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Ceiling Mounted Front and Center Speakers, bad idea?

663 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by quadriverfalls, Sep 29, 2006

Dan_R_M

Discussion Starter · Sep 28, 2006

I am in the process of building a house and this is my first home theater. I am thinking about getting the orb 5.1 setup in the living room to start. I have to go to the house and tell them where to put the wiring. I am going to have the rear speakers mounted to the ceiling. But, I was also thinking about have the front/center speakers also mounted to the ceiling so they are not as noticeable. Is this a bad idea? FYI, my tv is not wall mounted and I have 9 ft ceilings.

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quadriverfalls

· #2 · Sep 28, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan_R_M
I am in the process of building a house and this is my first home theater. I am thinking about getting the orb 5.1 setup in the living room to start. I have to go to the house and tell them where to put the wiring. I am going to have the rear speakers mounted to the ceiling. But, I was also thinking about have the front/center speakers also mounted to the ceiling so they are not as noticeable. Is this a bad idea? FYI, my tv is not wall mounted and I have 9 ft ceilings.

Maybe you can mount the TV to the ceiling and lay on the floor to watch your movies.

I can't think of a single time that ceiling mounting front L/C/R speakers is a good idea. That is if you want them to sound good. Surrounds ceiling mounted are marginal at best but not as big of deal because they are more for effects (except of course for multi channel music).

Ceiling speakers are for background music IMHO.... not for critical listening or HT applications. That is, if the SQ is important to you.

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Bone215

· #3 · Sep 29, 2006

bad

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StevieG

· #4 · Sep 29, 2006

In my experience, a one-word answer seldom tells the whole story, so I'll try to offer a little more than that.

It is far from ideal to mount the L, C, and R front speakers in the ceiling, but you just might find it an acceptable compromise if there are other overridding considerations. But I definitely would not spend the money on an all in-ceiling system without first auditioning one.

Here's a good review to help get you thinking:
http://www.hedmag.com/Product-Review...h-Fidelity.asp

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Dan_R_M

Discussion Starter · #5 · Sep 29, 2006

Let me clarify....I am not putting speakers "in" the ceiling or using "in-ceiling" speakers. I am mounting external Front/Center speakers (ie. orb) with a ceiling mount to the ceiling and will be angling them toward my listening point (ie. couch). I am not sure if this changes peoples opinions or not, but I just wanted to make sure people understood what I am asking. Although I did chuckle at the "mounting the tv to the ceiling" comment. I guess the general concern is that the speakers will be located much higher than ear level. But can I get away with angling them downwards to compensate for the height difference? Thanks!

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quadriverfalls

· #6 · Sep 29, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan_R_M
Let me clarify....I am not putting speakers "in" the ceiling or using "in-ceiling" speakers. I am mounting external Front/Center speakers (ie. orb) with a ceiling mount to the ceiling and will be angling them toward my listening point (ie. couch). I am not sure if this changes peoples opinions or not, but I just wanted to make sure people understood what I am asking. Although I did chuckle at the "mounting the tv to the ceiling" comment. I guess the general concern is that the speakers will be located much higher than ear level. But can I get away with angling them downwards to compensate for the height difference? Thanks!

Yeah.... this is COMPLETELY different. While maybe not a perfect solution, it is one that given placement restraints, is far more workable than in-ceiling speakers across the front.

With a good SPL meter and some patience, you should be able to create some fairly decent response levels. The sound though, will still be coming from "above" you somewhat but probably not too disconcerting except for something like say a race car that your mind "knows" is on the ground.... panning across the the front three speakers and the sound is a bit above you.

Other than sound specific events like that, or "special" effects type sounds.... basic dialog and music should be just fine.

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