Sonance Invisible or Stealth Acoustics: which invisible speaker?

The short answer. Neither is better overall. Sonance Invisible and Stealth Acoustics are both speakers you finish over, and each maker publishes its own finishing method. The choice comes from the wall or ceiling, the finish the designer wants, the amplification and the outdoor plan. IntegrateIT, in Overland Park, holds dealer agreements for both across the Kansas City metro, so we choose from the drawings, not from a preference.

This page compares what each maker publishes. It does not rank them. Where a maker’s site did not say something, we say that and leave it out.

What they have in common

• The speaker sits in the wall or ceiling, and the surface is finished over it so no grille shows.
• The finish is the product. Both makers publish a method, and both expect a drywall finisher and a painter who follow it.
• Both do best with matched amplification and tuning in the finished room.
• Both want the speaker flush with the board, set with shims.

Finish: what each maker publishes

Sonance. The Invisible Series finishing guide sets three rules: the total finish over the speaker is 3 mm or less, with 1 to 1.5 mm optimal, and the covering must be flexible and light. For a painted wall it calls for a thin skim coat over the speaker and the whole board, sanded smooth, which is a Level 5 finish. For wallpaper, veneer, fabric or leather it describes compound feathered up to the speaker, typically Level 4. It names an easy-sand lightweight compound, no fast-curing hot mud, then primer and paint.

Stealth Acoustics. Its install page says the panel is taped and mudded like the board around it, with compound feathered so no more than one sixteenth of an inch builds up on the speaker face. The panels are engineered for four coats of latex paint. It says standard finishing does not require a skim coat, and it accepts a light orange-peel texture but not heavy knockdown or trowel finishes.

The two methods differ, so the finisher needs to know which line is in the wall before the first coat. Our finisher’s brief covers the Sonance method in detail.

Installing into the wall

Stealth Acoustics lists back boxes for drywall and for masonry, PlaceSavers that mark each location during rough-in, and a shim kit. Its guide says a half-inch board typically takes one thick shim and a five-eighths-inch board typically takes two, though the actual need varies with the wall. Sonance supplies shims as well and says the face should sit flush with the wall or ceiling surface so little compound is needed. Sonance also asks that wall installs sit at least seven feet from the floor.

For a new house, either line is planned during framing, when the locations are marked and the wire is run. For a finished house, a cut opening gets patched and finished over, which means a finisher and a painter on a retrofit as well.

Sizes and models

Sonance’s Invisible Series comes in the IS2, IS4 and IS8 sizes we install. Stealth Acoustics’ invisible line is LineaRadiance, and the maker makes invisible subwoofers in the same family. Neither maker’s home page gave dimensions we could read, so we do not quote any. A technician confirms size and cutout details from the maker’s own sheet for each model.

Outdoors

An invisible speaker is a room product. Stealth Acoustics keeps its outdoor products on separate lines, such as StingRay, which it describes as sealed and all-weather. Sonance’s site lists a Marine category. For a patio we normally use Coastal Source, where we are a Platinum Dealer, and we explain why in Coastal Source versus Sonance outdoor speakers.

Bass and amplification

In rooms where low notes matter, we plan a subwoofer with either line. Stealth Acoustics also makes its own amplifiers. Whichever line goes in, the amplifier is matched to the speakers in each zone. Our bass article covers the tradeoffs.

How we decide

• The wall or ceiling. Drywall thickness, any texture, and whether the finish is paint or a covering such as wallpaper.
• Who is finishing it. The crew that will do the Level 5 skim coat, or the crew that will follow the other maker’s method.
• The rest of the system. What amplification is in the rack and which rooms need a subwoofer.
• The rooms. Which rooms need invisible at all. See when not to choose invisible speakers.

Both lines are covered on our hub, Sonance Invisible in Kansas City, and Stealth Acoustics in Kansas City has the other line. A site walk settles which one fits your walls.

About IntegrateIT. We have integrated hundreds of homes across the Kansas City metro since 2021, from our showroom and design center in Overland Park, which is by appointment and has a working Control4 system, Lutron lighting and shades, and Josh.ai voice control, and a large Coastal Source selection. Control4 Platinum Dealer with a Control4 Certified Showroom · Lutron Certified Dealer, HomeWorks Certified and Ketra Certified · Crestron dealer.

Daniel Alon, co-founder, IntegrateIT. Overland Park, KS. November 2026.

Further reading

Where to go next if this article gave you the framework but you want the brand- or install-specific depth.

• Sonance Invisible · Kansas CityThe Invisible Series and how we finish it.→
• Stealth Acoustics · Kansas CityLineaRadiance, StingRay and amplifiers.→
• Article: what to tell the drywall finisherThe Sonance finishing rules.→
• Article: when not to choose invisible speakersThe rooms where it is the wrong call.→
• Article: do invisible speakers have enough bassWhere the subwoofer goes.→
• Article: invisible vs in-ceiling speakersWhich rooms get which.→
• Article: Coastal Source vs Sonance outdoorsOutdoor speakers in a Kansas City winter.→
• Stealth Acoustics: how to installThe maker’s own install guidance.→

Choosing a line?

Book a no-cost site walk. We look at the walls, the finish and the amplifier, then tell you which line fits.

Call (913) 804-7575 Text us Plan a site walk