Monoprice in-wall, in-ceiling speakers - Page 5

Just found this thread b/c I was trying to research the in-ceiling speakers. I'm looking for a good value speaker to use for my in-house system I want to put in. Sounds like these are a good choice. Any last comments before I put the order in??!?!?!?

Thanks
Nick

Hello,
I am trying to decide on some speakers to get to mount in the ceiling of the master bedroom, game room, kitchen and living room. The kitchen, master bedroom and living room have 9 foot and the game room 8 foot. I was going to get the 8" for all the rooms, but was wondering other's thoughts on the 6.5" 3-ways listed.

(can't post a url yet as I'm new)


Thoughts?

I'd post my measured frequency response, but it's not looking very good and it's kind of embarrassing. Big peak around 1kHz and big suckout around 2.5kHz. The crossover is not doing a good job. The tweeter is actually pretty flat and well-behaved. There are some diffraction effects from the baffle which is full of dips and bumps from all the plastic molding, but it's not terrible. Some felt around the tweeter will probably help.

The woofer exhibits some major breakup modes above the crossover frequency. The crossover doesn't help this very much. It's gonna need a notch filter to clean up the crossover region. But not all hope is lost, I'm gonna try to redesign the crossover with minimum cost and maximum re-use of the original inductors. I don't want to pour a bunch of money into this...

I'll post complete measurements when I'm done. Wish me luck and stay tuned....

Great! I appreciate your efforts on this. I retrospect, this speaker is a great DIY improvement project if the cost of the crossover mod is relatively low. The general word is that the components are of high quality (for the price).

I guess I'm not too surprised to hear that the crossover isn't well designed. You might want to measure the response of another speaker to see what variation there is. I wouldn't be too surprised to see that the tweeter varies quite a bit from speaker to speaker.

Scott

I've recently purchased a number of pairs of these along with a few of the rectangluar 8" models for 3 7.1 set ups with distribution to 3 additional pairs in other rooms. I bought NXG centres for teh 7.1's and 3 HSU subs (STF-1 x 2 and STF2 x 1).

So far I've set up one room and one additional pair (all round 8" models). I would not describe myself as an audiophile but am an amateur musician and music lover so I have a good ear. When I initially set them up I was pretty disappointed with how "muddy" they sounded. Can't be much more specfic than that except that the mid range seemed "off" and teh highs seemed a bit harsh. Obviously you would not expect much from the low end on these.

Fortunately I'm using a Yamaha VX-R1800 as the receiver driving them and after the auto-set up, they sound much better. If you switch it over to "pure" mode where all the processing has been turned off, it sounds pretty crappy.

So overall for a HT set up I would rate them about 7/10 if you've got a decent receiver that can "fix" them or if you've got the technical ability to manage that yourself on your existing equipment.

For the price, I'd say that's hard to beat. I would not expect much better from other similar "bargain" in walls.

The only other comment I'll make is that the cross over switch is buried behind the speaker (for teh round ones) so once you have installed them it's tough to get access (some bargain brands put it on the face of the speaker so it's as simple as taking off the grill as opposed to pulling the speaker out from the wall). For me that's not a big deal as the receiver runs the processing and I just left the cross overs at the deafult "0" setting.

I should also note that I boxed all the speakers as it was a new house construction and I lined the back of each box with 1" corrugated foam.

so after reading through this thread and pondering for awhile ive ordered and recieved 8 - 6.5 monoprice speakers to set up my new basement recroom 7.1 theater. I will be using a onkyo 606 (not bought yet) and was wondering what sub would complement these. Room is going to be approx 11.5 x 21 and is a basement. any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated
thanks

See my post above, I think that Hsu Research subs are probably the best value in HT you can find. They have instructions for selecting the right model on their web site based on room size but I think if you're looking for really solid bass, probably the VTF-2 mk3 would do the job. If budget is tight then an SFT-2 would be good I think. Read the reveiws, in terms of bang for the buck (and quality bang, not just noise), it's hard to find anything better.

sorry should have mentioned im in canada so shipping is huge. should be something i can find here. budget would be under 400

I'm in Canada as well , decided that I still couldn't find anything better even including the shipping. Hsu used to have a distributor here but the prices were boosted to bascially include the shipping + an additional margin so they're actually cheaper for us than they used to be.

Another Crying Canadian here but my tears are over the shipping costs for the monoprice speakers. Almost the same cost as the speakers!

I'm still going to bite the bullet and order a pair of in-wall and in-ceiling to test out in the basement with a touchscreen jukebox I made. If they sound good I'm going to buy some more for a 7.1 in the bedroom. I'm doing the DIY route for the sub though as I have some dead space in the corner of my set of cabinets in the master bedroom bathroom. It's located in the back corner of the room so I figure I'll use that space to throw a sub in.

Let me start off by saying I am no audiofile by any means, and this is actually my VERY first attempt at a surround sound setup.

I ordered 4 monoprice 8" in wall speakers for my living room and I must say, I am extremely satisfied with the results. I'm using them as the Front left and right, as well as the rear left and right. I'm using a polk Audio as my center channel, and just added a DIY sub using a SD12 from creativesound.ca and the Bash 300 amp. They sounded good before the subwoofer addition, but since adding it, the listening pleasure has greatly increased. My receiver is a Denon 1508. I am positive that there are much better speakers to be had, but in my opinion, you will not find a better sounding speaker for the price of these. I don't have any pictures, but I ended up not painting them just because I was to anxious to get them installed. I know, I'm impatient, but they look fine in my opinion. Installation was a breeze.

I haven't decided if I'll use these speakers when I start working on my dedicated HT yet. I may go with some higher end components for that, but it will depend on my financial situation at that time. If the bank account doesn't allow for upgrades, I'll have no problem at all using these again for the dedicated HT.

Again, keep in mind that this is my first 5.1 setup, and I have nothing to really compare it to, other than my previous experience with car audio, which is a totally different monster.

So is the verdict that the 8"s are reasonable for surrounds, but may not work as multi-rooms? I'm looking for something reasonable for the dining, bedrooms and halls.

I'm planning on running some wires up to my gameroom and using a couple of the 8"ers up there as well.

I got mixed up and order 4 of them, but didn't realize I ordered 4 pairs, so now I have an extra 4 speakers laying around. I have speaker wires already ran to my master bedroom, so I'll be adding the extra's in the bedroom and the gameroom.

Tony - I did the same thing. I wanted 1 pair for my LF and RF and I even SAW it on monoprice's site that they were sold in pairs and still ordered 2.... D'oh.!!!!!!

I tried to get the order changed just before it shipped, but UPS had just left their dock with the package.

Well, now I have a second pair that I might put in our sun room once it's built. I think I'[ll make some enclosures for them and mount them to the ceiling or higher up on the wall. I can't mount them into the wall because they are pre-built sections and have a specific R-value.

I like the pair I installed, and they are *MUCH* better than the old Cambridge Soundworks the previous owners had installed. Since I also got an SVSound 20-39 PCi sub out of thier B-Stock, I'm not using the low-end of the in-walls. The 80Hz+ range on the speakers sounds great to me.

It's funny, the speakers arrived while the wife was still at work, so I installed them and I don't think she's even noticed I've changed them out. But I'm sure she will this weekend when we watch a few movies. LOL.

I priced out many different in wall options and even with shipping the Monoprice speakers were still way way cheaper. AVdeals.ca offer NXG products but unfortunately they don't ahve any showroom to go and listen (althoguh I understand from them that there is one under construction). With teh price of thier products comapared to monoprice, I just couldn't take the chance. I did however use their "high end" centre channel speaker b/c I didn't want to us the rectangular monoprice product on it's side, cost me about $120 per speaker for those.

Anyway, re: shipping to Canada, Monprice was still by far and away the best deal. Home speaker depot wanted way more and I would have paid more for a speaker of equivalent spec. Ideally, I would have had the opportunity to by some test pairs of a variety of speakers and compare them myself but I just did not have the time.

If you have an amp that will allow you to EQ the speakers then I think you would be quite happy with them for a multi-room set up.

I just finished installing mine now. I like them, they seem well built and sound pretty good as surrounds. The only problem I have is that the bezels are purplish in color. I know they are paintable, but I wish the bezels were just plain white like the grills are so I didn't have to paint it.

One question, I have the 5 1/4" wall mounts, they have some type of attenuator switch by the tweeters. I noticed these speakers are a little louder than the surround speakers they are replacing. Should I use that switch to lower them? Or just use my receiver?

Does anyone use that switch?

Thanks!

My wife was also not crazy about the purplish hue ... there's a lot of painting in my future.

re: teh dB switch, I would suggest leaving it at full volume (i.e. "0") and correcting in the amp if you have a good one.

Thanks for the advice.

I figure I'll paint just the purple bezel, hopefully the grill will match close enought that I don't have to paint it.

I used my receiver the correct the loudness of these Monoprice speakers, -2 on each works perfect. I ran the test with the microphone and it agreed with me so I'm set.

I'm very happy with these speakers and Monoprice in general.

To set the stage, I have a Dedicated Home Theater with Elemental Design Towers, Center, SVS Sub and Polk surrounds. I purchased the Monoprice 6.5" Inwall (Rectangular) speakers for L/R/C/Surrounds to go with a 50" Plasma set I have in the Family Room. I just installed them today and did a few tests. One thing to note, this is NOT the room I use to watch most movies as I use the Dedicated HT. This is the family room for occasional movie watching, and every day TV.

One word really summarizes these speakers for the cost. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've owned speakers that I've paid literally 10X the price that didn't sound as good as these. I was watching an HD recording I had of Monster House. During the end, when they were destroying the house, I was shocked. The overall sound was spectacular. I cannot believe that I got these for around $35 a pair. Just amazing. I wouldn't use these for my Dedicated HT with absorption Panels and Bass Traps, but for a Family Room, every day watching, you can't beat them if your in the market for InWalls.

My goal was to just get a better sound than the built in Plasma speakers of the TV, which is why I went with the inexpensive Monoprice speakers. Sure glad I did. Inexpensive is not always equivalent to cheap!!!!

I just finished installing 4 mono 8" rectangulars, 2 for front, 2 for rear. I'm using a polk csi3 center and a psw303 sub. I just moved into a condo and needed something with lower profiles than the RTi10's I had at my house. I'm not an audiophile but the RTi are good speakers and I have been exposed to many professional home theaters.
With that as a reference to my somewhat qualified ear, I am very impressed with these speakers as fronts for a 5.1 system, running 16gauge wire from a pioneer 1018 receiver. Without the sub hooked up, the bass sounds as good or better than the rti's, which is either impressive or embarrassing that I can't tell the difference between a $240 speaker and a $25 dollar. The new receiver may have something do with it, however. At any rate, I give these a solid 10 out of 10 and recommend that anyone sitting on the fence to go ahead and take the plunge.

What is the opinion on using these speakers for whole-house audio?

I'm so thrilled the 6.5" rectangular speakers sound so good, I would not buy anything else for whole house audio. Unless you have lots of money, and only want the best, these MP inwalls are hard to beat.

Thanks. Ive got a few more questions... as background info, Im putting 12 zones of distributed audio in a new house under construction.

It seems like the consensus is also that 8" is better than 6.5" and 5.5", is that right?

Also, if shape is not a consideration then is there any audio quality difference between the round in-ceiling speakers and the rectangular in-wall speakers?

How exactly does the mounting work on these?

Finally, if someone could point me in the right direction (website, general instructions, etc) on how to box the round ceiling speakers I would appreciate it. I saw the earlier post regarding calculating the right size, etc, but I am still puzzled as to how to create a round enclosure. Also, does this need to be done before the drywall goes up or can I box them then mount them?

Sorry for all the questions, havent done anything with in-wall speakers before...

You don't have to make a round enclosure, just make a square one.

These speakers need to be installed after the drywall goes up, but it would be a crapload easier to install the boxes beforehand.

Where there is going to be a speaker but no box, make sure to have a plan with the drywallers for the wire locations that won't interfere with the electricians inspections. I can tell you from experiencce, some inspectors will give you trouble with even loow voltage wiring during th rough-in inspection.

Does anyone in the Richmond, VA area have any of these? Id like to swing by and listen to some before I go and buy 24 of them...

Are there still issues with these being slightly purple in color? I noticed that earlier in this thread...

And how big should the "box" be for the 8" in-ceiling speakers?

And SteelCity...do you mean that you have to hide the wires in the ceiling and therefore need some sort of plan on knowing how to locate them later on?

Mine had a purple tint to them, I painted the bezels the color of my room (off white) and they look great. I did not paint the grills, they look fine in the factory color and I did not want to fill in the holes with paint.


When you are roughing-in a house, running the wires in the framing before the drywall is installed, you need some type of plan. Sometimes you could just leave a coil of wire stapled to a stud and write the dimensions on the stud where the wire should come out, then a drywaller will cut the hole and pull the wire out before the board is screwed up. Sometimes you will have to make a drawing to show where you left the wires so you can cut them out later. It all depends on the situation and how tight you are with the drywallers.

There's actually a lot to plan out in terms of wiring when you're building a home and putting in in wall or on wall speakers. I just went through the building process for a new house and put 7.1 in wall systems in 3 rooms with distributed pairs in 3 additional rooms.

Make sure you buy good quality speaker cable (monoprice also sells high quality low cost cabling that can be run in wall) at least 16 gauge, preferably 14 for longer runs (that should be all you need for these speakers).

Plan the layout of your room carefully before running the wire. Ask yourself where you will sit, where the sub will go (wiring a sub is a whole different kettle of fish btw, if you're going to do it let me know I can give you some advice), where the receiver and other components will go?

Once you've mapped out where the speakers will go then you've got to find a path for the wire that keeps it as far away as possible from electrical runs (at least 3 feet if you are running parallel) to avoid interference problems. If you have to cross, make sure it's at right angles. Sub cabling is even more sensitive to interference but if you adhere to these rules and buy the right kind of cable (basically ultra-shielded coax) then you will be OK.

I made the decision to bury all my components in built-ins or equipment closets to placate the wife. That added another layer of complexity b/c I had to figure out the rough layout of the built-ins in order to know where to wire the centre and L/R speakers as well as figure out where the plasma would go and how big it would be. Then I ran PVC conduit from the plasma location to the area where the receivers were going to live so that I could bury that cabling later.

I boxed all my speakers (except for the L/R and centres behind the built-ins. Not sure it made a huge difference. Our joists were all 12" on centre so the 8" in ceiling speakers were a close fit. I just used chip board in b/w the joists to create the box (you can use MDF if you're anal) and stabled 1" corrugated foam in the back (but again I don't know how much of a difference that made). The wiring I just hung loose out of each box. Any decent drywaller will know if they see loose wires, they have to drill and bring them through. Just make sure you explain what you're about to them before they go to work. I would also highly recommend testing the wires before and after teh drywall goes in to make sure that you haven;t inadvertently crimped or broken one in the process. Will save you lots of headaches later if you find one that's bad early rather than after all the painting etc has been done.

FYI, Monoprice also sells great wallplates for surround systems, high quality and way cheaper than teh competition as usual. You can plan out the location of the wall plate to put it in proximity to the receiver and then mount the appropriate size 1, 2 or 3 gang box to bring the speaker wire into for later finishing with the wallplate.