# side & rear surround speakers in ceiling a bad idea?



## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

I'm having a house built starting mid-April. I'm going to have a walk-through with the builder on some specifics.

One of them is the possibility of having them go ahead & install 4 ceiling speakers for use as the side & rear surrounds in a 7.1 home theater setup. I figure this way I can keep my soon-to-be wife happy with less speakers in the living room & probably save me some $ at the same time.

The ceilings are 10 feet high. I'd probably have the rears placed 2-3 feet behind the sofa, & the side surrounds about the same distance from the rear corners of the sofa off to the sides.

I know this isn't optimal like having speakers on the floor or wall-mounted, but do you think this would provide a substantial ambient surround stage?

Any suggestions from experience are appreciated!


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## Viggen (May 2, 2011)

Why not mount the speakers in the walls instead of the ceiling?

You could also make her happy by using a in wall sub!! 

Don't forget you could also do front effects with 9.1 or 9.2 surround

I would think the rears would be OK but the side speakers should be lower & more forward vs the rears


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## radarcontact (Oct 28, 2010)

fish said:


> I'm having a house built starting mid-April. I'm going to have a walk-through with the builder on some specifics.
> 
> One of them is the possibility of having them go ahead & install 4 ceiling speakers for use as the side & rear surrounds in a 7.1 home theater setup. I figure this way I can keep my soon-to-be wife happy with less speakers in the living room & probably save me some $ at the same time.
> 
> ...


Yes that would be fine, actually much better than fine! All side and rear speakers provide ambience, like you said. Placement IS key, though, so I would measure and mark the spots myself, and I would definitely be there when the holes are cut (once the holes are cut, go drink a beer). Before marking where you want the holes cut, be sure there are no joists in the way. With new construction, it'll prob be easier to detect, but if not, here's a trick: using an awl, poke a hole in the ceiling, then explore the area above the drywall with a piece of a coat hangar that is bent 90 degrees at a point that is the radius of the required hole to be cut. I.e., 7" hole, L-shaped wire that's got the short leg at 3-1/2". Feed it up through the hole and "spin" it, making sure there are no obstructions. If you are careful, you can even detect small phone wires, etc.
If you hit a joist, move the wire away from it an appropriate distance and try again. The small holes you create will be removed when the hole is cut.


iPad/TapaTalk


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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

Viggen said:


> Why not mount the speakers in the walls instead of the ceiling?
> 
> You could also make her happy by using a in wall sub!!
> 
> ...



This floorplan really only has two walls, well maybe 2 1/4 walls  in the living room. It's pretty open. The only way I can do 7.1 is with ceiling speakers, but 5.1 MIGHT be doable using wall mounts. 9.2... they got that now? 

I've never had a surround setup so I'm gonna start cheap (probably with some Sony or BIC floorstanding mains & center. Sub is still undecided... pre-made with amp included 12" or some 15's or 18's IB in the attic.


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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

radarcontact said:


> Yes that would be fine, actually much better than fine! All side and rear speakers provide ambience, like you said. Placement IS key, though, so I would measure and mark the spots myself, and I would definitely be there when the holes are cut (once the holes are cut, go drink a beer). Before marking where you want the holes cut, be sure there are no joists in the way. With new construction, it'll prob be easier to detect, but if not, here's a trick: using an awl, poke a hole in the ceiling, then explore the area above the drywall with a piece of a coat hangar that is bent 90 degrees at a point that is the radius of the required hole to be cut. I.e., 7" hole, L-shaped wire that's got the short leg at 3-1/2". Feed it up through the hole and "spin" it, making sure there are no obstructions. If you are careful, you can even detect small phone wires, etc.
> If you hit a joist, move the wire away from it an appropriate distance and try again. The small holes you create will be removed when the hole is cut.
> 
> 
> iPad/TapaTalk



Thanks for that explanation.

Question though... I have very limited experience with surround sound systems - most that I've seen in homes have their surrounds up front on the entertainment center.  The ones in stores have surrounds on speaker stands, so what's a good way to get a good calculation for where to put the surrounds in the ceiling in distance from the listening area (sofa) for the best ambience?


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## splaudiohz (Apr 1, 2011)

That is tough. If I could do it I would do in wall, however I am only redoing my ceiling, so aiming and centering is key. Stands are a good idea especially if you want to rearrange a couple things later on. Just have them put some speaker terminal wall plates in.


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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

splaudiohz said:


> That is tough. If I could do it I would do in wall, however I am only redoing my ceiling, so aiming and centering is key. Stands are a good idea especially if you want to rearrange a couple things later on. Just have them put some speaker terminal wall plates in.



I've been thinking about the ceiling mounts today, & the more I think about it I like the idea of the wall plates like you mentioned. Can't do in-wall for surrounds though due to how they wouldn't be aimed anywhere close to the listening position. Speaking of aiming, I did find some angled ceiling mount speakers on PE, but they were like $100 each. :surprised:

Anyone have any comments about how drastic of a difference there is between 5.1 & 7.1?


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## splaudiohz (Apr 1, 2011)

I picked two sets of these up for about 300.00

PROFICIENT AUDIO SYSTEMS C640 6.5" Graphite Ceiling Speakers


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## radarcontact (Oct 28, 2010)

fish said:


> Thanks for that explanation.
> 
> Question though... I have very limited experience with surround sound systems - most that I've seen in homes have their surrounds up front on the entertainment center.  The ones in stores have surrounds on speaker stands, so what's a good way to get a good calculation for where to put the surrounds in the ceiling in distance from the listening area (sofa) for the best ambience?


I am using BIC MURA (?) inwall and inceiling units. 8" ones. They are great, love them. 

Look for a layout on the net. Then emulate that into your room. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## atxtrd (Apr 30, 2011)

fish said:


> I've been thinking about the ceiling mounts today, & the more I think about it I like the idea of the wall plates like you mentioned. Can't do in-wall for surrounds though due to how they wouldn't be aimed anywhere close to the listening position. Speaking of aiming, I did find some angled ceiling mount speakers on PE, but they were like $100 each. :surprised:
> 
> Anyone have any comments about how drastic of a difference there is between 5.1 & 7.1?


5.1 is fine, there is so little information for the extra channels that you will not really miss anything. My last system was a Parasound HCA 2205 with an Outlaw processor and it rocked in 5.1. Currently running a Marantz SR8001 in 5.1 and I have the extra 2 channels assigned to the front speakers (bi-amped), cool feature. Had to downsize due to my wife complaining about all the stuff, mainly my giant Polk SDA's. If you are going in-wall I recomend these In-Wall/In-Ceiling Speaker or these Swans Speaker

If you listen to much music I would highly recommend towers for the mains, Energy, Swans and Axiom have some great sounding towers that won't break the bank...check out the Swan Diva's.  And if you do ceiling speakers be sure and build some sort of box around them in the attic, the heat and dust is hell on speakers, foam sheathing board works and foil duct tape will hold them together nicely. If you really want to save money here is a site with cables and speakers plus damn near anything else you could need. http://www.monoprice.com/products/department.asp?c_id=109


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## radarcontact (Oct 28, 2010)

+1
Mono price.com is always worth checking first...some of their prices are just stupid cheap.

+1
Protect the rears of the speakers in a ceiling, good point!


iPad/TapaTalk


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