Monoprice 3-Way Carbon Fiber In-Wall Column Speaker - 6.5 Inch (Each) With Ribbon Tweeter, 8 Ohm Nominal Impedance, Magnetic Grille, 200 Watt Max, White - Amber Series

I have 3 of these installed as the front stage of my theater. (Because I’m too cheap to buy the THX certified ones) I have a QSC CX404 amplifier rated at 250w per channel running them from my Arcam receiver. Movie vocals are CRYSTAL CLEAR. My wife now says we can’t go back to the local movie theater because she has been ruined by our setup. I love the solid look and feel of these with the carbon fiber cones. I was worried that the ribbon tweeter would be too harsh, but it is ideal in my setup. It lends a TON to the clarity of the spoken word. We do not turn on the captions while watching TV or movies with these in play. I haven’t tried to play any music through them, and I’m not sure they’d hold their own next to a set of high quality floor standing speakers for music, but for my theater use, I have NO regrets.

I purchase these speakers along with the matching center channel (124431) and two 6.5" in ceiling speakers (124434) for a 5.1 ch home theater setup. They are mounted in a space that is 15'x11', not very large overall and just enough space to do a semi-proper 5.1 setup. Usually you wouldn't use ceiling mounted rear speakers for 5.1 ch but I don't have much choice. The space available doesn't fit a 7.1 ch setup and my somewhat old, but very well liked Yamaha RX-V 663 receiver doesn't support Atmos. Not that I really have space for an Atmos setup either. Pros: - Surprisingly detailed and clear sound at low to mid volume, excellent for those quiet, dialogue heavy scenes in movies and TV shows yet maintain very good clarity without being fatiguing or harsh during loud action scenes. I find I don't need to adjust the volume for quiet to loud scene changes with these. - Generally good power handling capability. Really have to push the volume up to experience any significant distortion (more on that below). - Fit and finish are very good, grilles fit nicely and they generally have a good feel to them. - Build quality seems good but it's too early to tell about longevity. The drivers used seem to be built well with properly sized components. They will likely handle the rated power over the long term. - Best suited for home theater use, watching movies and TV shows and light music listening. Cons: - Low frequencies roll off much quicker than expected. By the specs, the lower limit is a bit ambitious IMO. The realistic lower end of these speakers is closer to 70 Hz in my walls. Trying to cross over a subwoofer below 80 hz results in a gap in response. - While these are a proper 3 way speaker, the midrange could use a high pass filter to limit low frequencies which appear to cause distortion at high volume. - The grills are not acoustically transparent - The grills could be easier to remove. They are completely devoid of any relief cuts to assist in removal. - The ribbon tweeter is very directional. Even 10° off axis will have a noticeable impact on the sound. These are likely best installed in a wall that is angled to direct the sound to the listener. Many may not consider this a con, but considering the price point it very well could be an unexpected consequence of using a ribbon tweeter. - Can be a bit fatiguing at sustained high volume levels with music. Most noticeable with anything that has electric guitars (mostly metal, hard rock, industrial). Here's a few more details. I'll start out by saying sound is extremely subjective so take anything I say with a grain of salt. My ear seems to be more sensitive to high frequencies and traditionally I have avoided metal dome tweeters or full range drivers due to their harshness to my ear. Personal preference is king IMO when it comes to speakers. This is just my opinion and experience with these speakers. So, to start, these speakers are a bit of a mixed bag for sound quality. Where they shine is in detailed sound. At lower volumes these really come alive. Compared to my PSB Alpha T1 tower speakers, they are far more alive and dynamic, so to speak. The detail and clarity in quiet, dialogue heavy scenes in movies is unlike anything I've heard except in a theater. Now, I know that's not saying much, I don't exactly have experience with the upper mid range and high end speakers from the likes of B&W, high end Paradigm and the upper levels of PSB. For my tastes, this situation is where these Monoprice speakers really shine. These have changed the way I watch movies and are the closest I have personally gotten to the movie theater experience and it's easily the best use case for them. Music is really where these speakers fall a bit short for me. Dedicated music listening speakers these are not. The low end realistically tapers off very fast below 70 Hz so a subwoofer must be used to fill in the low end. The advertised 56 Hz is quite ambitious a claim IMO. That could just be related to the construction of my walls but it's definitely something anybody should consider before choosing these. There's also another issue. Push the volume level up (admittedly to near uncomfortable levels for the room size I have) and the sound starts to exhibit some signs of distortion. I believe the problem lies in the crossover point for the midrange driver, it receives too much of the lower frequency range which impacts the clarity of the proper mid range frequencies. The midrange driver doesn't have a high pass filter so it's getting frequencies it can't even reproduce to the detriment of overall clarity. Voices and some instruments start to become distorted, kind of like when trying to talk while driving over washboard roads. I wouldn't say that's a major issue but could be a problem worth considering if you have a particularly large room that needs high volume levels to fill. The same low volume detail you get in movies is still there in music but there's just something lacking in these when listening to some genres of music. However, at this price point they are generally very good for music if you have a good subwoofer and keep the volume in check. Aside from those issues, they have proven to be competent with many different genres of music. Most of the issue arises in music that is heavy on high distortion electric guitars or when pushing high volume with EDM, dubstep, drum and bass types of music. They can definitely belt out St. James Infirmary by Hugh Laurie with impressive clarity and detail and hold up reasonably well with many other genres when you keep the volume in check. I've given these speakers 4/5 stars for sound quality due to the issues I listed above and considering the price point. If Monoprice were to solve the issue of high volume distortion as I believe they can, I would increase this to a 5 star rating, even with the somewhat anemic low end response. The low end can be solved easily enough with a well tuned subwoofer, but the distortion issue is intrinsic to the speaker design and not easily solved by the end user. Someone familiar with crossover design may have some ability to fine tune these a bit, and I may even investigate that myself at some point. But for now, at the volume I generally listen at, these are more than acceptable and I would have no problem recommending them to someone looking for a great home theater in wall on a budget. I firmly believe with a few minor tweaks and careful consideration for placement/angling, these speakers can punch well above their weight.

They work to produce sound. The sound that does come from them is not overly rich or detailed which is the problem of most in-wall speakers. If I would do it again, I would just get a quality soundbar.

i’d put this up against speakers 4x the cost. ribbon tweeter is a bit tinny, but is breaking in nicely after 20-30 hours. miss are crisp & clear, high notes are clear, but needs some more break-in for good blending as it is still a bit too crisp and divided.

Really great speakers. Look, sound and work just as good as higher priced speakers. I’ve been installing Monoprice speakers for a years (including my own home) and have never had service call because of a bad speaker.