The new CP-IW260X and CP-IW460X in-wall speakers introduce the company’s latest drive-unit technologies in compact, three-way, five-driver configurations. These have been built into closed-box designs to deliver the optimum combination of audio performance and near-invisible installation.

Behind their stealthy trim-less grilles the CP-IW260X and CP-IW460X benefit from over forty years of award-winning speaker R&D to create what Monitor Audio says are the best sounding in-wall speakers available.

Designed for audiophile music and home theatre sound reproduction, we are told that the new models offer high efficiency and power handling for class-leading sound pressure levels, combined with the dynamic wide-band response, deep bass extension and low distortion usually reserved for floor-standing speakers.

The CP-IW260X and CP-IW460X feature Monitor Audio’s signature C-CAM (Ceramic-Coated Aluminium/Magnesium) cone material deployed in dual 6.5-inch bass drivers and twin 4-inch mids astride a tweeter in a symmetrical ‘B-M-T-M-B’ configuration.

The range-topping CP-IW460X employs a version of the high-frequency ribbon transducer from the company’s acclaimed Gold and flagship Platinum speaker lines, a first for a Monitor Audio compact wall speaker.

Being ultra-light and with no break-up, the ribbon displays excellent detail retrieval across a broad and linear response, which extends beyond 50 KHz. Handily, the ribbon transducer can be rotated to accommodate horizontal and vertical installation.

The CP-IW260X uses the latest generation 1-inch Gold Dome tweeter, which employs a specially vented housing to reduce air pressure behind the dome for "lower resonance, optimum damping and greater accuracy over a wider range".

Bass and mid frequency fidelity from both the CP-IW260X and CP-IW460X is preserved by Monitor Audio’s latest ‘dished’ cone drivers. Eschewing the conventional centre pole-piece aperture, their radiating surfaces are formed from a continuous sheet of C-CAM, which is said to result in "greater rigidity at the centre of the cone".

Monitor Audio told StereoNET:

In concert with large motors, underhung voice coils and a die-cast alloy chassis, the dished cone structure delivers exceptionally low distortion and efficiency for deep, clean, dynamic bass and a wonderfully open and expressive midrange. Even within the confines of the compact in-wall design, the mid drivers operate within dedicated enclosures to optimise performance.

The bass/mid drivers on the CP-IW460X are enhanced by Monitor Audio’s RST dimpled cone technology, which uses concentric dimples to further strengthen their radiating surfaces, and the entire five-driver configuration is installed within a rigid die-cast metal baffle for a "more accurate and dynamic audio reproduction".

The new CP designs use a sophisticated twenty-three element crossover, comprising low loss inductors and high-grade Polypropylene capacitors. Separate bi-wire terminations for the bass/mid and tweeter networks offer a superior level of system design flexibility for high-end custom installation and serve to demonstrate the audiophile design ambition underpinning the new models.

In common with their CP series range-mates, the CP-IW260X and CP-IW460X are fitted with acoustically-sealed cast-polymer back boxes to provide the structural integrity needed to preserve their sound quality and to ensure a ‘controlled performance’ wherever they’re installed. Not only do the enclosures protect the systems from dirt and dust, but they also limit the transmission of sound between walls and floors, reducing the need for sound isolation in the wall cavity.

Both set-ups offer high frequency and midrange attenuation, together with boundary compensation switching allowing the installer to fine-tune the in-room response. Monitor Audio’s patented ten-position ‘Tri-Grip’ mounting system provides easy and secure installation within standard 4-inch stud wall bays.

Local pricing and availability have not yet been confirmed.

For more information visit Monitor Audio.