Framing for in-ceiling speakers (1 Viewer)

[Ray Stericker]

I building a Home Theatre in my basement. Due to the room layout I am going to have to put my "centre rear" speaker in the ceiling(for a 6.1 layout). I think I will be using a Paradigm SM-60R to try and match the rest of my speakers.

I am doing the framing for the ceiling now and am wondering where I can find information on how to get the best performance out of the speaker. I think I have seen articles on this in the past, but can't find them now. I know the enclosure of a normal speaker is an important part of how a speaker sounds so I am looking for more details than "cut a hole this big"

If you can point me to any information I will appreciate it.

Thanks,
Ray

 

[Rich X]

Ray,
Most in-wall or in-ceiling speaker manufacturers offer pre construction brackets that you mount to the framing before drywall installation. However, these brackets really to nothing for sound quality, they only help you locate the "hole" and make sure it is the right size.

Many manufacturers also offer back boxes. These are essentially speaker enclosures that you put in the wall behind where the speaker will be mounted pre drywall. They are supposed to help improve sound quality--I can't say for sure that they do as I've never done an a/b comparison.

I have speakercraft in-ceiling speakers as my rear channels. I did not use a back box, but I did fully insulate the ceiling of my theater with fiberglass insulation. IMHO that is all you need to do as in-ceiling speakers are never going to be very good for critical listening anyway. Particularly if you are only using them for rear channels in a 7 channel system.

Manufactures like Speakercraft, Sonance, Triad, all have info about this stuff on their websites.

 

[Ray Stericker]

Rich,

Thanks for the information. I looked up what is on the maker's web pages and saw the backboxes and sound insulation etc. that they offer.

I fired off an email to Paradigm to see what they have to offer. There is nothing on their web page, but they may just not post it because they do not have much "support" information on their site, just a FAQ.

I am thinking of making sure the framing is rigid in the area around the speaker because I did read bad things about drywall "resonating".

In the end, I agree with you, I don't have very high expectations of this speaker so I will not get too worked up about it.

Thanks,
Ray

 

[Rich X]

This is probably obvious, but the biggest thing with framing is to make sure that you will not have any studs in the way of where you want to place your speakers. Standard wall framing on 16" centers has worked fine for me. It is probably also a good idea to ensure that there are no seems between sheets of drywall directly adjacent to where your speakers will be placed. That is not absolutely necessary but it will help.

The better in-walls have very rigid frames and clamping devices that actually help to stiffen the wall area where they are installed.

I have some Paradigm in-walls and have been very happy with them. I also have a pair of B&W in-walls and several pair of SpeakerCraft in-ceiling speakers. All of them work well for me.