Revel W553L Measurements (In-wall Speaker)

[500Homeruns]

Horizontally or vertically? Former would limit you to 20 degrees listening window. Vertically would work fine.

I could install it vertically.
It would be in a pretty large room. Do you think that would be an issue?

 

[beagleman]

For the first time in my life, I am considering an in-wall speaker as being something that could be viable!

I would MAKE SURE you listen to them first. Just going on measured frequency response, for an in wall, does not mean for "Sure", they will sound that way when in your actual wall, in your room.

The wall, how it is made, where the speaker is located, and a half dozen other things influence in wall speakers to some minor to moderate degree.

 

[JaMaSt]

As I explained in the introduction, the measurements reflect installation in infinite wall. While real installation won't be as big of a wall, it will be very close. This is a special measurement mode for Klippel NFS that performs this magic.

Won't encapsulating the drivers between two studs, with drywall behind, affect their sound like a speaker cabinet does? When you do commercial installations (which is what I understand your company does) would you place insulation in the cavity and block it above and below the drivers? The drivers don't appear to be enclosed.

 

[EJ3]

I would MAKE SURE you listen to them first. Just going on measured frequency response, for an in wall, does not mean for "Sure", they will sound that way when in your actual wall, in your room.

The wall, how it is made, where the speaker is located, and a half dozen other things influence in wall speakers to some minor to moderate degree.

I don't now have an intent to do wall speakers.But the fact that some seem to be better than they were in general just a few years ago.
Yes, listening to them installed somewhere is definitely a must.

 

[pseudoid]

Thank you @amirm, very interesting results.
How does such an in-wall speaker account for the variety of wall constructions and their volumetric sizes?
Especially, in the lower 4 octaves?
Can such an in-wall speaker' short comings in the lower octaves really be corrected by EQ?
As discussed by others, would such in-wall speakers best be utilized in rear/side/depth channels, rather than as the front L/R, which seems will also require a sub or two (L/R).

I happen to like waterfall (SpectralDecay) graphs you provide, but in the case of these in-walls I agree with you that they become quite meaningless.

 

[amirm]

I could install it vertically.
It would be in a pretty large room. Do you think that would be an issue?

It doesn't have the full power capability of your mains but I think it will do if you have a sub.

 

[amirm]

Thank you @amirm, very interesting results.
How does such an in-wall speaker account for the variety of wall constructions and their volumetric sizes?

It doesn't although the volume is going to be large in almost all scenarios.

 

[phoenixsong]

I find the concept of in-wall speakers interesting, especially since there are many different kind of walls from solid brick to plaster

 

[PeteL]

I would MAKE SURE you listen to them first. Just going on measured frequency response, for an in wall, does not mean for "Sure", they will sound that way when in your actual wall, in your room.

The wall, how it is made, where the speaker is located, and a half dozen other things influence in wall speakers to some minor to moderate degree.

That's a problem in itself tough. How you can "listen first" If it has to be installed "in your actual wall, in your room" to give a correct assesment of performance. I assume that when one actually have made the openings, went trough in wall wiring... his brain will probably tells him it sounds fine, since the alternative (return/change) would be pricy and painful. Those things sure are hard to review, and I understand Amir's point of not doing a listening test. I am not in the market for this but it sure is a tough call trying to assess what would work best.

 

[beagleman]

That's a problem in itself tough. How you can "listen first" If it has to be installed "in your actual wall, in your room" to give a correct assesment of performance. I assume that when one actually have made the openings, went trough in wall wiring... his brain will probably tells him it sounds fine, since the alternative (return/change) would be pricy and painful. Those things sure are hard to review, and I understand Amir's point of not doing a listening test. I am not in the market for this but it sure is a tough call trying to assess what would work best.

Great point and I agree............

I guess I was trying to say, maybe try to hear them first, but tough to do outside on your actual wall. A real quandary for sure.

I had some several years ago, but used part of my garage and semi "Mocked up" a similar placement in drywall and studs with insulation and all before putting them in my living room. they sounded fairly good for sure.

I ended up never using them in the living room, for a few other reasons, not related TO sound. But to me they sounded different than the sales floor in my mock up wall.....The whole in wall thing is a tough sell and just has some obstacles as you say rightly.

 

[beagleman]

It doesn't although the volume is going to be large in almost all scenarios.

Unless they are in an exterior wall with insulation, a placement that to me would not be ideal for obvious reasons.

 

[EJ3]

I have my main speakers (Dahlquist M-905's powered by a bridged mono NAD 2200 each at 4 ohms] {see Amirm's test of one of my NAD 2200's here under NAD 2200 vintage review} and a pair of custom 12" subs running a NAD 2200 in stereo 4 ohms). I presume that most people would be using in wall speakers as a surround of some sort. That would be the way I would use them anyway. For that purpose, these speakers seem to be just fine. As to using them as your main speakers, no matter the wall construction, I cannot suggest that would be a good to do.

 

[MaxBuck]

Really good for an in-wall speaker. Looks like a great choice if you're considering such a thing.

 

[nathan]

These might make really good overhead speakers for Atmos use. As long as you don't mind the somewhat larger ceiling print.

These speakers are quite impressive......and that is almost the only place I would NOT use these speakers......and I am a big fan of in wall speakers.

This particular driver configuration doesn't have the vertical dispersion necessary for a good overhead speaker (not to mention the lack of an adjustable angle). Revel makes some excellent in ceiling speakers that have a useful angle to them, and those would likely perform much better because they are not as limited in terms of vertical dispersion.

These would be best for the LCR in a home theater. Even in a two row theater, with the right placement and geometry, each row could be in the vertical sweet spot.

Secondarily, these speakers could be used for surround duties. However, they would not be my first choice for surround duty in a dedicated theater. Why? Well, surround speakers are seldom at ear level. Surround speakers even by Dolby specs these days are a little above ear level.....possibly by 10% or more. Then, especially if there is a riser and more than one row, that angle is exacerbated even more than for the LCR which can split the difference between rows instead of needing to be a bit higher than the highest row/riser.

So, personally, I would choose one of the single woofer Revel in wall speakers for surround duty, in order to have an increased vertical sweet spot. The lower power handling of the single driver two way speaker would be more acceptable in a surround speaker due to being closer to the seated listeners, therefor not needing as much output to reach reference level at the listening position.

 

[nathan]

Anyway, I'm really impressed by how these measure. I thought I was choosing between JBL Synthesis and Triad for my next build because Revel couldn't quite keep up in this space....... and I guess I was wrong about Revel. (Always loved their In Room speakers, and I'm even running a pair of their On Wall speakers in a casual stereo setup with good results, so I'm in general a fan.)

 

[nathan]

Is it my imagination? I was trying to compare this with other Revel in wall offerings, to see what the highest output choice would be, and was shocked to see how much less well the W990 measure (even if we simply accept Revel's own measurements).

Revel W990 Review (in-wall speaker)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Revel W990 in-wall speaker. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $1,750 each. Note: our company Madrona Digital is a dealer with Harman and I suspect we have installed thousands of their in-wall products over the years. While I have...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Chromatischism]

These might make really good overhead speakers for Atmos use. As long as you don't mind the somewhat larger ceiling print.

I think the radiation pattern isn't going to be ideal for overhead speakers. It's much better to use traditional speakers and aim them appropriately to cover all of your seats.

 

[mp006ltk]

I'm not sure that baffle was large enough to get an accurate measurement on an in or on wall speaker. I designed an on-wall a few years ago and despite the math saying I had enough flat plane to be filtered by a gated measurement, the measurements got far more normal when the baffle was made larger, indicating that I was measuring the diffraction off the edge by accident. Designing an in wall is inherently more dificult, especially if you are making it open back. There are a ton of issues that these unknowns can introduce.

 

[Acoustimac]

When we did a home remodel I was forced to move to in wall speakers. I tested these in a local store and was so impressed either sound. Installed them into the custom built sound wall and wow…they are impressive. The bass doesn’t come into its own until I get the volume turned up a bit…my listening volume versus what my wife wants lol. Very clear sounding. Do they need a sub? Not in my opinion. They reproduce the full spectrum very well.

 

[ThELiZ]

I have these speakers as LCR in my home theatre. I always hear that I shouldn't EQ speaker above 500Hz. However, can I generate EQ based off of the spinorama for these speakers? If so... Is there any analysis done on this data to create a PEQ?