedicated 4" flax midrange, and dual 6-1/2" flax woofers. Its three-way design helps it dish out exceptional clarity while maintaining sound separation, even during intense or chaotic sections of movies. It even has a respectable bass response, though I recommend adding a subwoofer to round out the low end.

You can use three of these versatile speakers as the front left, center, and front right speakers in your home theater system. Or you can go all out and add a couple more as your rear or side surrounds.

Details

• installs horizontally as a center channel, or vertically as a left- or right-channel speaker
• 1" aluminum magnesium inverted dome tweeter
• dual 6-1/2" woven flax woofers
• 4" woven flax midrange driver
• frequency response: 40-28,000 Hz
• recommended amplifier power: 50-150 watts
• sensitivity: 92 dB

Best in-ceiling speaker for music — MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTC8

The MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTC8 in-ceiling speaker is an excellent choice for music, especially in large rooms.

This powerful speaker uses MartinLogan's acclaimed Folded Motion Tweeter, made famous for its lightning-quick response time, wide dispersion pattern, and intricate detail. An 8" woven fiberglass driver delivers punchy bass and textured midrange. The XTC8 keeps up with your music, no matter the genre.

Details

• 1.27" x 2.4" Folded Motion tweeter
• 8" woven fiberglass woofer
• frequency response: 51-25,000 Hz
• recommended amplifier power: 50-300 watts
• sensitivity: 91 dB

Best in-ceiling speaker for Dolby Atmos — Focal 300 ICW 8

If you're considering Focal's Flax series speakers for your home theater, look no further than the 300 ICW 8 to handle immersive overhead effects.

This high-performance in-ceiling speaker excels at bringing movies to life, with realistic reproduction of thunder, jets, explosions, and any other sound effects your movie may have.

Its fast 8" woven flax woofer keeps the bass and midrange impactful and articulate, while its 1" aluminum magnesium inverted dome tweeter adds some sparkle to the highs. The tweeter is aimable to better direct high frequencies at your listening position, and there's a three-position tweeter level switch that helps match the tweeter to your room's acoustics.

Details

• 1" aimable aluminum/magnesium inverted dome tweeter
• tweeter pivots 360º to direct high frequencies toward your listening position
• three position tweeter level control cuts or boosts high frequencies to match your room's acoustics
• 8" woven flax cone woofer
• frequency response: 48-28,000 Hz
• recommended amplifier power: 25-150 watts
• sensitivity: 90 dB

Best budget in-wall speaker — Klipsch R-5502-W II

Klipsch's R-5502-W II is a great option if you're building an incognito home theater system on a budget. It's a versatile speaker that is right at home as any of the main speakers in your home theater system (like the front left, center, front right, or rear surround).

It brings to the table everything folks love about Klipsch. A pivoting 1" titanium tweeter housed in a Tractrix® horn keeps the highs crisp without being fatiguing. Dual 5-1/4" Ceremetallic™ woofers dish out midrange and bass with authority, though I do recommend getting a subwoofer to complement and fill out the speaker's sound.

This speaker also uses Klipsch's Wide Dispersion Sound Technology™ to improve its soundstaging and imaging even if you're sitting off-axis.

Details

• pivoting Tractrix® horn with 1" titanium tweeter
• dual 5-1/4" Cerametallic™ woofers
• Wide Dispersion Surround Technology™ improves off-axis response
• recommended amplifier power: up to 75 watts
• frequency response 46-20,000 Hz
• sensitivity 92 dB

Best budget in-ceiling speaker — Polk Audio MC80

In all my time speaking with customers, there wasn't a speaker I talked about more than the Polk Audio MC80. And with good reason — it rocks! The MC80 strikes a wonderful balance between performance and cost, dealing out rich sound without putting too large a dent in funds.

Its large 8" Dynamic Balance® woofer tackles bass and midrange frequencies, while its 3/4" silk dome tweeter keeps high notes silky smooth. The MC80 is also pretty efficient for an in-ceiling speaker, clocking in at 92dB, so it'll work with almost any amplifier.

Details

• 3/4" aimable silk dome tweeter
• 8" Dynamic Balance® woofer
• recommended amplifier power: up to 100 watts
• sensitivity: 92 dB
• paintable white matte grille
• durable, moisture-resistant construction

Best stereo input in-ceiling speaker — Focal 100 IC 6-ST

Getting stereo sound from a single speaker is only possible with stereo input speakers. They're a great way of getting music in an area where you only need or can only install one speaker.

Focal's 100 IC 6-ST has two sets of speaker wire terminals, which lets you connect both the left and right channels of your amplifier to it, and the speaker will play a stereo sound. It uses a 6-1/2" polyglass woofer and twin 1" aluminum dome tweeters to play room-filling sound. The tweeters have a three-position level control switch for matching the speaker to your room's acoustics.

Details

• stereo-input speaker plays both the left and right channels of the stereo mix
• dual 1" aluminum inverted dome tweeters
• 6-1/2" Polyglass woofer
• three-position tweeter level control cuts or boosts high-frequency output to ideally suit your room's acoustics
• recommended amplifier power: 25-100 watts
• frequency response: 60-23,000 Hz
• sensitivity: 89 dB

Best in-wall subwoofer — SVS 3000 Single In-wall Subwoofer System

So far, we've only talked about speakers. But there are subwoofers that can mount inside your wall. SVS's 3000 Single In-wall Subwoofer System is a low-frequency powerhouse in every sense of the word.

The subwoofer comes to bat with two 9" aluminum vented cone woofers that know how to bring the thunder. The subs rest in a non-resonant, sealed aluminum and MDF enclosure that tightens the bass up and hits you more in the chest.

The included amplifier is a beast too. It outputs 800 watts to the sub and offers loads of control options for fine tuning your sound. You can tweak the sub's level, low-pass filter frequency, and phase from the amplifier itself. Or you can use the Bluetooth BLE smartphone app and make adjustments right from your Android™, iOS®, or Amazon device.

Details

• in-wall subwoofer system with matching amplifier
• two lightweight 9" aluminum vented-cone woofers
• resonance-free sealed aluminum and MDF enclosure
• frequency response: 22-250 Hz
• acoustically transparent, paintable magnetic grille
• amplifier provides 800 watts RMS for a single subwoofer enclosure
• Bluetooth BLE smartphone control app for iOS, Android, and Amazon devices
• front-panel interface with LED display
• amplifier inputs and DSP controls, including level, low-pass filter control, and phase

Best moisture-resistant in-ceiling speakers — OSD ICE640WRS

Most in-ceiling speakers won't survive for long in high-moisture environments. That's where OSD's ICE640WRS comes in. These weather- and-humidity-resistant speakers fill a neglected home audio void and deliver high-quality sound in damp areas. They're perfect for getting tunes in your bathroom, laundry room, or outdoor patio.

They're easy to install thanks to their L-shaped "dog ear" style mounting brackets, and even come with a rust-resistant aluminum grille that fits flush with your ceiling. If the 6-1/2" cone isn't big enough, there's an 8" version available too!

Details

• 2-way weather-resistant in-ceiling speakers
• 1" aimable titanium-dome tweeter
• 6-1/2" fiberglass woofer with Santoprene surround
• "dog-ear" style mounting brackets for easier install — no construction brackets needed
• frequency response: 40-20,000 Hz
• recommended amplifier power: up to 75 watts
• sensitivity: 90dB
• spray-paintable white rust-resistant aluminum grilles included

Planning and installation tips

Here at Crutchfield, we're big on DIY, so we want to make sure you have all of the information you need to get started.

Read our speaker placement and installation guide to learn how to map out the locations of your new custom-install system. And check out our in-wall wiring guide for a deep dive into how it all connects together. Are you designing a home theater system for small room? Read our small home theater ideas article. We even have an article on how to turn your basement into a home theater room!

We have an in-house team of A/V experts that are here to help you before and after your purchase.

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