Top brands and specialists

have seen the attraction of the architectural speaker market. JBL has almost the same depth of range with in-walls as with its boxier speakers, with models like the two-way shown above with have architectural speakers. Every one of the six brands of speaker packages in this round-up also has ranges of in-wall and in-ceiling designs available, and often it is possible to find architectural models which directly correspond to their box speaker ranges: pictured right, for example, is , designed to complement the Debut IW-D61-W in-walls but also Debut floorstanding and bookshelf designs. Then there are specialists, which may be, by definition, brands with less market presence, but which have nevertheless built an industry reputation. Origin, Sonance and SpeakerCraft all lay claim to the distinction of ‘firsts’ and have built huge ranges without ever being tempted into the home hi-fi market. But to see where such specialist knowledge can lead, we need look no further than our own back yard. Our most recent Sound+Image 2022 award win for architectural speakers went to Australia’s own Elementi, whose designs are digital active using locally-mounted dedicated amplifiers. The front LCR (or surround) speaker is pictured left.