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In-wall speaker question...

991 Views 15 Replies 7 Participants Last post by narodez, Oct 7, 2006

SanchezGZ

Discussion Starter · Oct 4, 2006

or more so in-ceiling speakers.

Are they an area that one can skimp on? I'm checking prices and just like there boxed counterparts they're all over the board. I am looking at my budget for the house I'm building and don't know if I can swing up to 8 pair of higher priced speakers. My main source is going to be Sonos as far as I can see at the point in time.

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1 - 16 of 16 Posts

eskay

· #2 · Oct 4, 2006

If it's for whole house audio and just background music, then you can probably save a few bucks on speakers. Search on this forum and the "Speakers" forum for "in ceiling" and you find a few threads about different brands and price ranges.

Name your budget and maybe people can give more specific recommendations.

samgreco

· #3 · Oct 4, 2006

And just like box speakers, they all sound different. And you usually get what you pay for.

You owe it to yourself to listen to a few. And much of it depends on how you intend to listen to them. At very low levels, like some people listen, the differences may be less apparent. But if you crank them, you will likely hear a big difference.

Listen for things like dispersion. As you move off-axis of any loudspeaker you will typically lose high frequencies. Some worse than others. Some, like Tannoy dual concentrics, much less. But they are more expensive.

SanchezGZ

Discussion Starter · #4 · Oct 4, 2006

My planning of this won't be so budget oriented by a finite figure, but more of selecting best bang for the buck. If bang for the buck is in a higher cost bracket I'll pull my wire to the locations and add them as I go. The only place I forsee needing higher clean Db's is on the outdoor patio.

penngray

· #5 · Oct 5, 2006

I have spent the last six months findout out what kind of in-ceiling speakers were out there. I have 11 pairs so far in my new house that is almost completed.

I found all my deals online, Ebay and other sites. Almost Impossible to listen to in-ceiling stuff unless you buy and return.

The in-ceiling speakers are decent but obviously not as good as floorstand or bookshelf speakers.

Triads seem to be top end but I was buying 11 pairs so no way in hell was I going to spend that much money. I do see the value in it when most rooms are just for background music.

Speakercraft have great reviews but for me even their price was too high. There is a good deal in the For Sale forum but you have be a club member. IMO, its worth it, people sells lots of great stuff here.

Klipsch SCR-2s from Sound Distributors (an ebay store) seem to give me some value. Their specs are pretty good and they sounded okay in testing. I bought 3 sets of them.

BIC acoustech in-wall system II is one of the others I purchased again from ebay. Its a Best offer deal where I put a pretty good low offer and it was actually accepted. Heck I got the H-100 sub for almost free (MSRP $250 or so) Those speakers will be very good for the spare bedrooms.

Most times the problem with in-ceiling speakers is that they can not go low. I found only a couple of speakers that go below 30Hz (atleast they say they do!)

Proficient C850s (around $200 a pair) and NXG-Pro1030 (around $200 too) are the two different in-ceilings that say they go pretty low.

I have both coming, the NXGs Im pretty excited about because they are 10" instead of the normal 8" or 6". The guy from ebay store that I bought them from said he has more if it works out for me.

I also have 2 pairs of Polk Audio RC80i that I found on ubid.com for 30% less then what I found at Circuit city.

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samgreco

· #6 · Oct 5, 2006

For your patio, take a look at Rockustics. I have a pair of the planters. They're 8" 2-ways and they sound great. They need reasonable power, 50 watts or better to sound good.

CJO

· #7 · Oct 5, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by penngray
Speakercraft have great reviews but for me even their price was too high. There is a good deal in the For Sale forum but you have be a club member. IMO, its worth it, people sells lots of great stuff here.

FYI- you only have to be a club member to list an item (for sale or wanted to buy). You don't have to be a club member to respond to the lister or to purchase the item.

I ended up going with Triads for my main rooms (silver inwalls in the family room and gold inwalls in the future theater) and used Speakercraft AIM8 Two's and a pair of Bay Audio speakers for the larger rooms where I'd be listening to music the most (kitchen, dining room, master bedroom). For the rear deck, I used Speakercraft WS750's. For the rest of the areas I used smaller Speakercraft or Sonance speakers.

CJ

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penngray

· #8 · Oct 5, 2006

CJ, that must be a great in-wall system (I know you have a great system period though so that is expected). I just couldn't convince myself to spend that much money and my wife won the "where are we spending money?" battle with her decision to have 15K worth of ceramic tile alone

CJO

· #9 · Oct 5, 2006

Thanks- I'm looking forward to actually hearing it. We don't move in until the 27th of this month. Tile is expensive stuff- especially if you start going with patterns and italian tile!

Anyway, to the OP, my suggestion would be to break down each room into one of three categories- critical listening, heavy listening and light listening. Then you could pick the speakers for each category.

CJ

rxtrom

· #10 · Oct 5, 2006

I was in the same boat. I wanted a good bang for my buck, but was not constrained. I have heard great things about proficient, so I decided to order a couple of pairs and see. They were about $160 for the c645 their top of the line. Kevlar dome, aluminum tweeter, etc.
http://www.proficientaudio.com/#

Paul on here Sbsmarthomes gave me a good deal,nice guy, I encourage you to PM him.

I have not hooked them up yet to listen as I wont be in my house for a couple of weeks, but I am expecting great things.

SanchezGZ

Discussion Starter · #11 · Oct 6, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by rxtrom
I was in the same boat. I wanted a good bang for my buck, but was not constrained. I have heard great things about proficient, so I decided to order a couple of pairs and see. They were about $160 for the c645 their top of the line. Kevlar dome, aluminum tweeter, etc.
http://www.proficientaudio.com/#

Paul on here Sbsmarthomes gave me a good deal,nice guy, I encourage you to PM him.

I have not hooked them up yet to listen as I wont be in my house for a couple of weeks, but I am expecting great things.

I will be breaking ground soon, so I am a ways off to a make or break decision. If at all possible if you could PM me a review of your purchase once you get them installed.

To everyone else I appreciate the advice given and will respond more in the morning since I'm off to bed!

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eskay

· #12 · Oct 6, 2006

Anyone have a good solution to the problem of in-ceiling speakers and blown-in insulation? I like the Triad Omnirounds because they are enclosed, but the cost of nine pairs is just not in the budget. I also like the NHT ceiling speakers and the manual says to use a thin sheet of fiberglass to keep the insulation away.

Another idea I just came across is to use batt insulation around the speaker. Maybe take a square and hollow out a cavity for the speaker.

CJO

· #13 · Oct 6, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by rxtrom
I have heard great things about proficient, so I decided to order a couple of pairs and see. They were about $160 for the c645 their top of the line. Kevlar dome, aluminum tweeter, etc.
http://www.proficientaudio.com/#

FYI, Proficient is made by Speakercraft.

Quote:

Originally Posted by eskay
Anyone have a good solution to the problem of in-ceiling speakers and blown-in insulation? I like the Triad Omnirounds because they are enclosed, but the cost of nine pairs is just not in the budget. I also like the NHT ceiling speakers and the manual says to use a thin sheet of fiberglass to keep the insulation away.

Another idea I just came across is to use batt insulation around the speaker. Maybe take a square and hollow out a cavity for the speaker.

That's one good option. A better sounding one would be to use Dynamat or similar acoustic material. The best would probably be to use a back box- several brands make back boxes that are specifically made for their speakers.

CJ

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samgreco

· #14 · Oct 6, 2006

Dynamat was showing a "backbox" at CEDIA. Pretty cool idea. Same Dynamat material formed into a soft box. Works very well.

rxtrom

· #15 · Oct 6, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJO
FYI, Proficient is made by Speakercraft.

CJ

Yes, they do I forgot to mention that thanks.

Will post a nice review once they are installed.

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narodez

· #16 · Oct 7, 2006

I am also installing a 5.1 ch surround w/ all proficient. My room size is 18x16 and the rear is open. I will keep you posted on the sound results once everything is installed.

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