A Guide to In-Wall & In-Ceiling Home Audio Distribution

How to Bring Music to Every Room with Less Clutter

Are you interested in a multi-room speaker system but want a cleaner, more minimalistic appearance? To spread sound evenly through your Los Angeles home, you’ll likely need one or multiple speakers in every room. However, finding a spot on surfaces, floors, and walls to place speakers without disrupting your interior design can be tricky.

In these scenarios, we recommend a hidden home audio distribution system, which involves installing loudspeakers within your walls and ceilings. Let’s explore architectural audio and answer your questions below!

When Is the Best Time to Install Hidden Audio?

The ideal time to install hidden audio is during construction or renovation before walls or ceilings are finished. This allows for seamless integration and avoids the need for disruptive modifications later.

What Is the Installation Process?

We work with home builders, architects, and interior designers to ensure the audio system complements your home’s design. When we install hidden speakers, we start with a wiring map to plot where cables, speakers, and audio controls will go.

Once it’s time to install, we’ll run wires through the walls to connect back to the amplifier and receiver. Behind the surface, we install brackets to hold speakers in place. A flat grille is placed above the speaker, which we can paint to blend in with the surrounding surface.

We’ll store amplifiers, media controllers, and other equipment in a closet or utility room that’s out of sight. Your speakers will connect back to this room, so you can freely and wirelessly control the speakers from any area.

What If I Want Wooden/Stone/Paneled Ceilings?

No problem! Sonance, one of our preferred hidden audio brands, offers an in-ceiling Architectural Series with drywall and plaster mounting platforms. This way, your speakers are installed as part of the ceiling, so all you see is a seamless surface. The Surface Mounting Platforms are specifically designed to fit seamlessly into wood paneling and stone ceilings.

What Are My Choices for Appearance?

Sonance in-wall and in-ceiling speakers are available in small, medium, and large sizes in paintable round or square speaker grilles. Sonance’s Discreet Opening System grilles are the exact dimension of their small aperture downlights, delivering continuous sight lines across the ceiling.

How Can I Control Whole-Home Audio?

Whole-home audio systems connect back to a central AV or audio receiver. You can connect streaming services or your digital library via Bluetooth or directly control the system with physical controls like knobs.

But for more convenience, we can integrate your receiver into a smart home system, so you don’t need to be within Bluetooth range or near the receiver. This allows you to control all media and speakers from one system wherever you roam.

Select groups of speakers and rooms, adjust the volume, and connect to different sources like TVs, streaming services, podcasts, vinyl, or CD players. Additionally, you can control other home devices, such as TVs and lighting, for a fully integrated smart home experience.