Complete In-Wall or In-Ceiling Q&A - Page 4

We moved into a new condo, and the kitchen, dining- and living area is one big open room with high vaulted ceilings.

The layout is less than ideal for speaker placement.

I would like recommendations for ceiling speaker installers in the South Bay / LA area, specifically Redondo Beach.

Regards
Pieter

I would be interested in this as well. There is a dealer in Menlo Park that sells both Paradigm and Speakercraft (don't know if they have in-ceiling demo set up though). I may drop in and see what their perspective is on these.

The in-ceiling Paradigms were recommended to me by another dealer, for use as rear surrounds, but I want to get more info.

Does anyone know of a Bay Audio dealer in the Bay Area, preferably one where you can hear them (or at least see the product)?

(bump)

I was kind of hoping to get Paul Scarpelli to chime in on my questions; perhaps even a suggestion as to how a given Triad model represents the best option (and why, of course).

Who could possibly want THAT idiot's opinion?

Your placement sounds fine, and ceiling speakers will work. But round ceiling speakers (almost all of them) point straight down, except for pivoting tweeters. Speakercraft Aim would be a good choice for your application, but the best choice I can think of for your budget (I admit bias) would be a pair of InCeiling Silver/6 Omnis, which have an angled baffle, maintaining a coherent sound directed at the listening position. Or...you could do InWall Bronze/4 Surrounds in the ceiling, if you want dipoles.

Each pair is $1,100.

Thanks for asking!

I didn't know exactly where to put this post, but thought I'd start here. I am currently attempting to install RBH MC-616's in-walls across the front of my room. I will be installing a Mitsubishi HD1000U projector very soon, and going with a DIY laminate screen somewhere between 92 and 106", with a viewing distance of about 12 feet. I planned for in-walls from the start, and so pre-wired for them. I've run into a problem after cutting into my drywall ; seems my helpers I had assisting with my boarding got a bit overzealous and put a 2X4 backing piece for drywall (obviously when I wasn't looking!) in the exact spot my left channel is/was to be going. Faced with this, I had even briefly considered sending back the 616's in favour of the smaller 414's to fit this opening, but have decided against doing so.

Now I see that I have 2 options with the 616's. Regardless of which route I go, I will mount my centre channel horizontally below the screen. First, I can attempt to cut through the offending stud and remove it, and hope to not damage the drywall and corner joint (on the wall adjoining the fireplace) too badly. This would allow me to keep my L/R channels at the same placement I originally intended, oriented vertically. The L/R speakers would be about 8-1/2 feet, tweeter to tweeter, and the tweeter height would be about 38" (I'm short, so pretty close to ear level when sunk into my couch).

Alternatively I could patch up the hole I've cut, and mount the speakers all horizontally underneath the screen position. I have 96" (with 24" centres between my front studs to do so) which would put the L/C/R tweeters a little over 3 feet apart. The distance between the tweeters from the left channel to the right would then be about 6-1/2 feet. The height of the tweeters would then be only about 22", and would all have to be swiveled up.

BTW, I see this latter option as being the least amount of work, and a bit less risky as my demo skills aren't stellar. Would mounting the speakers closer together (and lower) like this result in a dramatic difference in my sound field? Here's a picture of the front of the room. Where the speakers sit on the floor in the photo is very close to where they would be, horizontally, if I went with option 2. Might there even be some merit in orienting all three speakers the same way, and having them at the same height?

The wall is currently insulated with flexibat, and I was planning on just putting 1/2" rigid foam between the speaker and back of the wall after I cut the insulation out. Would there be benefit in doing this to prevent bleed through into the adjoining room? And what about building enclosures, say out of MDF... more trouble than it would be worth?

jgib01, Looking at the picture, I would bet the cross brace is attached in the corner and to a stud 16 inches to the right (or 24 inches depending on your spacing). In either event, if it were my wall, I would just cut the offending brace out to provide the required clearance. It should be secured to the stud on the right and there should be no load on the left. Looks like a non issue to me. I would try to keep the tweeters at ear level while sitting.

Good luck
Ray

Actually, the stud on the right is only about an inch from the opening. The brace piece is nailed to it and then runs to the left to the next stud (24" centre) behind the corner fireplace. Problem in doing so is that I'll have to cut the brace stud back about 3/4" farther than the hole opening at present, in order to accommodate the back frame of the speaker. On the right I should be able to get the stud out fairly easily; left side is more problematic though. I hope the integrity of the drywall on this side can withstand any of my kids "accidental" pushes on the speaker after the fact, as there will be no backing at this corner.

I am looking to buy in-wall front and center speakers and in-ceiling rear speakers for a surround sound system.

Does anyone have a recommendation? My budget is $1k and room is in baskement about 20x 15.

Do you have a on-line place to purchase them?

I am looking at several in-wall speakers, due to my budget I am looking at these lines:

1. Polk RC series speakers.

2. JBL HTI series.

3. Infinity ERS series.

4. Boston DS series.

I have also considered Axiom Audio on-wall design, although they are not true in-wall speakers, however they jump up quite a bit in price.


My main concern is that I will lose sound quality by going to in-wall speakers although I like the idea of hidden speakers. Am I making a mistake going in-wall? Also, I hear a lot about speakercraft, are they that much better than the ones I am looking at?

Thanks,

Kemical

The problem is one of quality; not that a speaker is inwall or freestanding. Because the universal default for inwalls has been poor quality and low price, the "factoid" is now that "inwalls suck." If you're comparing a $100 inwall to a $100 freestanding speaker, they're both going to be pretty grim. If you compare a $2000 inwall to a COMPARABLE $2000 box speaker, they are likely to be very close. The inwalls you're looking at, within their price range, are very good.

So if I understand you correctly, since these are more budget type in-walls I would probably be better off with spending more over time and allowing my budget to go higher than getting these particular speakers. Currently, I have some decent speakers, but I just dont like the clutter. Do you recommend any particular speaker, i.e. speakercraft?

Thanks for the quick response and your time,

Kemical

What I was saying is that cheap speakers are cheap speakers, whether they are inwalls or not. The inwalls you mentioned you're looking at are good choices within their price range. Of course, look at Sonance, Speakercraft, TruAudio, Niles, Klipsch, etc., and ACI, if they offer anything in your price range.

But my suggestion is that if you're replacing your big speakers with inwalls, do something of equal or better quality. Who would want to trade down? I guess it's like going from a musclecar to a minvan. I wouldn't mind it if it were a 300 horsepower minivan.

Thanks and good analogy.

Kemical

Anybody?

Try here.

Hey guys, i'm currently trying to find my new HT setup. "Aesthetics" is a big factor so i'm considering in-ceilings or in-walls (leaning more towards ceilings). While surfing the net i came accross this:

http://www.transtec.nl/download.php?...edale%2Fpi.pdf

can anybody tell me how to "read" that multicolor chart/graph thing? it makes no sense to me....

also, can anybody tell me anything about these wharfedale inwalls? are they any good? or are they considered "cheap"? it doesn't seem like many people talk about wharfedales other than the diamonds or the EVOs. due to my location i can only get wharfedales.

Hello All

I recently purchased a Def Tech setup:

BP7004s (front)
C/L/R/ 2002 (center)
Denon 2807

I would like some advise on an in ceiling rear/surround setup. I'm in the process of finishing my basement.

Can anyone comment on the SpeakerCraft Aim 8 Wide 1/3/5? Which would you recommend to go with what I currently have for the fronts? Would you also recommend the enclosures -> http://www.smarthome.com/97251303.HTML
Feel free to recommend another in ceiling speaker. I just happen to read about their wide/bipolar affect and figured they would be great with the bipolar Def Tech 7004s

My budget is ~$1000. I would need three. Two over the seating area and one over the bar area, which is directly behind the seating area for guests sitting at the bar.

This setup will be used mostly for tv shows/movies/sports, about 99% Not much music at all.

Thanks in advance

Im not sure why there is such a distaste for in wall speakers. I have heard many In wall set ups that sound no different, and sometimes better then freestanding speakers. In the setups I have heard I have heard no "sonic" disadvantages, or any for that matter.

Anyone know anything about the Speakercraft Aim8 Wide 1/3/5? I don't see many reviews on them, I guess they're fairly new?

Thanks. I look forward to hearing anything you find out about them.

I am in the process of setting up my house for distributed audio and have settled on using sonance speakers given the quality of their sound and their build. One item that I need some help on is on thinking through the virtuoso line (8", updated a year ago) and the symphony line (6.5", a bit older). How do they compare? Is it worth going for the larger (lower score under the WAF banner!) speakers versus the smaller ones.

I did consider both Niles and the Boston Acoustics as well.

Any and all thoughts are appreciated.

I was wondering what kind of recommendations for front L/C/R in-wall speaker locations. I have a pretty big entertainment center that will be in the way. It measures 6' tall and is about 8' wide. I was wondering if I should mount them just above it or?? I could also do ceiling mounts which would actually make it easier. Just reading the discussion it sounds like I should avoid that. I am supposed to give the builder an answer tomorrow so any help is greatly appreciated.

I have a similar setup as Straw_Man. Last November, I purchased M&K MK750 MKII LC&R, the sub, and two MK CS-35 Column Surrounds. Unfortunately, due to room issues, I have to replace the surrounds (for sale on EBay!). I am pleased to read of the quality of in ceiling speakers, but also need to stay under (or around) $1000 for the pair. Like Straw_Man, I have 8 foot ceilings and the speakers will be around 3 feet behind the listeners. What are my best choices?

Paul S. says "Each pair is $1,100." Each pair of what? The Triad InCeiling Silver/6 Omnis are over $1k each, right?

If you say so!

Actually, the InCeiling Silver/6 Omni is $550, each. The InCeiling Gold/6 Omni is $600.

By April 1, we will have introduced additional Special Edition versions of both; the InCeiling Silver/8 Omni SE at $850, and the InCeiling Gold/8 Omni SE at $950. The drivers are proprietary Seas drivers, and the crossovers are upgraded.

I'm glad this got resurrected because I am still on the fence about what to do.

I read the available info on the Triad website for these (more available for the Gold). My question at this point is about utilizing these as surrounds. They are promoted as in ceiling front mains (right?). If this is the intended goal for these wouldn't the sweet spot be above my head if used as surrounds in my situation? As front mains, I assume I would be 7-10 feet back for the best sound, so wouldn't three feet behind me be too close?

Thanks
I also considered the Def Tech UIW BP/A, they are also bipolar. But I would prefer a round inceiling speaker oppose to a rectangular if given the choice.