[cjpark1]

My new house will be finished in 5 weeks and I had them run the wires for in-ceiling front and surround speakers. Due to the room layout and my wife, the TV will be placed over the fireplace and I'm hoping to find a thin center channel to put below the TV on the mantle. The ceiling is flat.


I bought two pairs of Polk RC60i from Future shop today for $169 per pair and then I noticed that I can get the SC60i somewhere else for $68 each (regular $139.99). I'm not sure which is the better speaker but I'm going to assume its the SC60i. Maybe someone could clarify the difference for me.


For the center channel I've been looking at the Polk TL3 for $219. I'm not sure how well this will go with either of the in-ceiling speakers mentioned. I'll also want a sub but haven't looked into it yet and that might have to wait a bit anyway; sub will not be going in the wall.


I realize going in-ceiling is less than ideal but in-wall for the front is out of the question. The TV will be on an exterior wall flanked by two windows and the room is roughly 11' x 16'. There is also not really room for placement of floor standing speakers and decor beats out sound quality. Down the road when I finish the basement I will put in a dedicated HT room with decent speakers so this setup is really just temporary (though for at least the next 5 years).


If anyone can give me any advice on the speakers that I've mentioned or offer suggestions for a better setup at a similar price point then I would appreciate hearing it.


Thanks!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Ceiling speakers will most likely never sound as good as some very good towers or bookshelf speakers. But they can still sound good.


My advice would be to go with something that has has a good resale value for your house like Revel, KEF, JBL, NHT, Niles.

http://www.amazon.com/KEF-CI200-3QR--Ceiling-Speaker-Driver/dp/B000P0ZXCU/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1342445291&sr=1-7&keywords=kef+in+wall


http://www.amazon.com/JBL-SP8CII-In-Ceiling-Speaker-Tweeter/dp/B000MFT4TG/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1342445204&sr=8-12&keywords=JBL+in-wall


http://www.amazon.com/Niles-CM730-FG01297-Speakers-Pivoting/dp/B000PS4T7C/ref=sr_1_19?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1342445375&sr=1-19&keywords=Niles+in+wall

 

[ack_bk]



Quote:
Originally Posted by AcuDefTechGuy  /t/1420449/recommendations-for-in-ceiling-speakers#post_22222772

Ceiling or in-wall speakers will most likely never sound as good as some very good towers or bookshelf speakers. But they can still sound good..

Per the bolded part, this is simply not true. Triad, for instance, has stated that their in-wall speakers sound every bit as good, or better, than their in-room speakers.


That said for the OP, in-wall would definitely be preferred for your front three speakers. The biggest issue you are going to have with in-ceiling speakers for your mains is soundstage and imaging. Think about it, you want the sound coming at you as if the person is standing or sitting there talking to you. If you can, I would buy speakers that are either angled, or allow you to aim as much of the sound as you can to the seating position if in-wall is not going to work.


Something like the AIM series from Speakercraft:
http://www.speakercraft.com/products/architectural-speakers/in-ceiling/aim


or the angled speakers like these:
http://www.speakercraft.com/products/architectural-speakers/in-ceiling/aim


On a budget, there are these, but either of the above will sound better:
http://www.htd.com/Products/high-definition/HD-R65AIM-ceiling-speakers


Obviously you can get more if you spend more. Something like this:
http://www.triadspeakers.com/products/icb8lcr.html
http://www.definitivetech.com/products/products.aspx?path=In-wall/In-Ceiling_Speakers&productid=UIW_RCS_II

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ack_bk  /t/1420449/recommendations-for-in-ceiling-speakers#post_22222821


Per the bolded part, this is simply not true. Triad, for instance, has stated that their in-wall speakers sound every bit as good, or better, than their in-room speakers.

Triad stated?


Bose states.............fill in the blanks.


Do you believe their measurements too?


Notice how inaccurate most of the specs are for many companies when compared to 3rd parties like NRC labs?


I have a friend who does custom installations for a living. He is a dealer for many speakers and electronics and projectors. He said Triad sucks.


Maybe the Triad in-room sucks too. Or maybe the Triad in-room doesn't sound that great compared to other towers from other companies.


Now that's just his opinion. Just like Triad has their own opinion.

 

[ack_bk]



Quote:
Originally Posted by AcuDefTechGuy  /t/1420449/recommendations-for-in-ceiling-speakers#post_22222858


Triad stated?

Bose states.............fill in the blanks.

Do you believe their measurements too?

Notice how inaccurate most of the specs are for many companies when compared to 3rd parties like NRC labs?

I have a friend who does custom installations for a living. He is a dealer for many speakers and electronics and projectors. He said Triad sucks.

Maybe the Triad in-room sucks too. Or maybe the Triad in-room doesn't sound that great compared to other towers from other companies.

Now that's just his opinion. Just like Triad has their own opinion.

And that is why I prefer to listen with my own ears

I have heard many higher end speakers, and for me, Triad would easily be towards the top of my list in the budget they are in. And I don't own Triad, but I am simply making the point that in-wall speakers can sound just as good as in-room. In many ways they might be better:
http://www.triadspeakers.com/pmi/pdfs/040601_baffled_again.pdf


Time and again I have seen people buy expensive in-room speakers and then place them in the worst places possible. Speaker placement has a huge affect on sound, and in many cases you might be better off with in-wall speakers that can be more ideally placed and you remove one whole reflection point.

 

[cjpark1]

Thanks for the replies. The speakercraft AIM series looks pretty good but still a bit out of my budget. I had looked into the HTD speakers and they looked good but I was a bit worried about finding a matching slim-profile center channel. Do you think this: http://www.htd.com/Products/center-channel-speakers/flat-panel-speaker#more would work with those in-ceiling? Would this be better than the Polk?


Also, does anyone know whether the Polk SC is better than the RC series?


Thanks again.

 

[ack_bk]



Quote:
Originally Posted by cjpark1  /t/1420449/recommendations-for-in-ceiling-speakers#post_22223932


Thanks for the replies. The speakercraft AIM series looks pretty good but still a bit out of my budget. I had looked into the HTD speakers and they looked good but I was a bit worried about finding a matching slim-profile center channel. Do you think this: http://www.htd.com/Products/center-channel-speakers/flat-panel-speaker#more would work with those in-ceiling? Would this be better than the Polk?

Also, does anyone know whether the Polk SC is better than the RC series?

Thanks again.

I would give them (HTD) a call and ask if the in-ceilings and that center are timbre matched. Same with Polk, I would confirm their in-ceilings timbre match their center.

 

[cjpark1]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ack_bk  /t/1420449/recommendations-for-in-ceiling-speakers#post_22224051


I would give them (HTD) a call and ask if the in-ceilings and that center are timbre matched. Same with Polk, I would confirm their in-ceilings timbre match their center.

Thanks, I guess I should have thought of that. I did send an e-mail to Polk yesterday and I just sent one to HTD as well. We'll see what they say.