- Q Acoustics has unveiled a trio of in-ceiling speakers
- Designed to be easy-to-install; also affordable
- A larger (slightly more expensive) fourth model is coming later in 2026
Good in-ceiling speakers are something of a luxury — Sonos options cost a four-figure price and picks from B&W and JBL are largely for professionals (or at least, professional spaces filled with socializing and punters), not you or I, at home. That’s no longer the case, thanks to a new release from Q Acoustics.
The brand, known for its stereo speakers like the Q Acoustics 3020c, has just unveiled a trio of affordable in-ceiling speakers, that are designed to be easy to install. Your installer will thank you (or, for the more DIY-inclined, your ceiling will thank you), as they apparently don’t require any kind of power tool.
The range, which we’ll get into in a moment, is designed to plug into existing audio systems, so you can continue listening to your playlist (or podcast, or the news) as you wander between rooms in your house. Some models are even IPX4 rated against splashes, so will work in the shower or kitchen.
The three initial models will be available soon, from the end of March, from Hi-Fi stores and Q Acoustics themselves.
Q Acoustics’ new Easyfit Speaker series: what you need to know
There are three initial entries to the new Easyfit line: the QI65CE, QI65CWE IPX4 and QI65CWE Stereo IPX4. They’re all 6.5-inch options with a 65W power rating.
The most affordable buy is the Stereo, costing £199 (around $270, AU$380), as it only comes in a single model, designed to offer stereo sound all by itself. It has a mid/bass woofer cone and a pivotable tweeter, which can be angled in installation to a chosen listening position. It also has a built-in EQ switch so you can cater its sound to whichever room you install it in.
Spend £299 ($400, AU$570) and you get a pair of the things, to position as you choose. Then there’s the QI65CE, for £249 (about $330, AU$475), which misses out on the waterproofing.
Coming out later in the year, there’s also a fourth, more powerful model. This is the QI80CE, an 8-inch model which will go for £349 (around $470, AU$660) for a pair. We didn’t receive a full specs list for that model, but the name suggests it’s not waterproof.
While architectural speakers like these can be great ways to save space in your home, it’s hard to imagine they’ll rival the best stereo speakers in terms of audio chops. Still, who doesn’t want music literally blasting from their overhead structural walls at home?
My colleague recently returned from a trip to the Winter Olympics in Milan, where she says an in-ceiling speaker in the hotel room bathroom played whatever was on the TV — and it’s interesting how quickly you start to rely on hearing the news headlines in the shower. She also stayed in a place in Cornwall that had a Sonos One for the initial hook-up, but then two in-ceiling speakers (one in the kitchen, one in the shower) allowing her and her other half to discuss a shower/morning playlist every day, in a way that you simply don’t when you’ve got a solo Bluetooth speaker on your desk.
And I think this isn’t that expensive, to get that kind of musical assimilation in your life.
The best stereo speakers all budgets
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tom.bedford@hotmail.co.uk (Tom Bedford)
