I'm mostly curious in sound isolation construction, but what recessed ceiling cans did you go with?

I've heard comments about cans that require a small diameter (4" or less) hole in the drywall. If anyone's found these could you share the make and model # with the group.

Thanks!

I remember from a post long ago that Dennis recommended the Halo H99ICT or Ardee (DL21 I think).

I didn't use any in my HT and just used a bunch of sconces. It's plenty bright with all of them on and I didn't have to cut the holes in the ceiling.

As I posted on another thread. I found THE home theater recessed housing - the H3 by Halo, www.haloltg.com
The housings are available in a 2"x 6" IC and "airtight", incandescent and halogen. Pass this along to Dennis, he'll love them.

Halo H99ICT for 4" cans in soffits

Halo H7ICAT for 6" cans in ceilings

Both air-tite and IC rated.

The 3 3/4" opening in the ceiling is great. Airtight is as well. I don't seem to see an IC rated remodel can. Remodel has the advantage that it doesn't need to contact the existing joists.

I used Progress brand IC Air-tights in my basement and I consider them the "sherman tank" of recessed cans, one fixture weighs about the same as a 6 builder pack of Halo.

I also found that they make (didn't use) a version with a layer of Drywall already attached to the rear of the box and thought they might appeal to someone who wanted a fast version of building a surround box. I would bet you could add another layer of drywall with GG to the box.

A little pricey.

http://www.littmanbros.com/pd_progress_4.cfm#

Juno is a better brand than the cheap Halos, and there are significantly higher quality (and expensive) brands than Juno.

Try USA Light & Electric (http://www.usalight.com/recessed_lighting_c_6.html). (Better value.)

I didn't use them, but the Lithonia L3R is a 3" remodel housing which is IC or non-IC rated depending on the trim and lamp used.

Dennis Erskine spec'd out the Ardee DL21 with A35I housing in my HT construction.

http://www.ardeelighting.com/images/pics_varianti.jpg

Home Depot sales some small line voltage 3" cans I think I have some of the boxes, I'll post the model. Went with Ardee lights myself for theater.

Home Depot sales some small line voltage 3" cans I think I have some of the boxes, I'll post the model. Went with Ardee lights myself for theater.
One of the factors everyone should consider when buying light cans is their propensity to rattle. The last thing you want is your lights rattling when your subwoffer kicks in.

--curtis

One of the factors everyone should consider when buying light cans is their propensity to rattle. The last thing you want is your lights rattling when your subwoffer kicks in.

--curtis

Indeed: hence a pair of linemane pliers putting a crimp in the tabs of all the spanner legs... that's where the majority if the rattle comes from.

My subs kick in and my sconce shades rattle (I still haven't figured out a way to address those), but none of the ~50 cans in my basement rattle.

Oh been there done that the first theater had 6" cans man did they rattle :) In fact I had two of the eye ball covers come off during sky cap one night haha...

Indeed: hence a pair of linemane pliers putting a crimp in the tabs of all the spanner legs... that's where the majority if the rattle comes from.
Yeap, I did that too. I even used electric tape around the spanner legs to prevent those from making noise.

My subs kick in and my sconce shades rattle (I still haven't figured out a way to address those), but none of the ~50 cans in my basement rattle.
That's why I went with the scounces that DE recommended as he flagged them as rattle-proof.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q153/curtisG_album/IMG_3744.jpg

They were a bit expensive but well worth it IMHO.
--curtis

Curtis where did you find yours what is the model. I'm looking for something like that.

Curtis where did you find yours what is the model. I'm looking for something like that.
The sounces are made by Halo, the model is Nouvea, Model H2583PB. Comes in one of 3 finishes:

http://www.cooperlighting.com/images/obgdatabase/Halo/H2582PB_lg.jpg

http://www.cooperlighting.com/images/obgdatabase/customPhoto2/Halo/H2582BC_lg.jpg

http://www.cooperlighting.com/images/obgdatabase/customPhoto1/Halo/H2582P_lg.jpg

Here's a link to the manufacturer's site:

http://www.haloltg.com/common/brands.cfm?pg=Detail&brand=Halo&category=Surface%3A%20Sconces&id=13639

Dennis Erskine highly recommended these highly because, besides being beautiful looking, they also to do not rattle.

--curtis

Used these in my h.t room .....Seemed to have good prices :p

http://www.sunriselights.com/docs/recessed/

gary

At the risk of getting a blast for going slightly off topic here - I found these lights while cruising the aisles at Home Depot and they gave me some ideas for a "non air tite" recessed light option. I'm not concerned about sound isolation issues when I build my HT but I do want to have bass trapping in the soffit using 703 or equivalent for proper acoustics in the room. I opened up one of these light boxes and read the instructions and as far as I can see, they can be mounted as long as they are 3" away from insulation and 1/2" away from combustible materials with the exception of the mounting point. I am thinking I can create a little cavity with chicken wire or something similar, to keep the insulation at a safe distance from them and end up with a smaller volume taken up by the light than the larger and more expensive IC metal boxes that have those joist hangers that rattle with heavy bass sometimes.

Anyone done something like this ? The height of these units were no more than 6" including the integral junction box on the top which I really liked as my soffit will only be 8" deep.

Lewis
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r290/LewisCobb/Home%20Cinema/Lighting/046335852297_4.jpg

Used these in my h.t room .....Seemed to have good prices :p

http://www.sunriselights.com/docs/recessed/

gary


Who is the manufacturer of these cans and trims???

I used Thomas Air-tight IC 4" for a couple reasons.
The air-tight part is made of one piece steel.
The air tight chamber has a large range of adjustment for the 2 layers of 5/8 drywall on the ceiling.
The trims are metal, not plastic.

One of the factors everyone should consider when buying light cans is their propensity to rattle.
Yup, we took them apart, drilled, riveted and applied red fire caulk in all the joints and seams. A real pain in the ass but not one rattle.

I used WAClighting 5" line voltage recessed lights. They have lot of different styles can be bought from Ylighting.

Link to Recessed Light (http://www.ylighting.com/reclig.html)

CurtisG I'm gonna go with one one of those sconces they passed the wife test, so it's also nice they passed the Dennis test :) Do you have these setup to dim, I see they are fluorescent. Not sure if you can dim those I think I read you can somewhere.

CurtisG I'm gonna go with one one of those sconces they passed the wife test, so it's also nice they passed the Dennis test :) Do you have these setup to dim, I see they are fluorescent. Not sure if you can dim those I think I read you can somewhere.
You can't go wrong with those lights. They are beautiful. 9 out of 10 times, it's the first thing people mention when they first walk into the HT.

The ones I have are not fluorescent. Normal incandescent bulbs. I have them dimmed via my Lutron GE dimmer.

Maybe Halo sells both types?

Ahh even better I figure something like this will go for 300 or so a piece. I've been trying to source them online with no luck. Where did you special order yours?

Ahh even better I figure something like this will go for 300 or so a piece. I've been trying to source them online with no luck. Where did you special order yours?
The full brass ones were over $350/each 2 years ago. I ended up buying the black chrome ones, and those were $280/each.

I found a local electrical supply store in my area that sold Halo loghts. It took a few weeks for them to special order these as they were, according to my supplier, made to order.

Cooper Lighting (who owns Halo), has a locator page on their site:

Cooper Lighting Store Locator (http://www.cooperlighting.com/content/where_to_purchase/where_to_purchase.asp)

That's how I found the local dealer.

--curtis
p.s. DE had indicated you could order these through Home Depot. But didn't have any luck when I tried at my local stores.

Home Depot has them in the catalogs I've seen them. But as with anything special order they appear to be clueless. I'll swing by the local lighting company they sell nothing but lights and ceiling fans.

I was thinking Black Chrome as well myself, with different shades of Purple on the walls, ceiling, columns, and floor Black chrome or white is about my only option. I would like something in Nickel or Brushed AL but Black Chrome is pretty nice, I like this design.

At the risk of getting a blast for going slightly off topic here - I found these lights while cruising the aisles at Home Depot and they gave me some ideas for a "non air tite" recessed light option. I'm not concerned about sound isolation issues when I build my HT but I do want to have bass trapping in the soffit using 703 or equivalent for proper acoustics in the room. I opened up one of these light boxes and read the instructions and as far as I can see, they can be mounted as long as they are 3" away from insulation and 1/2" away from combustible materials with the exception of the mounting point. I am thinking I can create a little cavity with chicken wire or something similar, to keep the insulation at a safe distance from them and end up with a smaller volume taken up by the light than the larger and more expensive IC metal boxes that have those joist hangers that rattle with heavy bass sometimes.

Anyone done something like this ? The height of these units were no more than 6" including the integral junction box on the top which I really liked as my soffit will only be 8" deep.

Lewis
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r290/LewisCobb/Home%20Cinema/Lighting/046335852297_4.jpg

Hey Lewis,

I just installed one of these in my powderroom over the toilet because I needed something small due to a poorly located joist. Anyways, the clips that you see in the picture that hold the light in the ceiling aren't the greatest design and thus the light isn't secured in there too tightly. It's fine for a powderroom since the bass frequencies produced in there are somewhat limited . Not sure how well they would hold up to a home theatre. Look into the "remodel cans" that HD carries with the solid clips that attach from the inside of the can.

Hey Lewis,

I just installed one of these in my powderroom over the toilet because I needed something small due to a poorly located joist. Anyways, the clips that you see in the picture that hold the light in the ceiling aren't the greatest design and thus the light isn't secured in there too tightly. It's fine for a powderroom since the bass frequencies produced in there are somewhat limited . Not sure how well they would hold up to a home theatre. Look into the "remodel cans" that HD carries with the solid clips that attach from the inside of the can.


Thanks for the heads up on that. I'll check out the remodel cans with the solid clips as you mention. I actually have some of those type in my basement office - clipped into the drop ceiling tiles. I seem to recall they were tight enough there. I guess the thing that drew me to the ones I posted in the pic was the fact they were so small height-wise, but I certainly won't go that route if there's a chance of them buzzing with the bass, or worse, all fallilng down like the oxgen masks in a plane....haha - actually that could add to the effect of a few movies if it happened at the right time.

Thanks again - appreciate your input.

Lewis

I just received my Halo H3 housings. They're not badly made, however, they do need to be tweaked a bit. I had to tape the wire to the roof of the housing to prevent the possibility of mouse nibbling noises from aloft.
I was a bit disappointed that Halo did not do this during manufacturing. Other than that, I like the fixture because it's only 5.25" high and has a great selection of 3" trim.

Who is the manufacturer of these cans and trims???


Not sure who makes them ,but there are just as good as anything that you can buy at home depot or lowes (quality wise).... There is a BIG mark up on lights


GARY

I'm adding some recessed lights to an already finished room and was deciding between the Halo H7RT, H7RICT, and H7RICAT. This will be in a HT room so I am concerned about rattles. Is any one of these better suited for HT use(less rattles)? Is the air tight model built sturdier than the others? Also, I do not have insulation in the ceiling. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.