Looking for Inwall / Ceiling Speakers Info on New Construction

**graz** · **12-04-08, 10:06 PM**

Hello All,

I have been looking at these forums for a couple hours now reading and reading and opening up links that people put on there posts etc. Basically is about what people can afford. My wife and I put a large addition on our house. In our addition one of the rooms we added is a 22x22 living room with vaulted ceilings. The height is about 22 feet. I am ready to rough in the house wiring wise. I have an idea on where we want the lcd tv mounted on the wall. We are not sure on what kind of TV, Receiver, DVD player etc. to buy right now. Everyone has dreams on buying a 60+ LCD TV. I am looking for some prof info on laying out where the speakers should go. I have pictures of the room so I am willing to post them for help. All my friends THINK there heros on surround sounds and what are best. For the size room we have and the height of the ceilings (vaulted) we would like to know some good info on speakers 'please of course'. Is the room to big for inwall/ceiling? Our plan was to mount tv on the wall and have a speaker to the left and right of tv and a center speaker above tv? Sounds about right right? The tv will go inbetween 2 windows so the width of the wall will just be for speakers and TV thats it no pictures or paintings etc. And for the back of the room we wanted to have an inwall or ceiling behind the couch on each side. So depending on the height off the floor we should put speakers will determine if its gonna be a inwall or ceiling mount. Inwall would be perfect for where the tv is going but I am not

sure if center speakers are offered in inwall. If inwall is out of price range for around the tv then we will just have to deal with surface mounted speakers. I am all about looks so inwall looks clean you know what I mean. So looks like I have just typed your eyes off. Thankyou for reading my post I will be looking forward on reading what who ever reads this will have to say. Have a good Night
Graziano

**tonyvdb** · **12-04-08, 11:40 PM**

Thats going to be a very tough challange, The size of the room is very large and will be tough to "fill" properly with sound from in walls/ceilling speakers. the other issue is that its a perfect box so that will cause problems with reflection cancelation.
The in wall/ceiling speakers do not sound as good as "bookshelves" and will cost at least twice as much. The other drawback with them is they are not very directional and placement is not as flexable.

**nova** · **12-05-08, 02:30 AM**

I agree with Tony,... for the most part

, except, in-walls can sound as good or better than bookshelf speakers. But be prepared to

and

some more.

Yes, you can get in-wall center speakers. In fact you can get any speaker in-wall (mains, centers, surrounds, bi-di's, sub woofers etc).

My recommendation: If you really want in-wall / in ceiling speakers, DO NOT CHEAP OUT on them. I know it's a tough pill to swallow, but if you want the clean look,

and

some more.

Second recommendation: If you want in-wall speakers, buy in-wall speakers from companies that know how to build in-wall speakers. There are a lot of companies that sell them but only a few who really know how to build them. I'd suggest:

Triad
RBH Sound
James Loudspeaker
Snell Acoustics

BTW, you did not mention a budget. ???

**JCD** · **12-05-08, 02:13 PM**

So, to summarize:

In wall/ceiling Pro's

Aesthetically pleasing

In wall ceiling Con's

More expensive for the same sound quality
Can't change your mind about placement after the fact
Imaging won't be as good

I'm not trying to kill the whole in wall/ceiling thing, life is all about compromises, just so you know what the compromises are.

As for speaker layout, Dolby Labs has some suggessts -- Link.

Oh yeah, and a budget can help us narrow down some of your choices...

Good luck!

JCD

**salvasol** · **12-05-08, 04:34 PM**

I can't agree more with the previous posts

I also suggest taking a look at this JBL somebody mentioned in a post ....

**Prof.** · **12-05-08, 06:05 PM**

Here's another recommendation if you really don't want to see any speakers..
http://www.stealthacoustics.com/
I've heard these and they're very good quality..

**graz** · **12-05-08, 06:54 PM**

Hello Everyone who replied to my post. i have so many questions for you guys. if in deed i decide to go inwall with everything except sub how much is a good quality speaker. i just want to be able to watch a football game and or a dvd and be able to here everything possible on the tv. when i find out a price then we can talk more about book shelf speakers. thanks every.
Dave Graziano

**JCD** · **12-08-08, 01:48 AM**

That's a hard question to answer -- what might sound good to me might not to you and vice versa. And of course, your priorities might be different than mine. When you have good speakers set up in properly, you can much more easily "loose" yourself -- at least me. My wife? The speakers from the TV are fine with her. My need for more baffles her to some extent.

With that in mind, I think I'd have to spend at least $225/pr for something I thought was "decent" enough for my main rig. Converting that to in-walls.. I actually don't know. I can tell you that we bought some in-ceilings for about $350/pair for my office and they sound ok, but not as good as my friend's SBS-01's that go for $225/pair. Also, no imaging whatsoever -- in walls should be better at that.

Not sure if that helps, but...

**Kal Rubinson** · **12-08-08, 11:08 AM**

Quote:

graz wrote:

Hello All,

I have been looking at these forums for a couple hours now reading and reading and opening up links that people put on there posts etc. Basically is about what people can afford. My wife and I put a large addition on our house. In our addition one of the rooms we added is a 22x22 living room with vaulted ceilings. The height is about 22 feet. I am ready to rough in the house wiring wise. I have an idea on where we want the lcd tv mounted on the wall. We are not sure on what kind of TV, Receiver, DVD player etc. to buy right now. Everyone has dreams on buying a 60+ LCD TV. I am looking for some prof info on laying out where the speakers should go. I have pictures of the room so I am willing to post them for help. All my friends THINK there heros on surround sounds and what are best. For the size room we have and the height of the ceilings (vaulted) we would like to know some good info on speakers 'please of course'. Is the room to big for inwall/ceiling? Our plan was to mount tv on the wall and have a speaker to the left and right of tv and a center speaker above tv? Sounds about right right? The tv will go inbetween 2 windows so the width of the wall will just be for speakers and TV thats it no pictures or paintings etc. And for the back of the room we wanted to have an inwall or ceiling behind the couch on each side. So depending on the height off the floor we should put speakers will determine if its gonna be a inwall or ceiling mount. Inwall would be perfect for where the tv is going but I am not

sure if center speakers are offered in inwall. If inwall is out of price range for around the tv then we will just have to deal with surface mounted speakers. I am all about looks so inwall looks clean you know what I mean. So looks like I have just typed your eyes off. Thankyou for reading my post I will be looking forward on reading what who ever reads this will have to say. Have a good Night
Graziano

While I think you are getting reasonable advice from the others, I want to point out that a 22x22x22 room is, acoustically, a nightmare.

You will have a boomy bass because the resonances due to the identical room dimensions will sum. See http://www.realtraps.com/modecalc.htm for a simple explanation and calculator. Given your descriptions, I doubt that you will entertain (1) changing the dimensions, (2) redecorating with large, fluffy and absorbent furniture and wall-hangings or (3) adding lots of bass traps (see same reference). In addition, you will not be able to move your in-wall speakers around to mitigate the effects. Consequently, I strongly urge you to consider buying a receiver that incorporates a very competent room EQ system. Such systems are Audyssey MultEQ XT (Denon, Onkyo, Integra, Marantz), YPAO (Yamaha) and MCACC (Pioneer).

Kal

**BTT917** · **12-14-08, 09:06 AM**

Just to add another option into the mix:

http://www.axiomaudio.com/t2.html

**RLA** · **12-15-08, 11:58 AM**

There are several options here for you with budget being the main factor. There are many flat on wall speakers on the market as well. In the mid priced category take a look at the Axiom hybrid in-wall speakers I reviewed them here a couple of years ago. http://www.averagejoeavreviews.com/r...iom/review.htm If your pleasure is loud and dynamic in that size room you will have to go a different direction, you can PM me and would be glad to give you some consultation based on your room and listening requirements.

Best regards,
RLA

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