On-wall speakers have been growing in popularity due to the boom in HDTV sales and are especially popular among apartment or small space dwellers, who have homes where floor space is at a premium. Early on-wall speakers were boxy and frankly not very good, though over the years they've become more stylish and better-sounding, as evidenced by the Paradigm Cinema 330s reviewed here. Retailing for $299 each, the Cinema 330s are among the best-looking and -sounding on-walls you'll find, and the fact that they're so affordable may make them unbeatable for some.

The Cinema 330 is a five-driver, three-way on-wall loudspeaker, utilizing a single one-inch dome tweeter mated to dual four-and-a-half-inch midrange drivers, rounded out by dual four-and-a-half-inch bass drivers. The Cinema 330 has a reported frequency response of 110Hz-20kHz and is 94dB efficient in its nominal eight-ohm load.

The Cinema 330 is clearly designed for today's modern home theater enthusiast, which allows it to mate nicely with most flat panel displays of typical size (42-55 inches) and be powered by solid mass market receivers for a rockin' home theater that won't rock your wallet. The Cinema 330 can be wall-mounted out of the box and can also be mounted on either table stands or on floor stands if you don't want to punch holes in your walls. However, the Cinema 330 is so easy to mount on a wall that even a caveman could do it. The Cinema 330 comes in three finishes to suit your needs and to better match your flat panel display, be it Black, Gloss Black or Silver.

High Points
• The Cinema 330 gets high marks for both style and performance, providing nearly the perfect blend of the two in an affordable package that anyone, including die-hard audiophiles, can enjoy.
• For being a budget on-wall, the Cinema 330 possesses a natural midrange and smooth top end that is neither grainy nor harsh at the extremes, making it an ideal speaker for rocking small to medium-sized home theaters.
• The Cinema 330s are easy to install and look great surrounding a flat panel display.

Low Points
• The Cinema 330s require a subwoofer, no question, and that does drive the price of ownership up a bit, but don't despair. There are numerous affordable subs out there that will keep you on budget.
• I love on-walls, yet think that seeing speaker cable, regardless of how thin it may be, dangling below a speaker ruins the aesthetic and principle behind on-wall loudspeakers. For a truly professional installation and look, you'll want to run your cables through the wall, which may or may not be a good thing where you live.

Conclusion
If you're in the market for an affordable, good-looking and -sounding on-wall speaker that will bring your music and movies to life, then look no further than the Paradigm Cinema 330, for it might just be the speaker of your dreams.