Opinions of positioning for In-ceiling Front speakers (1 Viewer)

[BrianGS1991]

Hey guys,

I'm in AV installer, and have run into several jobs where the customer wants their 5.1 or 7.1 living room system to include ALL in-ceiling speakers, because they do not want to see anything on the wall. I'm not a huge fan of this set up because who wants their L,R, and Center channels firing at the ground across the room from them.
Do you guys think it would make sense to scoot the F,L,C in ceiling speakers closer to the sitting area? I think this would create a more cohesive surround sound experience, but wanted to hear the opinions of others.

 

[JohnRice]

I think it would make a bad solution worse. Why move the speakers even further from the image?

 

[BrianGS1991]

It would bring the front speakers closer to the listening area, which would increase the probability of them hearing dialogue, without doing any harm to their surrounds, or sound stage.

I think it would make a bad solution worse. Why move the speakers even further from the inage?

 

[JohnRice]

No harm to the sound stage? Screen sounds will come from somewhere out in the ceiling.

Anyway. It seems you’ve already decided it’s a good solution. I would never do it.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

I’d just tell them that speakers far away and drastically off-axis will make overall clarity and dialog intelligibility suffer greatly. I’d suggest taking them to a big-box store that plays background music, locate a ceiling speaker and have them stand directly under it for several seconds, then move 20 ft. away. The difference will be night and day.

If they still insist on in-ceiling front stage after that, you obviously have to give them what they want. But make them understand it will be impossible to improve clarity and intelligibility if they end up unhappy with it, and that you will not be on the hook for any warranty claims related to that.

Put in speakers with aimable tweeters, boost the treble on the fronts a bit, and hope for the best.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

As others pointed out, just a bad idea in general... but if they definitely insist...

One thing, just how far is the viewing distance (and how high the ceiling) anyway? That probably matters if the speakers will have to be in the ceiling. IF the viewing distance is particularly far and ceiling isn't that high, I guess you will need to move those front LCRs closer (enough) to the expected viewer positions...

Any chance you could convince them to at least go w/ on-ceiling (mounted) speakers instead of actually in-ceiling ones? That would probably at least mitigate some of the problem(s).

_Man_

 

[BrianGS1991]

No harm to the sound stage? Screen sounds will come from somewhere out in the ceiling.

Anyway. It seems you’ve already decided it’s a good solution. I would never do it.

yeah, i dont think inceiling fronts are a good idea, but there are those individuals with nice homes that dont want to see anything.

 

[BrianGS1991]

As others pointed out, just a bad idea in general... but if they definitely insist...

One thing, just how far is the viewing distance (and how high the ceiling) anyway? That probably matters if the speakers will have to be in the ceiling. IF the viewing distance is particularly far and ceiling isn't that high, I guess you will need to move those front LCRs closer (enough) to the expected viewer positions...

Any chance you could convince them to at least go w/ on-ceiling (mounted) speakers instead of actually in-ceiling ones? That would probably at least mitigate some of the problem(s).

_Man_

A lot of our clientele here in palm beach gradens, and Jupiter FL have high end homes, and usually want the sound to be invisible, otherwise that would definitely help aim the sound, although i was never a huge fan of on wall speakers as they were always too thin, and sounded thin, i think deep cabin speakers, and architectural speakers sound more full.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Are any of them going w/ projection?

IF going w/ projection, there's the possibility of hiding in-wall front speakers behind an acoustically transparent screen, but maybe they also wouldn't want a fixed screen permanently taking up wall space in that case though...

_Man_

 

[xx Brian xx]

I wouldn't move them, it would sound disconnected from the screen. There are companies like GoldenEar, that make ceiling speakers that are angled toward the listening position. Not a perfect solution, but a better one for in ceiling speakers.

 

[DaveF]

In ceiling LCR are terrible, especially for a high-end custom solution. Hopefully the OP can explain the downsides to what's being asked. Like soundstage: Is there a soundstage with downfiring LCR?

But if they insist, they're the customer.

As for closer to the seating, I'd guess they'll be more muddled with any Atmos effects.