If you don't have room in your home for huge floorstanding speakers, or just don't like the look of such monoliths, France's Focal has launched some home cinema speakers you can mount to the walls to surround your big-screen TV with sound.
There are two members of the On Wall 300 series speakers, each model available in black or white in a high-gloss finish. The general idea is that one unit is mounted below the television as a center channel, while one is placed either side for a total of three. Designed for home cinema setups, Focal says that they're also suitable to use with a living-room hi-fi system. Either way, listeners can choose to show the speaker drivers off or hide them from view with a magnetic grille.
If your television measures 60 diagonal inches or less, the company recommends that 31 x 6 x 3-in (80 x 15.5 x 9-cm), 13-lb (5.9-kg) On Wall 301 units are used. Each one is home to two 4-inch mid-bass drivers – each incorporating a flax cone that's said to benefit from "high internal damping, high velocity of sound and high flexural rigidity" – with a single 1-inch aluminum/magnesium tweeter inbetween them. There are also bass reflex ports to the angled edges to fatten up the low end. Reported frequency response is 53 Hz to 28 kHz frequency response, sensitivity is 87 dB, and nominal impedance is 8 ohms. Focal recommends amplifier power to drive this model to sit in the 25 to 130 watts range.
For those with even bigger screens to watch, the 49 x 6 x 3-in (125 x 15.5 x 9-cm), 20.72-lb (12-kg) On Wall 302 model is the speaker of choice. Within the angular housing are four 4-inch mid-bass drivers, plus bass-reflex porting, and the same tweeter as the 301 in the middle. To drive this model, you'll need a 40 to 180-W amplifier. Frequency response for this unit is 50 Hz to 28 kHz, it has a sensitivity of 91 dB, and 8-ohms nominal impedance.
The On Wall 300 series speakers are due to go on sale later this month, but are not a budget-friendly home audio solution. The On Wall 301 model can be had for US$990 each, while the On Wall 302 flavor is priced at $1,499. Though designed for wall mounting, stands for more flexible placement are offered as an optional extra.
