ceiling mounted (not in-ceiling) opinions... (1 Viewer)

[Ted Lee]

hi all -

my new home will be pre-wired (through the ceiling) for 7.1 -- so i'm probably going to go with some sort of ceiling mounted system.

i doubt that i will go with in-ceiling speakers...but i'm going to audition some anyway. if anyone here has in-ceiling, i'd like to hear your opinions as well.

my center speaker (for now) will be my polk audio - which will sit on top of my 65". so i'm not too worried about clarity/performance from the center. however, i am curious as to how well the other speakers sound when positioned so high up.

i've installed/heard some ceiling mounted systems and they weren't too bad, but i wouldn't say i was giving them a critical analysis either.

so, any and all thoughts welcome...

thx!

 

[Ted Lee]

well, i've done some initial testing and i'm not too impressed. i checked out some sonance and speakercraft - and am waiting to hear back from the dealer regarding some boston acoustics.

overall, the soundstage was pretty decent, especially for music. my main complaint was that the dialog was not centered to the screen. instead the voices seemed to "float" above the tv - even with the speakercraft aim8 series which had the directional tweeters aimed toward the listening position. the sonance speakers were also aligned toward the listening position.

i think i may have to stick with a dedicated center channel positioned somewhere nearby the tv. i think i can live with my mains and surround speakers as in-ceiling. i still have some more experimenting to do though.

 

[Leigh_M]

My parents just bought a house with in-ceiling speakers. I hate the sound! Now, keep in mind, the speakers are cheap, but I do not like the sound coming over the top of me. They have a built-in for the TV and I've replaced the center with a Axiom VP100 (non-ported). I currently have the fronts replaced with M3Ti's. The sound is MUCH BETTER! Eventually I may replace these three with some small sats like Polk RM7200 that can be placed on shelves in the built-in. I did not like the in-ceiling option.