Surely some people will have a response...
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobPond /forum/post/21877547
This thread is worth reviving.
It seems that a lot of money is spent on in-ceiling and in-wall speakers yet there appears to be no strong consensus on whether it makes sense to build enclosures for them.
One of the above postings refers to the following technical article:
http://www.cepro.com/article/how_to_...peaker_systems
This article points that out that wall cavities are extremely leaky. This can be even more true of ceiling speakers. Yet, wouldn't in-wall / in-ceiling speakers be engineered with this in mind? It seems that whatever enclosure you build around such a speaker (even $100 dynamats!) would be too small for such a speaker.
Has anyone really demonstrated that it helps to build speaker enclosures around in-wall or in-ceiling speakers?
Note: My in-ceiling speakers will have an attic above them from where I can install any enclosure that I like. If an enclosure would really help, why not simply use a large styrofoam box with or without a plywood bottom and with or without insulation inside?
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobPond /forum/post/21877547
This thread is worth reviving.
It seems that a lot of money is spent on in-ceiling and in-wall speakers yet there appears to be no strong consensus on whether it makes sense to build enclosures for them.
One of the above postings refers to the following technical article:
http://www.cepro.com/article/how_to_...peaker_systems
This article points that out that wall cavities are extremely leaky. This can be even more true of ceiling speakers. Yet, wouldn't in-wall / in-ceiling speakers be engineered with this in mind? It seems that whatever enclosure you build around such a speaker (even $100 dynamats!) would be too small for such a speaker.
Has anyone really demonstrated that it helps to build speaker enclosures around in-wall or in-ceiling speakers?
Note: My in-ceiling speakers will have an attic above them from where I can install any enclosure that I like. If an enclosure would really help, why not simply use a large styrofoam box with or without a plywood bottom and with or without insulation inside?
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobPond /forum/post/0
Thanks for these replies. For many if not most of those of us who buy in-wall or in- ceiling speakers (I myself bought two pairs of the popular Polk RC80i's - see http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-RC8.../dp/B00006BMQT ) the question remains whether we can improve the performance of these open baffle speakers by building some sort of enclosure behind the wall or ceiling. Apparently, the Dynamat folks are persuading a number of people that it is worthwhile for them to spend $100 per speaker for such enclosures (presumably the vendors of these enclosures promise improved performance regardless of whether the speakers were engineered for enclosures of this size, etc...). If an enclosure will help even for "open baffle speakers" then why not use a cheap styrofoam cooler. I could order a 45 quart one from Lowes for $13 that fits in the space above my ceilings ( which I have access to). Will it be worthwhile for me to install such enclosures? Should I put any fiberglass insulation in? What does the theory suggest?
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobPond /forum/post/21880312
Thanks again for the replies. Here is what I have gathered so far from these comments and from what has been posted elsewhere on the web. I hope that you and others can correct, elaborate on and add to any of these points:
1. Hi fidelity speaker drivers are engineered to perform well with speaker enclosures of specific size and other characteristics;
2. The majority of in-wall and in-ceiling speakers on the market are sold without enclosures;
3. This is not to say that these inexpensive in-wall and in-ceiling speakers (e.g. $120 for a pair of Polk RC80i's) are necessarily designed to be completely "open baffle". They might perform best without any enclosure at all (e.g. when placed in a ceiling that has an attic above without any insulation covering the speakers). Or they might be designed to perform best when placed in a compartment of a specific size (e.g. the space in an 8 foot tall wall cavity created by 2x4 studs 16 inches apart). Remarkably, the speaker manufacturer does not specify the type of space in which they perform best. I will, as you suggest, send them an email but I would be surprised if they have a definitive answer to this question;
4. Some manufacturers market in-wall or in-ceiling speaker enclosures (e.g. Dynamat). Remarkably, these manufacturers also do not seem to specify the types of speakers for which these enclosures perform well;
5. This muddled situation persists because most people are happy with what an audiophile would call medium to low audio quality;
6. It is probably overkill to build proper speaker cabinets for such mid-to-low quality speakers and the speaker cabinets may not even be the right size for such speakers;
7. There is still the possibility, however, that the performance of a typical, inexpensive in-wall or in-ceiling speaker might be optimized by using simple techniques such as a) "you can surround them with large amount of sound suppressing material (the same sort used in acoustic panels) [see above comment]"; or b) placing a sheet of plywood over the ceiling joists when the speakers are placed beneath an open attic; or (who knows?) c) creating a large enclosure for $13 by placing a styrofoam cooler over them. The goal of such modifications would be to optimize performance of affordable speakers at minimal cost and with minimal effort. The goal would not be to transform them into hi-fidelity speakers. Optimizing the performance of typical, non-hi-fi in-wall and in-ceiling speakers is still an important goal, however, given the very large numbers of such speakers that are sold including for expensive home theater and whole house audio systems.
Any thoughts on the above? Thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by billt1111 /forum/post/21930663
Bob,
Ok you convinced me that I need to do something as well. I share your thoughts about this apparent gaping hole in the audio experience, i.e. baffles for in-ceiling and in-wall speakers.
I just bought and installed 4 RC80i's. Two are my surrounds and two are my front 'highs'. I had access to the ceiling above the room in which they are installed. I cut the holes between joists which are 10" apart. That left about an inch clearance between joists on each side of the speaker. I bought 4 Styrofoam coolers at Walmart, moved the blown in insulation carefully out of the way, and placed them over each speaker being careful to run the speaker wire. I then placed a 5lb weight on the light cooler to hold it down tight against the ceiling. I then re-ran MCACC calibration on my Pioneer VSX-1121 amp.
I think it sounds better, but an A/B comparison is rather hard to accomplish. In the long term the coolers keep the dust and insulation off the back of the speakers. That has to be a good thing. Overall, I cannot see any downside to doing this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scout's staff /forum/post/21930732
Bob,
I'm unclear on where you installed your speakers - were they in the ceiling or walls? If walls, were they exterior walls? I'm worried that you no longer have insulation behind the speaker preventing heat and cooling loss. More importantly, did you repair/restructure the vapor barrier behind the speakers?
Quote:
Originally Posted by billt1111 /forum/post/21930832
They are in the ceiling, hence the ease in adding coolers as a baffle. I never had the blown in insulation contacting the back of my Polk ceiling speaker cones. However once the coolers were in place over the back of the speaker I rearranged the blown in insulation around the cooler.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scout's staff /forum/post/21931346
Thanks - didn't want you to have structure issues later due to moisture. I too have in-walls and in-ceiling speakers. I went with Dynaboxes for the in-ceiling speakers to control exterior sound in the scuttle area and hopefully provide a more focused/fuller bass sound from the speakers. I'm happy with them, but I never listened to them without the Dynaboxes to see a difference.
Quote:
Originally Posted by billt1111 /forum/post/21931510
I guess that is the point of this thread. The Dynaboxes I see on ebay are $122 each! I am positive that they are fine additions to the system. I spent $2.99 for a weighted down Styrofoam cooler on a ceiling speaker. The question is whether there is a difference discernible to a listener?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ben_r_ /forum/post/0
There probably isnt, but I do like the idea of the speaker back being covered and more protected. I have been thinking about how I was going to do that myself as I have four pairs of these Polks to install in various ares of my house and am wondering how to keep the insulation off of them.