Making the best of mediocre speakers

Good in-walls can't sound pretty nice. The problems are the height and bass. Yours are mounted too high as you know. You need ones with angled tweeters to help compensate. A good sub will help a lot too (even an in-wall one). However, don't bother with $3k worth of gear if your speakers aren't up to snuff. There's some neat units by KEF, Thiel and others that remain fairly hidden.

Choose one:

A. Find another "wife." - "Is it you that wants the in-wall speakers?"

B. Find another hobby.

Thanks guys. Bday0000: there is a wife, but you are right insofar as I agreed with her insistence. It is a difficult room: open on both narrow ends of the rectangle, with 3 doorways and a dining room area, and no shelves for bookshelf speakers... Short of putting the speakers on stands in the middle of the room, which was what she vetoed (I volunteered to keep them grouped together along the wall when not in use, and that was declined), there are no easy solutions. Which is where the in-walls come in.

Thanks for the suggestions of angled tweeters, and the hope that perhaps Thiel or someone else makes good in-walls.

Maybe I could rephrase the question as this: given the constraints of placement and of having to use fairly small in-walls, what can an audiophile do in order to get the best possible results?

From reading the threads here on Audiogon I get the sense that some people (probably a minority) think that lesser speakers can be brought along by great sources and electronics, and made to really sing. Others may say don't waste the time and money. That's my real question, though I am starting to realize that maybe this just can't be a true listening room!

I appreciate everyone's advice.

First of all,I hope you own the apartment,or got permission to do this.In the wall speakers just can't seem to sound anything like normal speakers.And another thing,are there any neighbors behind those walls with the speakers that may not enjoy the same thing your listening to?I hope not.

Another problem,regular drywall will have a tendency to vibrate loose,whether screws or nails are used.I can't imagine what the in wall subs will do.