Home theater speakers, can you take speakers out of a box & use them as in-wall speakers if close in a space?

Question

it is not that i am cheap, but that i already have some bookshelf speakers and my wife think home theater systems look tacky but would be ok with them recessed into the wall.

Answer 1

Speaker boxes are designed specifically for the drivers which are installed in them. If you change the size of the front of a speaker or embed them in a recessed cabinet that closely and entirely surrounds the speaker, you will drastically change the sound the speaker produces...and probably for the worse. By making the front of a speaker effectively "bigger" by installing them in wall you will likely amplify the lower frequencies the speakers can produce.

Not to mention there is more than just drivers in speakers...there are crossover components which are also designed to match the box they are installed in.