In reply to:
The "Boundary Effect" must come into play very heavily with an in-wall speaker… maybe most of all with one that protrudes out from the wall an inch or two. If the in-wall speakers really do sound much like their shelf-sized mates, I'm guessing that there's a different crossover or crossover point used to counteract the Boundary Effect. If the wall is taken out of the equation by using them as free-standing speakers, I'm guessing their mid-bass will sound a little thin.
I absolutely agree. When listeing to a pair of Monitor Audio Silver bookshelves at my local audiophile shop, it made quite a difference in sound when they held them up against the wall. In this fashion the speakers were still further aways from the wall than the Axiom inwall speakers would be. The crossovers would defiinitely have to be different if they have tuned them to sound like their bookshelf siblings. If sitting on a stand or table, they should have a lower output in the low frequency range.
