I became the proud owner of a pair of Audio Concepts, Inc. Emerald On-Wall speaker late last year through one of their give away contests. I opted for a pair with the Mahogany finish option. It's a really beautiful well built speaker, sturdy gold-plated recessed binding posts, and exceptional packaging for shipping. These folks take their speaker quality seriously. I don't think they'll wear out for at least 50 years!
My System & Speaker Position:
After breaking in the speakers for about 50 hours per the well written instructions, I have been using them in my HT set-up for rear surrounds. My modest HT system consists of a Yamaha RX-V 795 receiver, a modified Sony DV-7000 DVD player, a Toshiba CN36H97 Cinema series television (yes its a tuber), an old Mitsuibishi VCR, Vandersteen 2CE front speakers, and a VCC-1 center speaker. VH Audio PULSAR interconnects throughout, VH Audio 12 AWG speaker cable for fronts & center speakers, and Sound King 10 AWG runs for the rear speakers.
The Emeralds replaced an old pair of Mission book shelf speakers. Unfortunately, I have not had time or energy to wall mount the Emeralds yet. My family/HT room set up is a bit odd, with a large L shaped leather sofa facing away from a brick fireplace. I have yet to get a mortar drill bit and proper screws to mount these speakers to the fireplace as suggested by Marbles
The speakers are mounted flush to the fireplace wall on Target 24" stands with tweeters mounted below sitting position ear height as recommended by Mike Dzurko. The 5 channel system levels are dialed in with my trusty old Radio Shack Analog sound meter.
These speakers are a two-way design with a 5 1/4" long throw cast-frame bass-midrange shielded driver and 1" silk dome shielded tweeter. There are two small ports located on the bottom of the speaker. Mike D. informs me that these speakers are designed to be flush mounted against the wall for optimum performance. I assume this insures a bass response to 65 HZ per specifications, correct this if wrong Mike. Some additional specifications provided from ACI's well designed web-site can be found below.
The Sound:
These speaker sound really smooth, open, and uncongested even at high volumes. Granted I have not listened to them critically in my 2 channel rig, but the detail and rear effects on DVD's never sounded so good in my HT system.
Listening to music DVD's like Roy Orbison Black & White Nights, Concert for George, Beatles Anthology, & Pink Floyd Pulse the Emerald's open up nicely and really let the music out.
The drivers are well integrated. I did not have any problems driving them cleanly with my 100 watt RMS per channel receiver. My Yamaha receiver can produce a hard, peaky treble driving many speakers, even rear surrounds. With the Sound King copper speaker cables, I did not experience any peakiness in the treble.
This is the first wall mounted speaker I've ever had in my system. I always thought you gave up a lot with these relatively small, flat speakers. Well, the ACI Emerald on-walls have proven this skeptic dead wrong. These are very high quality, excellent sounding speakers.
In Closing:
If you have an HT set up with space limitation or your aesthetic tastes preclude free standing monoliths, I encourage you to give these speakers a listen. I think with 5 of these puppies and an ACI Force or better yet Titan sub, you'll be in home theater heaven.
I am really impressed with ACI's speaker line and especially their custom install offerings. They have a wide variety of speakers in lots of different price ranges.
Now I have to start thinking about moving my HT system downstairs, getting a HD projector, some nice separates, some .... (naw, not yet the wife would kill me. Maybe next year).
Here is a link if you want some more information:
http://www.audioc.com/speakers1/emeraldonw/emeraldonw.htmSpecifications & Features:
Frequency Response: 65-20kHz ± 3db
Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms
Sensitivity: 88db 1 watt/1 meter
Dimensions: 11 3/4" H x 16" W x 5 1/2" D
Weight: 15 lbs each
Tweeter: 1" silk dome, shielded
Bass-Midrange: 5 1/4" cast-frame, rubber surround, double magnet, long-throw shielded
Recommended RMS Power: 30 to 150 watts per channel (200 watts + when used with subwoofers)
Bass-loading: Fourth order computer aligned dual bottom vents
Cheers and happy listening. Apologies for any typo's.
NB
