I heard two new 'invisible' speakers that give new meaning to the idea of a 'wall of sound' and they're good enough that I'd use them for hi-fi or home theater

Date:
Mon, 16 Mar 2026 22:00:00 +0000

Description:
Speakers you plaster over in the wall that actually sound great? I was skeptical, but they work

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a world where speaker objets d'art exist such as the JBL L100 or B&Os Beolab 90s , its always felt to me that if youre lucky enough to own some high-end hi-fi speakers, they should be proudly on display in your home.

To that end, the notion of residential 'invisible speakers' always seemed
like a solution to a problem that didnt exist, in my mind. Installed in recesses behind walls or ceilings, allowing you to magically hear your music and movies without the speakers being in view at all, they perhaps made sense to me for commercial settings and places where floor space is at a premium that's why in-wall speakers are so popular in home theater installations but otherwise the tech always came across as somewhat gimmicky. Moreover, the examples Id heard at audio and home theater shows often left me feeling flat (appropriately, I suppose), with anaemic outputs more reminiscent of the delivery youd expect from a cheap soundbar than a home theater system.
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Fast forward to 2026, and a visit to the ISE expo in Barcelona left me realizing that the game has very much changed, and not necessarily for the reasons youd expect.

The luxury home-installation bracket is traditionally where hidden speakers reside, but two exhibitors at the show, each with a different approach to their hidden speakers, suggest you might be seeing or not, as the case may
be more of these sound systems cropping up in more regular homes.

The first revelatory moment for me came with a visit to Aminas stand. Based
in Cambridge in the UK, the company is solely focused on its plaster-over invisible speakers, with its designs initially inspired by tech that first featured in the UK's Ministry of Defence helicopter simulators from the
1980s.

Pride of place on the stand was an unassuming wall decorated with laminated wood behind which was housed three of the companys latest larger Sapphire 375 75-watt speakers, coupled with one of its ALF 100 subwoofers, which had a vented port near the floor. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from
us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. The Amina Sapphire 375's actual speaker unit (Image credit: Kevin Lynch) Listening to Van Morrisons Days Like This through the system, I was taken aback by the full-bodied, yet controlled, crystal-clear delivery of the familiar song, coming from something that was, simply, a wall.

After moving around the wall, it soon occurred to me that the system appeared to have an unexpected advantage over a conventional speaker setup: there was no discernible 'sweet spot'. No matter where I stood when facing the wall, there was still the same level of separation to the tracks instruments whatever way the speakers were dispersing vibrations across the wall, it was allowing the 180-degree sound to fill the entire room in a uniform,
consistent manner. Advantages to an unusual approach Speaking to Aminas Managing Director Richard Newlove at the show , he explained how the design
of Aminas vibrational panel speakers takes influence from acoustic musical instruments, allowing them to create sound in a way that is more harmonious with their surroundings. What to read next I can't stop thinking about these affordable IKEA speakers that look like art I spent a day at an elite hi-fi show to pick out 6 affordable speakers and hi-res players even I'd buy, so maybe you can too The best stereo speakers

A regular, moving-coil loud speaker is directional, so it's only aiming in what direction the speakers are pointed. But when those reflections do come back, they start to interfere, Richard explained.

And in the worst-case scenario, what's happening there is that you're
changing the sound in the room from what the speakers are creating. But acoustic musical instruments like violins send all frequencies in all directions, 360 degrees. The surface is creating a very complex energy wave, not a phase-related energy. A vibrational soundboard is better at connecting with air and putting sound into it. The beauty is that this way of dispersing sound is also scalable a double bass and a violin work the same way.

Aminas early products were speakers disguised as pictures on walls, as well
as ceiling tiles and projection screens, but they soon received requests for installs that were even more discreet, that could be recessed into the wall without any shadow line or gap, with those solutions evolving into whats become its current speaker lineup.

The brands latest Sapphire range use super-lightweight honeycomb-structured panels that are driven by an electronic exciter, which delivers sound vibrations to the surface.

The panels are just 31mm thick and can be installed into a routed hole in
stud walls or in plasterboard dry walls that can then be skimmed over, while their slim frame also enables them to work well behind panelled wood so long as the veneer isnt too thick (anything over 2mm can degrade the output).

While early versions of vibration-based invisible speakers used a low-powered piezoelectric system to distribute sound and carbon panels that were too
stiff to give out meaningful low frequencies, the improved materials and exciters being used in Aminas Sapphire 375 speakers mean theyre able to deliver much greater midrange and bottom end with an impressive claimed frequency response of 50Hz to 20kHz. Stealth mode A short walk across the
hall to American brand Stealth Acoustics shows a different, but no less impactful, approach to creating sound systems that disappear into their surroundings.

Based in Washington DC, the company has been producing invisible systems for the best part of 25 years, and is now on its eighth line of speakers with its LineaResponse X range. Unlike Aminas vibrational panel approach, Stealths speakers uses a hybrid approach, combining traditional cone woofers with acoustic lever technologies for bass.

While that means that theyre more directional than Aminas speakers, their
flat front diaphragm design still means they deliver wide dispersion and also mean you dont have to worry about symmetrical placement. The cutaway reveals the driver technology inside (Image credit: Kevin Lynch) They do however, carry a lot more heft in output, both from a power perspective up to a meaty 200 watts RMS with the new flagship L-RAD 430 speakers as well as in terms
of frequency response, with a much wider, deeper soundstage with a useable bass delivery down to ~35Hz.

Needing more depth and heavier in weight than Aminas panels, Stealths LRX speakers are perhaps best suited to new construction projects where wooden studs are visible.

The goal is to make a speaker that you go to first, explains Stealths
Business Development Director, Mark Cichowski. Not to think, I need an invisible speaker, but more like, I need a good-sounding speaker, and it is also invisible.

The permanence of hidden sound systems is also a consideration for Stealth, with Cichowski keen to stress its 20-year warranty. Once its in the wall, theres no maintenance the failure rate is incredibly low. The systems themselves have circuit protection, so if someone goes and turns it up to
100, youre not going to blow a speaker out and then have to dig it out of the wall and replace it. Itll cap itself and tell the power to come back down. This wall make noise. A lot of noise (Image credit: Kevin Lynch) Some of the drawbacks that have always dogged invisible speakers, of course, still
remain. While the costs have fallen since the early days of invisible speakers, that discreet elegance unsurprisingly still comes with a premium asking price, with Stealths L-RAD 430s priced at $3,000 for a pair, while Aminas Sapphire 375s come in at a slightly more costly $1,800 per speaker
all before the installation costs.

While theres always the option of fitting the speakers yourself, but much of the sound quality of both brands speakers is dependent on a quality install, so the two companies both advise using a professional service from their partners.

Once installed and finished over with plaster or paint, theres then the issue of accessing them for service, upgrade or even if you want to remove them and take them with you should you move house all scenarios that are considerably more difficult than with traditional visible speakers.

These factors aside, the tech has come far enough for invisible speakers to now become a real consideration for even discerning audiophiles. If youre moving into a new place, or about to decorate your listening area, it might now be time to build your very own wall of sound. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

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