CI-20VII Installation
I have reviewed many in-wall and in-ceiling speaker systems during the past year, more than any other A/V product. This is because I have the ability to install them without destroying my living room walls in the process. To test in-wall speakers I built 'portable' walls that are constructed like a typical residential wall, with studs spaced 16" apart on-center and covered with 0.5" drywall. The walls are 32" wide and stand 48" tall and are large enough to simulate a real wall, but portable enough to move from my workshop into my listening room without sustaining a back injury. I usually review in-wall speakers in pairs, which is relatively simple. For this review, however, I was asked to review a multi-channel in-wall speaker system consisting of five two-way speakers. Multiple speaker walls require a lot more work, but in this era of multi-channel audio it makes more sense to evaluate speakers in a 5.1 channel configuration.
There is a wide selection of in-wall speakers available at almost every price range, from a few hundred dollars to many thousands of dollars per pair. In the past few years, the popularity and availability of in-walls has virtually exploded, mostly because in-wall speakers can sound very good, and they almost disappear when installed. The frames and grilles can be painted to match the wall or room décor. WAF (wife-acceptance-factor) is a big reason that in-wall speakers are so popular because speakers that can be heard, but not necessarily seen, are very popular. The sound quality of in-walls has also improved significantly as many manufacturers have employed traditional speaker technology to improve in-walls with a lot of success.
Phase Technology (Phase Tech) was formed in 1978 after
manufacturing loudspeakers for other companies for many years. Today they manufacture a wide-range of
in-room, in-wall/in-ceiling loudspeakers as well as subwoofers and electronic components for
whole-house audio distribution. The Phase Tech CI-20VII in-wall speakers in this review are close to
the entry-level of the company's rectangular in-wall series speakers.
The CI-20VII in-walls from the company's Custom Installation Series use a two-piece mounting system to secure the speakers to the wall, consisting of a universal mounting flange and a separate speaker baffle. This two-piece system simplifies installation and, according to Phase Tech, provides an easy upgrade path for consumers since all but one speaker in the CI (Custom Installation) line use the same mounting flange. It's also easier to remove and replace a speaker while leaving the flange in the wall.
After cutting a 10.75" high by 7.5" wide opening in the wall, the flange is installed and is secured with four dog-leg clamps. The flange comes with a rubber gasket that seals it to the wall, guarding against air leaks that can negatively affect performance. After the flange is installed, the speaker inserts into the flange and is locked in place with four Quick Mount locks, a screw-less cam-lock that firmly holds the speaker in place (Phase Tech actually has a patent application submitted for these). The Quick Mount system makes installation and removal simple and, as mentioned, allows for an easy speaker upgrade at a later time.
The flange and speakers' baffles are both made of plastic and well built, especially the baffle, which is made of a higher density plastic and is very solid. The baffle has a punch-out hole for installing an optional infrared repeater for connection to a remote control system, and remains invisible behind the grille.
The CI-20VII speakers consist of one 6.5" Polypropylene driver and a 1" soft dome tweeter that pivots so it can be aimed directly into the listening area. A tweeter level control on the baffle also allows a +/- 3dB adjustment.
Subwoofer Options
Obviously you can add your own subwoofer to this
system or you can utilize Phase Tech's IW 200 in-wall sub. While we did not include a review of this
sub as part of this article, we were able to take a close look at it and the installation process.
The IW 200 in-wall subwoofer is larger than the CI-20VII speakers and consists of dual 8"
mica-graphite polypropylene cones and a separate enclosure that installs between two wall studs. The
enclosure is made of MDF and is very large, measuring 72" high, 14 3/8" wide and 3 3/8" deep and
requires a large wall cut out unless installed during the construction phase, which is highly
recommended. The IW 200 mounting system is a two-piece steel bracket that sandwiches the drywall and
provides a secure, airtight installation. The subwoofer baffle is then installed in the front of the
bracket and secured with six screws.
The IW 200 is a powered subwoofer with an outboard amplifier, the P200, a 200-watt amp with typical controls, including gain, crossover range, and phase. It supports three modes: Sub, Low Frequency Effects and Wide Range for various system configurations and also includes a +12 volt trigger so it can be activated automatically when the system is powered on. Because of its large size, we opted to not include the sub in the review.
