[barnac0]

I'm having an issue with the placement of my surround speakers. I'm trying to figure out what I need to buy and where would the best location be for the speakers with my issue. I have been told by my future wife that I can't mount my speakers in the wall but I could in the ceiling

. That creates a real big problem for the location of my center channel.


I have attached a floorplan for my house down below. Since I don't have a back wall in my living room, I will have to go with in-ceiling speakers. My tv is on a credenza to the right of the fireplace. I don't have a whole lot of space left over on the wall with the tv being there. So my S/O want to do ceiling mounts for the front and center channels

. Is this possible and do you have any ideas other than telling her to get out of the living room and into the kitchen to make me a sammich?


Thanks,

Cody

 

[m_vanmeter]

yes, you can mount speakers in the ceiling or on the ceiling....


BUT, you really do not want to do this for the front 3 speakers !

Your TV is your center of attention, not the ceiling.


Since WAP has raised it's ugly head, consider on-wall speakers for the front 3 (or the center on the credenza, L&R on the wall) and in-ceiling units for the side surrounds (in a 5.1 system). Set a reasonable sized subwoofer on whichever side of the credenza is furthest from a hard corner.

 

[barnac0]



Quote:
Originally Posted by m_vanmeter /forum/post/18159825


yes, you can mount speakers in the ceiling or on the ceiling....


BUT, you really do not want to do this for the front 3 speakers !

Your TV is your center of attention, not the ceiling.


Since WAP has raised it's ugly head, consider on-wall speakers for the front 3 (or the center on the credenza, L&R on the wall) and in-ceiling units for the side surrounds (in a 5.1 system). Set a reasonable sized subwoofer on whichever side of the credenza is furthest from a hard corner.

Thanks for the response. I would love to be able to mount them in the wall or on the wall but that won't fly because it will "clutter" the wall according to her. I think I may have to just do it and deal with the "wife" later.

 

[amicusterrae]



Quote:
Originally Posted by barnac0 /forum/post/18160305


Thanks for the response. I would love to be able to mount them in the wall or on the wall but that won't fly because it will "clutter" the wall according to her. I think I may have to just do it and deal with the "wife" later.

An inwall "clutters" the wall???

Wow. good luck, man. Sounds a little unreasonable! Why does it seem most women despise audio equipment? I mean, they like music. They like movies.


It's taken 10 years of marriage, but my wife now understands how important the speaker setup is to me. In return, I try not to criticize her shoe collection, and I don't complain about the regular facials and massages

Anyway, if she likes music and you can make your system easy to operate, then in walls flanking that fireplace could be great for having music in the living room and the kitchen. Seems mutually beneficial. I mean, in walls blend so well. You can even paint most grilles to match.

 

[doublechili]

How about if you wall-mount the TV (above the fireplace looks great if you have room) and then install some quality in-ceilings with angled drivers? By having the TV mounted higher and closer to the IC speakers, there is more of a connection between the picture and the sound. And the angled driver can remedy some of the problem of typical IC speakers. Not sure what your budget is, but Triad makes some amazing looking IC speakers that I imagine sound great. Paradigm makes angled ICs. Others too.


Better yet, the WAF of the TV above the fireplace is very high (I think it has something to do with all the furniture being oriented facing one location). Maybe even high enough to convince yours to go with some of the on-wall front speakers that can integrate nicely with a flat-screen TV. Then you could do IC speakers for the rear/surrounds.

 

[m_vanmeter]

WAF appeal for an above the fireplace mounted TV does not make up for the sore neck after watching a 2 hour movie. Please stay with the credenza or on-wall mount on the flat wall facing the kitchen. Frankly, the appeal for this location is the ability to have great music in the kitchen / breakfast room as well.

 

[Big Whitey]

I just bought a system loud enough that it drowns out the voice of anyone yelling at me

Hint Hint


What kind of sammich are you gunna have?


But really if you both go together and look at some wall mount speakers she may be suprised at how unoticable they will be with a color matching grill to suit the wall color. Will sound much better. I find speakers very classy looking if set up properly.. maybe she just has the wrong though in her head what a nice setup will look like.

 

[dallastt]

does she understand what IN THE WALL means?

 

[doublechili]



Quote:
Originally Posted by m_vanmeter /forum/post/18161832


WAF appeal for an above the fireplace mounted TV does not make up for the sore neck after watching a 2 hour movie. Please stay with the credenza or on-wall mount on the flat wall facing the kitchen. Frankly, the appeal for this location is the ability to have great music in the kitchen / breakfast room as well.

Sore neck? How high is his fireplace?

 

[barnac0]



Quote:
Originally Posted by dallastt /forum/post/18162415


does she understand what IN THE WALL means?

I've explained it many times. She has all her "decor" on the wall and doesn't want anything else on there

. She is just gonna have to deal with it and now I just have to figure out what to do with the center channel.

 

[barnac0]



Quote:
Originally Posted by doublechili /forum/post/18162741


Sore neck? How high is his fireplace?

Fireplace mantle is about 5.5 ft off ground. I don't want it up there.

 

[doublechili]



Quote:
Originally Posted by barnac0 /forum/post/18163607


Fireplace mantle is about 5.5 ft off ground. I don't want it up there.

Okay, but you still need to come up with the best sounding in-ceiling solution, or you need to find an acceptable alternative. It's sounding like a more traditional floorstanding/bookshelf option my not be viable. If that's the case, then an on wall setup might be the most practical alternative. If someone (of the female persuasion) can accept a big old TV in their room, then try to find a set of speakers whcih integrates well with the TV.


BTW, it would be helpful to know how high your ceiling is, and what your approximate budget is.

 

[barnac0]



Quote:
Originally Posted by doublechili /forum/post/18164982


Okay, but you still need to come up with the best sounding in-ceiling solution, or you need to find an acceptable alternative. It's sounding like a more traditional floorstanding/bookshelf option my not be viable. If that's the case, then an on wall setup might be the most practical alternative. If someone (of the female persuasion) can accept a big old TV in their room, then try to find a set of speakers whcih integrates well with the TV.


BTW, it would be helpful to know how high your ceiling is, and what your approximate budget is.

Ceiling are 10'. I don't have a set budget, just trying to find something that works. I need a receiver, speakers, and sub.

 

[doublechili]



Quote:
Originally Posted by barnac0 /forum/post/18167711


Ceiling are 10'. I don't have a set budget, just trying to find something that works. I need a receiver, speakers, and sub.

Short of convincing your significant other to relent and get box speakers, it sounds like your options are to go: (1) small; (2) on wall clustered around the TV; (3) in ceiling (and you can mix these in one HT system).


It looks like you've got a pretty big space, so obviously there is some compromising, especially if you prefer loud volumes.



Your SO might be okay with a small speaker wall-mounted, especially if the color blends in visually with your walls. Small, round speakers like Orbs (inexpensive) or Gallo A'Diva (or somewhat larger Stradas) are examples.


If you have a flat screen TV and can wall mount it (inexpensive if you get a Parts Express or MonoPrice mount), you can get "plasma" type on-wall speakers to mount below (center) and to either side (L/R) of the TV that visually become part of the TV. A variation on this is the LCR sound bar that you'd place below your TV. You could team this with with in-ceiling speakers as the surrounds. Many on these boards aren't fans of the LCR speaker. I am in the process of installing this type of system in my family room (Pinnacle LCR with MB Quart Alexxa surrounds, all obtained cheaply!), but that's not a large room.


Consider the installation expense if you go in ceiling and don't do the work yourself, and also weigh how long you think you'll be in your current place since the speakers probably are not coming with you when you leave.


At this stage you should probably settle on what type of speakers you're getting before worrying about a particular make/model. I've never heard most of these speakers, but here are some websites of speakers I've read good things about as a starting point just so you can get some ideas (I'm linking either to a catagory, or to a specific speaker, but explore the sites and check out the galleries to get an idea of your options):

http://www.roundsound.com/home-theater-loudspeakers.htm

http://www.triadspeakers.com/products/ics6mm.html

http://www.leonspeakers.com/products.html

http://www.atlantictechnology.com/de...alse&NodeId=22

http://www.totemacoustic.com/product.../tribe_series/

http://www.angstromloudspeakers.com/...?top_cat_id=77

http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/displa...nfid=820&sc=ht

http://www.paradigm.com/en/reference...-1-83.paradigm

http://www.definitivetech.com/Produc...l/default.aspx

http://www.emptek.com/onwall.php

http://www.htd.com/cabinet-speakers/flat-panel-speakers


I have been in a similar situation, so I'm just throwing out some ideas I've come across. There are many people here far more qualified than me to provide further advice though!