As in previous years, CEDIA Expo 2025 had its share of impressive sounding multi-hundred thousand dollar or even million+ dollar whole home audio and home theater systems. If you’ve got a flexible budget, there are many ways you can invest your money in order to enjoy movies and music anywhere in your home. But Theory Audio Design’s L. Paul Hales (you can caul him Paul) says that if you spend a million dollars on a home audio/video system, “you’re doing it wrong.” And in his presentation and demo at CEDIA Expo, he went on to explain why.
In Hales’ opinion, speakers and amplification don’t need to be ridiculously expensive in order to provide great sound. And to prove that point, he went on to demonstrate Theory’s new and existing CI speakers, starting with the brand new ic5 in-wall/in-ceiling speaker that sells for just $695/each.
Bucking the trend of using bombastic action movie clips for speaker demos (which can be fun, in moderation), Hales prefers to demonstrate his company’s speakers using quirky 2-channel stereo music tracks. He does this so the listener can appreciate how Theory speakers reproduce real instruments and voices – without distracting visuals or artificially mixed multi-channel surround sound. You can get a hint of this sound in our Theory Audio at CEDIA 2025 video, which includes Hales’ complete CEDIA Expo 2025 presentation (below):
As he did last year, Mr. Hales began the demo with a pair of the ic6 in-wall/ceiling speakers (now up to $1,000/each) mounted in the front walls, then demonstrated the same tracks through the same speaker, supplemented by some subwoofers. Or did he? Actually for the second part of the demo, Hales snuck in the little brother, the new ic5 speaker ($695/each), which is also available in in-wall and in-ceiling enclosures. In both cases the music was punchy, dynamic and offered excellent imaging. When they added the Theory iws12-9 in-wall subwoofer ($2,100/each) into the mix, the performance went up a notch with deep, tight bass extension that gave the sound a powerful foundation. These little speakers have no business making such big sound.
One Speaker: Many Options
What makes the Theory IC series speakers special is that they offer super-flexible mounting options – in-wall, in-ceiling, on a wall, on a ceiling or in a pendant – just by adding the appropriate bracket or enclosure. The same speakers can also be used in the company’s ballard landscape speaker enclosure we covered in some detail last year and which were featured again in Theory’s CEDIA Expo 2025 demo.
This flexibility is particularly compelling if you’re putting together a stealth home theater or surround sound system – one that is to be heard but not seen. You could outfit your entire living room, media room or home theater with the ic5 or ic6 – three in the front wall for left, center, right, two in the rear wall and four hanging from the ceiling in pendant enclosures for height effects. Add a couple of in-wall subs for good measure so the bottom octaves are covered as well. With identical drivers (and identical timbre) in all channels you’ll get a seamless and immersive dome of sound when watching movies, TV shows or listening to music, without any visible speakers.
The only complicating factor in building a system around Theory Audio Design speakers is that they are not sold as standard passive speakers for use with any old receiver or integrated amp. They only work with the company’s proprietary active loudspeaker controllers. These are basically power amps with advanced DSP (Digital Signal Processing). Instead of plugging the ic6 directly into a receiver or power amp, you use a preamp/processor or an A/V receiver with preamp outputs to deliver sound to the ALC which then drives the speakers directly.
The Theory iC5 (pictured) and ic6 in-wall/in-ceiling speaker can be deployed in a number of different cabinets and housings, depending on your needs.
Pricing for a stereo pair of Theory Audio Design speakers starts at about $1,400 for the ic5 in-wall or in-ceiling speakers or about $2,000 for the ic6. You’ll need to add one of those controller/amplifiers I mentioned, which starts at about $2,495 for a model DLC-250.4 4-channel active loudspeaker controller. And while $3,900 (or so) plus the cost of a source device and/or receiver or preamp isn’t exactly cheap, it’s a fraction of the cost of many less capable in-wall and in-ceiling speakers in the CI market.
The More the Merrier
It’s worth noting that Theory’s active loudspeaker controllers are designed to drive a lot more speakers than one might expect. The 4-channel 250W DLC-250.4d can actually drive up to 64 of Theory’s ic6 speakers in “Hi Z” mode and the company’s DLC-1500.4d ($5,000) can power up to 300 Theory speakers in Hi Z mode. So the cost efficiency of the system increases exponentially in larger deployments. Got a 5 acre backyard that needs some sound reinforcement? Better call Theory.
Considering the relatively affordable cost of Theory’s speakers and amplifiers, Hales argued that his “million dollar home theater system” was better than his competitors, because his million dollar system comes with a “free house.” You save enough on the system that you’ll have enough money leftover to buy a 5,000 SF house on two acres of land (note: price or home details may vary depending on where you want to live).
The Bottom Line
If nothing else, Paul Hales from Theory Audio Design is a great presenter. His CEDIA Expo demos are among the most entertaining at the show. But they’re also among the best-sounding. And they seem to make the most common sense. Indeed, why spend a million dollars on a home theater if the home is not included? Maybe there is something to this argument?