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Anyone here have Sonance in-wall Cinema series speakers?

post #1 of 17
8/9/12 at 4:34am
Thread Starter 
I was dead set on using speakercraft for my build until I stumbled upon these, and now I am thinking of completely throwing the budget out the window to get these instead. I would be getting (5) of the Cinema LCR2's for the front sound stage- L,C,R, and wides, and (4) Cinema SUR1's for the surround and backs for use in an 11.2 system. I already have a pair of speakercraft TIME's for the height speakers.

It seems to be tough to find any reviews on these speakers. I guess they must either be new, or the price is so steep not many have bought them. So I was hoping some people in here might have some experience with them. If you do, please post up. smile.gif
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post #2 of 17
8/9/12 at 6:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by chevychad View Post

I was dead set on using speakercraft for my build until I stumbled upon these, and now I am thinking of completely throwing the budget out the window to get these instead. I would be getting (5) of the Cinema LCR2's for the front sound stage- L,C,R, and wides, and (4) Cinema SUR1's for the surround and backs for use in an 11.2 system. I already have a pair of speakercraft TIME's for the height speakers.
It seems to be tough to find any reviews on these speakers. I guess they must either be new, or the price is so steep not many have bought them. So I was hoping some people in here might have some experience with them. If you do, please post up. smile.gif

If you like Sonance, then also check out RBH's offerings. Full MDF enclosures on their Signature and Signature Reference lines. Very nice in-wall speakers.
http://www.rbhsound.com/inwall.php
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post #3 of 17
8/9/12 at 6:46am
Looks like a nice speaker, what is the cost? And what is your room size? Are you getting a dedicated subwoofer (I would plan for one). I also agree with Mike on RBH, they make excellent in-wall speakers.
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post #4 of 17
8/9/12 at 6:51am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the suggestion, Mike. I actually did look at those as well, but the Sonance has the aesthetics Im after. I love the tall 5 speaker design since I am trying to fill out as much of the 8' high column I built specifically to house the speakers, and the carbon fiber cones will fit in perfectly since I will have other carbon fiber cues in my theater.. I just want to be sure that they sound as good as they look before I buy, and thats hard to do since tere is no dealer local to me where I could listen to them in person.

The specs look great on paper, and with THX certification, I bet they perform great, but Id like to hear some real world reviews, which are scarce unfortunately.. With this much money on the line, I would like to have more of a warm-fuzzy feeling, but all I have now is anxiety lol.. Perhaps its because I am blowing the budget by 4-5x what I anticipated, Im sure that contributes too haha.. 

Oh, and if anyone knows of a place that sells these, please let me know. I have a few quotes right now, and oddly, the highest and the lowest are both from authorized dealers. I still have a couple of quotes out to get back to me, but if there are anymore places I should check, please let me know.
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post #5 of 17
8/9/12 at 7:01am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ack_bk View Post

Looks like a nice speaker, what is the cost? And what is your room size? Are you getting a dedicated subwoofer (I would plan for one). I also agree with Mike on RBH, they make excellent in-wall speakers.

The quotes I have received so far range from $7920 to $9500 for all 9 speakers I am wanting.

My room size is 20'x20' with a double trayed ceiling that goes up to 12'. There is also a 10'x10' area in the back with an 8' ceiling that I am making into a bar, but it is all in one room. Total volume for the room is about 4400 cubic ft.

I am planning on using 2 subs. I already have one BIC accoustech H-100 from my previous living room makeshift theater, so I was planning on getting another one to match it for my new dedicated space. I hope that will be enough in conjunction with all the Sonance woofers..
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post #6 of 17
8/9/12 at 7:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by chevychad View Post

The quotes I have received so far range from $7920 to $9500 for all 9 speakers I am wanting.
My room size is 20'x20' with a double trayed ceiling that goes up to 12'. There is also a 10'x10' area in the back with an 8' ceiling that I am making into a bar, but it is all in one room. Total volume for the room is about 4400 cubic ft.
I am planning on using 2 subs. I already have one BIC accoustech H-100 from my previous living room makeshift theater, so I was planning on getting another one to match it for my new dedicated space. I hope that will be enough in conjunction with all the Sonance woofers..

My experience with Sonance is that they are more of a mid-tier brand. That is a lot to spend on Sonance speakers, but I have never heard this particular model from Sonance. Too be honest, I was not blown away by any of the in-wall and in-ceiling solutions that I have heard from Sonance, and that it a lot to spend...

It this were me, I would focus most of my money on the main three speakers, and then spend less on surrounds. In the price range you are at, I would highly recommend looking at Triad:
http://www.triadspeakers.com/products/iwg6lcr.html

To me, the Triad speakers were the best I have heard for in-wall speakers. They are not cheap, but well within what you are looking to spend for the Sonance speakers.

If you are looking for array speakers, you should also be looking at BG Radia, but I am not sure on price:
http://www.bgcorp.com/in-wall_SA.html

Episode also makes some good in-wall speakers, and these will save you some money:
http://www.episodespeakers.com/products/category/architechtural

All of these speakers have engineered enclosures. The Triad thread here is very busy and you will get lots of feedback and research on a their speakers.

One more thing. With that budget and room, the BIC 100 will be a weak point. I would budget some money for subs too smile.gif Which you should be able to do if you spend less on surrounds.
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post #7 of 17
8/9/12 at 8:10am
Wow $7k-9k seems high IMO. Those don't look like anything special and specs are not what you would look for in a Cinema speaker.

I would look into those Triads or the BG arrays.
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post #8 of 17
8/9/12 at 8:24am
I have Sonance in wall speakers (not the Cinema Series) and they are decent. I have the Original Series Medium 623LCR as my center 621 as my L/R and in ceiling surrounds (also 621). I know the Original series pales in comparison to the Cinema but I think you would be wise to spend your money elsewhere. As ack_bk pointed out Sonance is a mid-tier quality brand that custom installers like because it is very hard to find them in stores/online and the price is generally hard to find as well (so they can charge you whatever they want since you dont know the MSRP). In that price range I'd go with Triad that ack linked if the aesthetics arent end all be all.
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post #9 of 17
8/9/12 at 8:25am
I think that the markup on those speakers is over half of their price, and you are pretty much getting screwed if you pay those prices.

I think you can get better sound quality for less money of you buy PSB speakers.

I suggest that you go to the PSB website and look at the PSB Inwall CW383 and CW363 speakers, and CW 26 powered sub. I think you can buy these for around $3000-5000 and have better speakers for a better price.


Quote:
Originally Posted by chevychad View Post

I was dead set on using speakercraft for my build until I stumbled upon these, and now I am thinking of completely throwing the budget out the window to get these instead. I would be getting (5) of the Cinema LCR2's for the front sound stage- L,C,R, and wides, and (4) Cinema SUR1's for the surround and backs for use in an 11.2 system. I already have a pair of speakercraft TIME's for the height speakers.
It seems to be tough to find any reviews on these speakers. I guess they must either be new, or the price is so steep not many have bought them. So I was hoping some people in here might have some experience with them. If you do, please post up. smile.gif
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post #10 of 17
8/9/12 at 8:26am
Just keep in mind with any of these speakers you can always paint the grill to match the room. Triad actually does paint matching for you.
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post #11 of 17
8/9/12 at 8:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by chevychad View Post

Thanks for the suggestion, Mike. I actually did look at those as well, but the Sonance has the aesthetics Im after. I love the tall 5 speaker design since I am trying to fill out as much of the 8' high column I built specifically to house the speakers, and the carbon fiber cones will fit in perfectly since I will have other carbon fiber cues in my theater.. I just want to be sure that they sound as good as they look before I buy, and thats hard to do since tere is no dealer local to me where I could listen to them in person.
The specs look great on paper, and with THX certification, I bet they perform great, but Id like to hear some real world reviews, which are scarce unfortunately.. With this much money on the line, I would like to have more of a warm-fuzzy feeling, but all I have now is anxiety lol.. Perhaps its because I am blowing the budget by 4-5x what I anticipated, Im sure that contributes too haha.. 
Oh, and if anyone knows of a place that sells these, please let me know. I have a few quotes right now, and oddly, the highest and the lowest are both from authorized dealers. I still have a couple of quotes out to get back to me, but if there are anymore places I should check, please let me know.

You want tall:
http://www.rbhsound.com/si663.php
http://www.rbhsound.com/si6100.php

All of the models that I listed above and in my first response are available with their reference drivers. Here is a link so that you can see what they look like:
http://www.rbhsound.com/si663r.php
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post #12 of 17
8/9/12 at 9:04am
Thread Starter 
Thanks everyone for the replies. I will look more into the other speakers mentioned here. I know this sounds utterly stupid, but I LOVE the carbon fiber speakers that the Sonance offer in the cinema series. To me, that is a selling point, and I know it has very little to do with helping the actual sound of the speaker, but I want them for aesthetics as well.

I still have yet to hear from someone who has heard the cinema series.. I believe this is their flagship speaker series, and I don't want to rule them out just because some people are saying that their other speaker lines are just decent sounding.

I also agree that the BIC subs are definitely going to be the weak point now, there is no doubt about that. They would have been in-line with my original choice of the speakercraft one series, but now with the speakers I am looking into, I will probably need to re-evaluate the subs..
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post #13 of 17
8/9/12 at 9:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by chevychad View Post

Thanks everyone for the replies. I will look more into the other speakers mentioned here. I know this sounds utterly stupid, but I LOVE the carbon fiber speakers that the Sonance offer in the cinema series. To me, that is a selling point, and I know it has very little to do with helping the actual sound of the speaker, but I want them for aesthetics as well.
I still have yet to hear from someone who has heard the cinema series.. I believe this is their flagship speaker series, and I don't want to rule them out just because some people are saying that their other speaker lines are just decent sounding.
I also agree that the BIC subs are definitely going to be the weak point now, there is no doubt about that. They would have been in-line with my original choice of the speakercraft one series, but now with the speakers I am looking into, I will probably need to re-evaluate the subs..

Makes sense and like I said the Sonance speakers I heard are the Visual Performance and Oringinal series, not the Cinema series. Just so I understand, are you planning not to use grills with the speakers? One more speaker to consider are the Deftech UIW in-wall series:
http://www.definitivetech.com/Products/products.aspx?path=In-wall/In-Ceiling_Speakers&productid=UIW_RLS_II

You can usually find these for around $400 apiece, and if you go with the RLS III line they are closer to $300 apiece.

I have owned these speakers for about a year now and have been very happy. But I would put Triad and RBH in another league (as they should since they cost like 3 to 4 times the price). If you happen to live near me I would be happy to let you listen. Atlantic Tecnology is another company I would put a tier above Sonance as well.

Glad to hear you are looking into subwoofer options. I would probably budget about $1K for now. An Epik Empire, HSU VTF-15H, or SVS PB12NSD now with potentially one down the road. With the size of your room the Hsu and Empire might make the most sense.
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post #14 of 17
8/9/12 at 10:18am
Thread Starter 
I am not planning to use the grills, otherwise, the carbon fiber wouldnt matter much.

Looks like I'm pretty far away from ya, or I definitely would take you up on your offer to let me listen to what you have. Thanks for the invite though.

I'll definitely look into those subwoofers you mentioned. Thanks for the suggestions, much appreciated.
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post #15 of 17
8/9/12 at 10:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by chevychad View Post

I am not planning to use the grills, otherwise, the carbon fiber wouldnt matter much.
Looks like I'm pretty far away from ya, or I definitely would take you up on your offer to let me listen to what you have. Thanks for the invite though.
I'll definitely look into those subwoofers you mentioned. Thanks for the suggestions, much appreciated.


LOL, yeah I missed the part where you live in Savannah, GA. Good luck!
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post #16 of 17
8/9/12 at 2:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chevychad View Post

I am not planning to use the grills, otherwise, the carbon fiber wouldnt matter much.
Looks like I'm pretty far away from ya, or I definitely would take you up on your offer to let me listen to what you have. Thanks for the invite though.
I'll definitely look into those subwoofers you mentioned. Thanks for the suggestions, much appreciated.

Take a flight to So. Cal and visit Sonance and listen to them! For $10K I'd think a couple hundred dollar flight would be worth it.

B.
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post #17 of 17
8/17/12 at 10:27am
Thread Starter 
I just wanted to update this thread.. I did end up ordering the Sonance speakers I was originally inquiring about. They should be delivered Monday. I probably won't be able to listen to them for about a month or so since I am not quite done with my theater build, but I'll post up my experience with them once I have had some evaluation time. biggrin.gif

I also ordered dual HSU VTF-15H subs to compliment the speakers. They will arrive Tuesday. Gonna be an awesome week next week cool.gif
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