ceiling surround speakers... (1 Viewer)

[KennethF]

has anyone set up a surround system with in-ceiling speakers? if so, what speakers would you recommend for such an application?

i'm considering different ideas for a surround system in my bedroom (wife would prefer not to have 150 lb. towers in the corners, no matter how good the sound). i'm also considering the paradigm studio 20's and 40's, but i was wondering about the sound quality of in-ceiling speakers, and if this would be a viable option.

thanks for your suggestions...

 

[RayJK]

Given a choice I would take in-wall speakers over in-ceiling speaker but you may not have that option available to you. Since this is a bedroom and not, I assume, your main theater then ceiling speakers would work but not as well as wall mounted or in-wall one. The downward firing of ceiling speakers throws off the placement and location clues in the surround channels IMO.

 

[KennethF]

the problem with in-walls at present is that the door to the bedroom is in the front corner of the room. the front channel speakers would have to be placed fairly close together in this setup. however, i haven't ruled in-walls out because my impression is that the speakers appear to have a higher quality compared to in-ceilings.

any suggestions of brands i should check out?

thanks for the response...

 

[Chu Gai]

In wall is probably better than in ceiling however you're better off with speakers that mount into the side walls, between four and six feet up, rather than the ceiling. If you put them directly to the sides or slightly behind and to the sides you'll get a better experience.
The problem with sticking speakers in the walls or ceilings is that replacement can be difficult if you want to upgrade them or if they've worn out. Once they're installed you can kiss fine tuning placement good bye. You also might have issues with temperature or humidity changes since they're enclosed. In wall or in ceiling speakers do have a tendency to entertain the adjacent rooms. Also what happens when you decide to rearrange the room. Suddenly everything is not even remotely in a good place.

 

[James Gallup]

Kenneth,

I have a bedroom surround setup utilizing 3 in-walls for the front and 2 in-ceilings for surround as well as a powered sub next to the TV stand. The sound is fantastic given the environment and the wife loves it. I can listen to 2 channel or surround downstairs at high volume and she can happily watch Lord of the Rings for the 78th time upstairs without being bothered. I'm using deftechs all around in the bedroom and they sound very good, but there's a bunch of others out there that are of equal or better quality/sound. I have a stereo pair of Sonance in-walls in my office that are slaved to the bedroom receiver and they sound fine also. Just to give you a point of reference, I have a very high end system downstairs and for non-critical music listening and bedroom home theater I love the setup and so does the wife

 

[James Gallup]

Kenneth,

Just to clarify the above, we live in a typical middle class house in the same type of neighborhood, but I have my priorities straight

 

[Jim_Leech]

I just built a new home and after a ton of listening I decided to go with 6 Klipsch RCR-5's. They are the reference series and a little pricey for in-ceiling but man do they sound good. The brand new Sound Advice showroom uses ONLY these in their demo room and sounded great even without a sub (which I do use).

One really good thing about these (which is a BIG plus over typical in-ceilings) is the 360 degree swivel tweeter so you can point these in any direction. Of coure I could have SLIGHTLY better sound if I could have used towers but my wife had some say so on that as well. I personally am 100% happy with the small difference in sound as compared to the BIG difference in looks. Of course this is just IMHO.

Jim

 

[Simon Brooke]

hi, kenneth
i am suprised nobody has not mentioned the boston designer series, i work for a hifi co here in south africa and we have a lot of customers who have chosen the Dsi480 for surround use or even the boston bravos which can be placed in the corner without having to make holes in the wall. both would provide good options

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

If your wife doesn't mind, you can always also mount bookshelf sized speakers on wall or ceiling mounts.

 

[KennethF]

thanks for all your suggestions... i need to start listening to some speakers!

 

[Bry_DD]

Check out the B&W LM1..
My rears speakers

 

[Jonathan_D]

I've got a pair of in-walls in my ceiling for a surrounds (see my sig) and they work great. Tweeters can be aimed to provide more or less directional sound. A good choice when location and waf are prime considerations!