Rear Atmos Speaker Behind Drop Ceiling Ducting? (1 Viewer)

[Kyle A Barker]

Good Morning!

I'll be finishing my basement this summer and am planning a 5.2.4 (or 7.2.2) home theater system in the family room with in wall/in ceiling speakers. The problem is that the rear speakers would have to be placed behind some HVAC ducting which hangs a foot below the ceiling. Hopefully the image helps. This also places them in what is essentially the hallway since the room is open at the back. The speakers could be placed so they have line of sight to most of the room, but I'm still worried there will be some sort of echoing or blocking from the ducting that sounds awful. Am I overthinking this? Should I install the rear in-ceiling speakers? Or will this cause enough issues that I should forget the rears and stick with 5.2.2?

For reference, the room is 16x17 with 8 foot ceilings. The speakers will be from Sonance (because that's what my uncle installs and says he can get me for 'cheap' - whatever that means).

Thanks!

 

[Dave Upton]

Good Morning!

I'll be finishing my basement this summer and am planning a 5.2.4 (or 7.2.2) home theater system in the family room with in wall/in ceiling speakers. The problem is that the rear speakers would have to be placed behind some HVAC ducting which hangs a foot below the ceiling. Hopefully the image helps. This also places them in what is essentially the hallway since the room is open at the back. The speakers could be placed so they have line of sight to most of the room, but I'm still worried there will be some sort of echoing or blocking from the ducting that sounds awful. Am I overthinking this? Should I install the rear in-ceiling speakers? Or will this cause enough issues that I should forget the rears and stick with 5.2.2?

For reference, the room is 16x17 with 8 foot ceilings. The speakers will be from Sonance (because that's what my uncle installs and says he can get me for 'cheap' - whatever that means).

Thanks!
View attachment 70858

Hi Kyle,

How low does that AC ducting soffit hang? That will affect my recommendation. Just based on the image, I'd say you're probably better off skipping the rears unless that soffit is quite shallow. Is there any room in the soffit for the speakers, or is it just a large duct?

 

[JohnRice]

Kyle, I’m going to differ a bit from Dave. You said there would be line-of-sight to most of the room to the rear in-ceiling speakers? If so, that looks like a good setup for 5.2.4, though the side surrounds should be lower, close to sitting ear level. It’s just important that there is a clear line from the rear speakers to the viewing position.

 

[Kyle A Barker]

Thanks for the recommendations. The soffit hangs about 11 inches below the ceiling. Putting the speakers in the soffit is a fantastic idea but there's no room sadly. Just two large ducts side by side. Also, I'll make sure and check the height of the surrounds.

I suppose I'll go ahead and buy speakers for the rear atmos. I was just thinking worst case scenario they sound bad so I remove the speakers, patch the ceiling, and put them in the kitchen or something, right?

Thanks again.