Home > Consumer Reviews > JBL HTI-55 5" Dual 2-WAY 120 Watt In-wall Speaker

I have been running this speaker as my center channel for about one month now, and have been very impressed. The unit is very well made and fitting it is a breeze. Some others have commented about the color, which is strange in a speaker review, but the off white suits our decor fine anyway.

The overall performance of the speakers is great for the price range. It is extremely clear and crisp for vocal and higher frequencies yet it can also deliver rich deep tones.

If you are looking for a good center channel speaker in this price range I can highly recommend this JBL.

I must say I am a bit of a Speaker snob. Not a follower of name brand, but at sound quality above all. There are a lot of "Pretty" speakers out there that sound like crap, and I still find that you get the best sound from a big boxy floor standing speaker. It's not rocket science, the sound engineers can fine tune the speaker to its known enclosure dimensions. Also, those tiny satellite speakers that have become so popular have gotten pretty good at "Faking" a good mid range, but even the ones that are decent cost around a grand a set and cant hold a candle to a proper floor standing loudspeaker system at half the price. That being said, my parents wanted to get rid of their big boxy system and get something easier on the eyes. Well with my hatred of the tiny satellites, and having dabbled a bit with some in-wall speakers (I am a professional home theater installer) I decided to shoot for 3 of these up front and 2 of the 6-1/2's in the rear. WOW! They are not quite as good as the big guys, but they are at least 95% if not more, and they FAR exceeded my expectations. These are of very high quality sound, and quite efficient. They are quite good at producing towards the lower end of the sound spectrum, but as always I would still recommend a powered sub, though you could get away with only a 10" and still be happy. They pull perfect duty as center and fronts, so they get plenty of use. As for those who give it a low rating for color, well don't be dumb. The whole point of in wall speakers is for them to be hidden, and these speakers are meant to be painted to match the wall so they will disappear and become even more un-obtrusive. That being said, they are a little bit off white, and don't match the other of JBL's in wall line. Not a problem if you paint them like you should, or if you only keep them together and away from the other in walls like i did (I have the other 2 surround in the ceiling). One thing to warn you about if you have never used in walls before. They will transmit sound all throughout the house. Since they are mounted directly to the wall, it will resonate throughout the rest of the structure of the house. In essence the entire wall it is attached to becomes like a big speaker. Anyway, long story short, they are a VERY good alternative to the Big Boy's.

This is a very good speaker for the money. I looked at Best Buy and still would pick these!

I ordered this as a center channel speaker and purchased HTI-6C round speakers for the fronts. Beware if you do this as they are not the same color. This speaker is slightly darker. The manual says they are paintable, but I don't want to risk it, especially doing the grills, so I am living with it for now. Those who obscess over such things, FTI. Other wise, the sound out of them and installation was great. Pass on the rough-ins though. It only takes 5 minutes to cut the hole and install.

Does not match color of other off white JBL speekers