Note that this is a discontinued product. You may want to visit the brand's page here to browse their newer products.
What reviewers think
Bloggers and YouTubers have tried this product—so we've summarized their strongest opinions below. Links to full reviews follow.
Product Strengths
- Uses Focal's flagship Beryllium tweeter and 'W' cones also found in the Utopia range
- Wall speakers feature adjustable drivers to angle the sound towards the listening position
- Ceiling speakers have Focal's patented 'Easy Quick Install' system for tool-free installation
- Can be integrated with up to 6 subwoofers using only one channel of amplification, to suit the room size
- Magnetic, ready-to-paint speaker grilles allow for visual integration
Product Considerations
- In-wall speakers are less than 10cm deep, which may affect performance for some users
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Form factor is the same as Focal 300 Series, making upgrades easier
Takeaway: The Focal 1000 Series offers advanced technology and flexible design for creating a high-quality, customizable home audio system. Its discreet design and ease of installation make it a great option for those seeking a blend of performance and aesthetics.
All
1000 ICLCR5
reviews
Manufacturer details
- Product type: Bass-reflex 3-way ceiling
- Medium: 4" (10cm) "W"cone
- Frequency response (+/- 3dB): 53 Hz - 40 kHz
- Minimum impedance: 2.9 Ω
- Nominal Impedance: 8 Ω
- Recommended amplifier power: 50 - 180 W
- Sensitivity: 91 dB
- Height: 370 mm / 14.62 in
- Width: 370 mm / 14.62 in
- Depth: 195 mm / 7.62 in
- Mounting height: 340 mm / 13.37 in
- Mounting width: 340 mm / 10.37 in
- Mounting depth: 7.5 in
Brand highlights
Taking a step back to look at reviewers' thoughts of the brand's entire lineup—not just this product—what stands out most is the following:
- Focal monitors are noted for their "mid-forward" sound, guiding users toward balanced mixes, particularly in the midrange frequencies, which aids in crucial EQ and dynamics decisions.
- They integrate an inverted dome tweeter crafted from Aluminum/Magnesium or Beryllium, optimizing high-frequency dispersion and minimizing distortion through back wave absorption.
- Focal frequently employs flax or "W" composite sandwich cones in their mid-bass drivers, providing a lightweight yet rigid diaphragm construction that delivers exceptional definition and controlled bass.
Select products
Theva
- Positioning: The entry-level series in Focal's high-fidelity lineup.
- Description: Features Focal's signature technologies like the TNF tweeter for clear treble. Compared to the Aria Evo X, offers a more budget-friendly option with simpler cabinet designs. While it lacks the advanced materials found in the Kanta series, still provides a solid performance for its price range, suitable for basic home audio setups.
Aria Evo X
- Positioning: Sits in the mid-range of Focal's lineup, offering a balance between performance and affordability.
- Description: Features flax cone technology, providing natural sound and excellent dynamics. More refined than Theva, offering better build quality and soundstage.
Kanta
- Positioning: A premium series, offering advanced technology and design.
- Description: Known for their innovative design and use of materials like the Flax sandwich cone and Beryllium tweeter, delivering precise and detailed sound. They offer a more sophisticated sound profile than Aria Evo X, with enhanced clarity and warmth.
Sopra
- Positioning: A high-end series, just below the flagship Utopia line, focusing on compactness and performance.
- Description: Excels in sound transparency and precision, featuring technologies like the Infinite Horn Loading system for improved treble. They offer a richer harmonic experience than Kanta.
Utopia III Evo
- Positioning: Focal's flagship series, representing the pinnacle of their speaker technology.
- Description: Renowned for their exceptional sound quality and luxurious design, incorporating technologies like the Beryllium tweeter and W composite sandwich cone. They surpass Sopra in every aspect, offering groundbreaking soundstage and detail, ideal for large dedicated listening rooms and those with no budget constraints.
Our take on the brand
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Used
Focal
What if you spend more?
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Compact in size, the Insight Series P4i defies traditional categorization. Sharing the design elements of its larger Insight Series sibling, it is hard to believe the musical and cinematic performance and dynamic quality of this small in-wall loudspeaker. The Insight Series P4i includes a planar magnetic driver – and four robust 3”x5” woofers for low distortion, high-resolution sound, and a superior dynamic range. The result is excellent, uniform horizontal dispersion throughout its operating range, providing superb off-axis coverage in both in-wall and in-ceiling applications.
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Product Strengths
- Truly outstanding sound quality, delivering a near-electrostatic, audiophile listening experience in a disappearing, in-wall package
- Uses planar magnetic thin-film drivers (PMD) which can be highly detailed with excellent transient response
- PMDs are quite reliable because the spread-out "voice grid" is great at dissipating heat
- PMDs are super-easy for an amplifier to drive, as they are "an almost perfectly resistive load"
Product Considerations
- Horizontal center channel use of the Insight P4i requires stud modifications due to its size
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- The Insight series squeezes most of the sound quality of the Wisdom Audio Sage Series into a less imposing, less costly package
Takeaway: The Wisdom Audio Insight P4i speakers provide excellent sound quality in an in-wall design, and are a great way to get high-end audio without large, free-standing speakers. They could be worth buying for those who want the best possible sound without compromising on interior design.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Who says in-ceiling speakers are always a compromise? The S3ic is the perfect in-ceiling match for any S-Series Home Theater, where sacrifices to the perfect audio experiences are unacceptable, and perfection is the only path forward. Patent pending design, with directivity control derived from our patent pending DPC, creating a frequency response that matches and sounds like a world class speaker.
Featuring the same Beryllium tweeter, Textreme TPCD midrange and TPCD 7" woofer as our in-walls and highly regarded in-room speakers. This enables a flat frequency response angled for 30-degree main listening window with off axis and power response to match our in-wall S-Series speakers for flawless timber matching needed for true immersive audio.
A solid 4mm thick aluminum back box for consistent sound with limited sound transmission into other rooms. This ability to be used not only for in-ceiling surround but in-ceiling LCR or in-wall wide speakers and THX Certified Dominus for surrounds. Better coverage for even response across more seats with no compromises!
The perfect solution for high end Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and Auro-3D applications. Featuring an innovative new waveguide array controlling Mid/High frequencies, centered by our finest 28mm Beryllium dome tweeter and 28mm TPCD ultra-lightweight dome mid. Optimized for in-ceiling applications where a 30 degree reference axis is desired as well as larger a listening window in the direction towards the listening space.
Extremely versatile – Can be used as L,C,R, surround, height, or wide channel speaker. Once again, All transducers are developed ground up by our engineers sharing largely from with S-Series, formed from decades of research, culminating in this worlds class design.
Utilizing advanced Cosmos acoustical modeling, the result is one of the most technologically advanced in-ceiling loudspeakers available. This new tweeter/waveguide DPC-Array delivers amazing accuracy, smoothness, and directivity control to handle the critical vocal range and delicate treble. The S3ic also benefits from our unique and proprietary timbre matching technique across the entire S-Series.
Product Strengths
- A DPC array includes a 1.1-inch Beryllium dome tweeter and a 1.1-inch Textreme TPCD ultra-lightweight dome midrange driver, helping match the timbre of other S-Series speakers
- The first in-ceiling model able to achieve THX Certified Dominus, especially one designed for the largest private theaters of up to 6,500 cubic feet
- Promises staggeringly good frequency response across a wide listening area for great sound
- Has a flat surface when installed, leading to less diffraction and reflections
- Has a back box that's four millimeters thick and bituminously damped, to reduce sound leakage
Product Considerations
- The flagship and most expensive offering in the Perlisten in-ceiling speaker line
- Using in-ceiling speakers for bed-layer channels is not ideal and should generally be discouraged
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Offers a more ideal frequency response in the listening position, compared to typical in-ceiling speakers
- Offers sonic advantages due to less diffraction and reflections, compared to on-ceiling speakers
Takeaway: The S3ic is a technologically advanced in-ceiling speaker that delivers excellent sound quality and broad coverage. It is a great choice for creating a high-performance home theater experience.
Video review
Our take on the brand
What competes at this price?
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Tool-less design with the Easy Quick Install (EQI) system allows for quick and easy installation
- Flax cone drivers offer light, stiff cones with good natural damping
- The design allows for both horizontal and vertical installation by rotating the high-frequency/mid-range pod
- Delivers impressive dynamics, a clean, neutral balance, and articulate dialogue handling
- Easy to drive with an amplifier
Product Considerations
- The Easy Quick Install (EQI) system may not work in all situations due to space constraints behind the wall
- The open-back design can make the speaker's balance dependent on the installation environment, potentially requiring EQ adjustments
- Adding the included black acoustic cloth to the grille darkens the overall color shade, which is not ideal for color matching applications
- If a clamp breaks on the tool-less design, it is not easily replaceable
- Requires more horizontal spacing than speakers with traditional dogears, requiring installers to be more careful about between-stud placement
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Vs Focal Kanta No. 2: The Kanta No. 2 has a weightier midrange, superlative upper frequencies, more depth, wider soundstage, and improved imaging, though the 300IWLCR6's sound quality is satisfying
- Vs PSB W-LCR: The PSB exhibits a very slight nasal characteristic, which is not noticed on the Focal LCRs
- Vs Martin Logan Axis: The Martin Logan Axis has impressive imaging and upper-end frequency output due to its folded ribbon tweeter, which is very different from the Focals' inverted dome aluminum and magnesium tweeter
Takeaway: The Focal 300IWLCR6 in-wall loudspeaker is easy to install and delivers great sound for music and movies, especially when paired with a good subwoofer. The speaker can be easily installed, and it can fit into various home theater setups.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Retains the neutrality, realism, and musicality associated with the M&K Sound design in a discreet enclosure
- The front three IW150 models perfectly match each other in terms of tonality and are utterly transparent
- Capable of a pleasingly open sound that fills the room with wonderful detail and clarity
- The transient response of these speakers is incredible, viscerally delivering the scares as the soundtrack suddenly goes from relative silence to very loud
Product Considerations
- Slightly lacking at the low-end, designed to be used with a subwoofer
- Placement can be non-trivial and orientation moreso because of the multi-woofer/tweeter design, resulting in a weird dispersion that will sound different depending on which side of the speaker one is on
- Putting them in the wall might change its sonic integrity
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- IW150 is an in-wall version of the M&K Sound S150
Takeaway: The IW150 delivers the detail, clarity, and transience of a professional studio monitor from a discreet, in-wall enclosure. If one is looking for in-wall speakers that vanish into their decor, then these are worth an audition.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Creates a soundstage that sits low in the room, almost ear level
- Has a superb midrange with the weight and punch of a true high-end speaker
- Reproduces vocals and instrumentation with an organic quality
- Reduces sound transmission into neighboring rooms due to the integrated enclosure
Product Considerations
- The enclosure could cause installation issues if there's plumbing or venting in the speaker locations
- The speaker grilles have a slightly thicker profile with no sloping transition into the ceiling
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Vs Martin Logan: PSBs have a more substantial midrange due to the enclosure
- Vs Triad: Very similar in design as both have a back box
Takeaway: The PSB C-LCR is an impressive in-ceiling speaker that sounds like a high-end stand-mount monitor and images spectacularly—creating an almost ear-level soundstage. Consider PSB's CustomSound lineup for a concealed installed speaker system.
Video review
Our take on the brand
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