[cytoSiN]

I'm looking for an attractive solution for mounting a pair of Polk Monitor 30s (to use as side surrounds) on a ceiling drop down that is about 8" tall (shorter than the 30s, even on their side). Because the drop down is already shorter than the speakers, a regular shelf won't work. I've seen some interesting brackets that might be able to hold a dropped down shelf that I could put the speakers on, but nothing that looks particularly attractive. And since the drop down is in the middle of the room, the "back" of whatever solution I go with will be visible when you enter the room, so I need to consider WAF.


Here's a closeup of the ceiling drop down (already wired, thankfully), and a wider shot as well.






Any thoughts/advice appreciated!

 

[jrm21]

Why not mount the bracket on the higher part of the ceiling? You could do it right near the lower section.


You could also build a shelf that is suspended from the higher ceiling section. Hard to explain, but think a shelf with a thin wire or rod in each corner. The wire/rod would screw to the higher ceiling section.

 

[djearl81]

Do the speakers have a label on them? If not, can you mount them upside down?

 

[weaselfest]

assuming you are going to want to tilt your speaker so it is aimed at your listening position, not mounted square to the soffitt and ceiling? (which will position at least a small wedge of speaker cabinet lower than the soffitt

)

I like the idea of "flying" the speaker off the ceiling. Replace the factory wall mount bracket and the two rubber bumpers with eye hooks, attach some picture hanging wire and then figure out where to install mounting points on the ceiling that will aim the speaker where you want.

If you are looking for an off the shelve mounting bracket, have you checked out the selection at Full Compass? http://www.fullcompass.com/category/Speaker-Mounts-Brackets-Universal.html

There isn't a lot of available real estate on the back of your speaker, so it may be challenging to find a bracket that will fit and distribute the weight.

 

[cytoSiN]

Thanks for the responses, much appreciated.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jrm21  /t/1524234/mounting-small-speakers-on-ceiling-drop-down#post_24534034


Why not mount the bracket on the higher part of the ceiling? You could do it right near the lower section.


You could also build a shelf that is suspended from the higher ceiling section. Hard to explain, but think a shelf with a thin wire or rod in each corner. The wire/rod would screw to the higher ceiling section.

The speakers are black Polk Monitor 30s . The only "bracket" is a single metal "clip" for a single screw:




I could try to just hang the speaker using that one contact point, but it wouldn't be particularly sturdy, and nothing would stop it from swinging if bumped. Also, they're just tall enough so that even if I mounted the screw at the top of the drop down, the "bumpers" on the bottom would hang below the wall, so the speaker would be angled and make direct contact with the wall right in the middle of the port. I could try to attach my own bumpers higher up I guess? Not sure this would look good from behind though with the port half visible, but I'll do it if there's no other way. I was actually considering mounting them on their sides so they only hung down a little bit, but then I'm stuck without a bracket on one side, and they'd still hang down at least an inch or two.

Quote:
Originally Posted by djearl81  /t/1524234/mounting-small-speakers-on-ceiling-drop-down#post_24537357


Do the speakers have a label on them? If not, can you mount them upside down?

I guess I could mount them upside down, but there's no built-in hardware for that (see above pic). What did you have in mind?

Quote:
Originally Posted by weaselfest  /t/1524234/mounting-small-speakers-on-ceiling-drop-down#post_24538199


assuming you are going to want to tilt your speaker so it is aimed at your listening position, not mounted square to the soffitt and ceiling? (which will position at least a small wedge of speaker cabinet lower than the soffitt

)

I like the idea of "flying" the speaker off the ceiling. Replace the factory wall mount bracket and the two rubber bumpers with eye hooks, attach some picture hanging wire and then figure out where to install mounting points on the ceiling that will aim the speaker where you want.

If you are looking for an off the shelve mounting bracket, have you checked out the selection at Full Compass? http://www.fullcompass.com/category/Speaker-Mounts-Brackets-Universal.html

There isn't a lot of available real estate on the back of your speaker, so it may be challenging to find a bracket that will fit and distribute the weight.

I actually don't want/need to tilt them since they're just side surrounds, and will be used to fill the space in the room above the listening position with ambient directional sound. I'm open to angling them if necessary, but wasn't planning on it.


As for replacing the factory bracket/bumpers, that's not a bad idea, and I'm definitely open to DIY. Did you have specific eye hooks in mind?

 

[jrm21]

Here are some rough pics to explain.


The photo is of a speaker bracket I use for my monitors. It bolts to the wall and has an articulating arm. The speaker is held in a shelf/clamp. This exact bracket may not fit your situation, but you can probably find one that does.


The drawings are roughs of two idea. One uses the ceiling mounted shelf I mentioned. The other shows a metal bracket mounted to the ceiling and supporting a shelf.

 

[weaselfest]



your typical self threading wood screw type eye bolt of matching diameter to the hardware currently used to fasten the factory bracket and bumpers. You could probably hit them with some spray paint for a more discreet, finished look. Longer shank versions are available if you are lucky enough to be able to hit a ceiling truss with at least one of your anchor points. Your speaker only weighs 9 pounds so I would think four of them would provide an acceptable safety factor, even if three are installed in some sort of drywall anchor.



As far as speaker placement goes, even ambient surrounds benefit from not being placed directly against a reflective surface. The sound bouncing off the ceiling is immediately thrown back into the path of the sound coming from the center of the assembly, distorting the sound waves and coloring the sound, no matter where you are listening. But if clearances or aesthetics are dictating things, so be it.

 

[cytoSiN]

Thanks guys. I like the look of that shelf hanging from the ceiling with dowels...could do a lot with that, although I couldn't angle the seapkers. I might try a bracket too if I can find one that I can mount and still drop the speaker down to allow its full height. The fisheyes might also create a good way to angle it with some picture wire, so I'll look into that. Lots of good ideas. Thanks again!


EDIT: I think I'll give these a try: http://www.fullcompass.com/product/392322.html Worst case, they won't hold the weight. If they do, they'll make the speakers "float" off the wall, and I can still angle them down. 9 lbs. on a 12lb max has me a little worried, but I'm willing to try it for 20 bucks, and Full Compass should stand behind the product if it can't hold the stated weight.

 

[cytoSiN]

Might try these too: https://www.parts-express.com/hangman-asm6-2-b-speaker-hanging-kit-2-pcs--182-168


Wouldn't be able to angle the speakers, but if I drop them off the very bottom of the ceiling dropdown, they may be low enough to not need angling. Weaselfest, how low do you think I would need to get them to avoid angling them downward? Thanks.

 

[cytoSiN]



Quote:
Originally Posted by weaselfest  /t/1524234/mounting-small-speakers-on-ceiling-drop-down#post_24542332


As far as speaker placement goes, even ambient surrounds benefit from not being placed directly against a reflective surface. The sound bouncing off the ceiling is immediately thrown back into the path of the sound coming from the center of the assembly, distorting the sound waves and coloring the sound, no matter where you are listening. But if clearances or aesthetics are dictating things, so be it.

Won't Audyssey correct for that? If I go with the brackets in the previous post, I can't angle, but they'll hang down lower. But Audyssey should correct for any ceiling interference, no?

 

[weaselfest]

no.

Audyssey will help set levels and delays for defined listening position(s), may suggest crossover settings and point out polarity issues but it can't fix the inaccuracies in sound reproduction caused by room reflections. If it did, people wouldn't be spending thousands of dollars on applying acoustic control materials to the walls of their theaters.

how low do you think I would need to get them to avoid angling them downward?

Lower than the soffit you are trying to hide the speakers behind. Usually you want the speaker pointed towards your normal listening position. Don't take my word for it, check out the Dolby or THX websites for recommended surround speaker placement for 5.1 systems.

 

[cytoSiN]



Quote:
Originally Posted by weaselfest  /t/1524234/mounting-small-speakers-on-ceiling-drop-down#post_24553269


no.

Audyssey will help set levels and delays for defined listening position(s), may suggest crossover settings and point out polarity issues but it can't fix the inaccuracies in sound reproduction caused by room reflections. If it did, people wouldn't be spending thousands of dollars on applying acoustic control materials to the walls of their theaters.

how low do you think I would need to get them to avoid angling them downward?

Lower than the soffit you are trying to hide the speakers behind. Usually you want the speaker pointed towards your normal listening position. Don't take my word for it, check out the Dolby or THX websites for recommended surround speaker placement for 5.1 systems.

I don't take your word for it but I have read those websites. So I'm trying to figure out how low I need to get them hanging. The slat brackets will bring the speakers about 2 feet below the ceiling and about 2 feet about the listening position. The white bendable brackets will allow me to angle. Either way I'm considering putting a couple of Sonex Audio Tiles on the ceiling above each speaker just in case to avoid reflections.

 

[cytoSiN]

So I ended up going with these configurable plastic mounts. It was a little tricky to get the two sides evenly set up since one is dropped from the soffit and the other is on the wall, but I like the way it came out. Now I just need to see how long the brackets hold for...they're rated for 12 lbs but each of my speakers weighs 9, so I'm not brimming with confidence. We shall see. I also need to make some nicer looking custom speaker wires, but that can wait, for now.


Soffit mounted showing the bracket:




Soffit mounted from the front, naked:




Wall mounted:




Both, from the bottom of the stairs entering the room (sorry, it's blurry):

 

[walterappleby]

Looks good. I used to have those same mounts in a previous setup. I never had any issues with them. My speakers at the time were probably less than 9lbs though. Those mounts are pretty simple and there's not much to go wrong... I suspect you will be happy with them for as long as you have those speakers.

 

[cytoSiN]



Quote:
Originally Posted by walterappleby  /t/1524234/mounting-small-speakers-on-ceiling-drop-down#post_24578751


Looks good. I used to have those same mounts in a previous setup. I never had any issues with them. My speakers at the time were probably less than 9lbs though. Those mounts are pretty simple and there's not much to go wrong... I suspect you will be happy with them for as long as you have those speakers.

Thanks. I hope so. I'm not concerned about the wall mounted part...they're screwed into studs with long wood screws. And the mount is attached to the speaker's MDF with decent wood screws as well. It's the elbows that are tricky. It's basically just tiny plastic teeth tightened with a hex nut. If those teeth strip, the mounts become useless. But so far so good. We'll see if anything changes when I start using the speakers a lot (creating additional vibration for the mounts to absorb).