In Ceiling Speakers- NHT IC4, Def Tech UIW 94A, Sonance Virtuoso V832DR or ?

[Mark64]

I am looking for a nice pair of in-ceiling speakers for our master bedroom which is 20Lx17Wx9H, and fully carpeted. The speakers will be powered for now by an older Onkyo receiver. At some point I will replace the Onkyo with an entry level to midgrade multichannel receiver to get bass management so I can hook up a small musical sub, which I wired RG6 QS for before the sheet rock went up. The system will be used for music during the day and TV/movie watching in the evening closer to bedtime. So I would like to choose a speaker with a good, full sound without getting crazy expensive ($500 or less for the pair). I would like a speaker with at least an 8" woofer, 8 ohm impedance (a stereo input dual voice coil will also be hooked up in master bathroom on B speaker), and sensitivity 90 or better.

The Def Tech UIW 94/A looks good on paper and has a 9" woofer with aimable tweeter.
NHT IC4 has 3 tweeter array (supposed to help off-axis response) and 8" woofer, but sensitivity is 87.
Sonance V832DR has 8" woofer, 4" midrange, 1" tweeter, all of which apparently pivot.

There is nowhere locally or even close that I have found yet to listen to these. In fact, other than Polk or Boston, the only lines locally would be what's carried at CC or BB, none of which seem to fit the bill. The BIC Acoustech HT8C looks interesting (8" woofer, 1" pivoting tweeter) and could be had for under $200 at Sound Distributors/Acoustic Sound Design (same outfit) on Ebay. But it concerns me that there are no reviews on this model and they only seem to be carried at that one source.

I currently have some Niles DVC (CM 6.5SI) speakers in the kitchen, and while the sound OK, I would like to do a little better with the pair for the bedroom. I have also heard some Polk speakers and again, OK but not great as I remember. I welcome feedback from any and all, let me know what you have and why you like it. The 3 models I mention are just what I've narrowed down to so far, I would certainly consider others.

Thanks,
Mark

[khellandros66]

As much as I love Definitive, Sonance is incredibly good at making inwall speakers. When most people ask me about inwalls I tell them look and Sonance for starters.

~Bob

[JCD]

Based on nothing else than the recommendation I've heard from someone I trust, I'd give another vote for Sonance.

For whatever that's worth.

JCD

[Ayreonaut]

Is there a reason you decided on in-ceiling speakers?
In-wall speakers flanking the TV would work much better, especially for TV and movies.

[Mark64]

Naut-
I decided to post a picture of the area in question so you can see what we are talking about. I am about to have the TV area finished in. There will be a shelf with a center divider which will hang from the top of the unit (will hold 2 components, probably cable box & DVD/VCR), another divided shelf/platform on the bottom (for receiver & CD player) on which the TV will sit, and pocket doors which can be closed during the day for neat appearance and opened and pushed back for viewing. The entire upper opening will be cased just like the fireplace below, the width of which should be the same or slightly less than the lower casement. My builder framed the corner in right before sheet rock went up and it is pretty solid. I weigh 215 and was able to climb up in the area to pull speaker wire, RG-6 for cable, sat, and sub, and CAT5 for phone connection (for sat) with no worries about it holding me. So after the opening is cased in, I'm not sure if there is enough open space for in-walls, not to mention getting the wire fished to the right place.There are 2x4's stacked side by side at the left and right edges where the unit turns to the other walls as well as next to the fireplace opening continuing to the top beside the TV opening. I will check with my electronic studfinder to verify. The local installer who helped me wire the house suggested in-ceiling so we wired from behind the TV up into the attic (this room is on 2nd floor) to allow for that. I know acoustically that in-ceilings are not the optimum, but I plan to cover the backs of the speakers in the attic with unfaced insulation if my choice does not have or offer a back box. Between that and hooking up a small sub, I hope for decent sound. Also, by mounting them at the foot of the bed (about where I stood to take the picture), there should be even sound from the bed end of the room to the sitting area ( left side of the pic). So that is what we are looking at, if you have any ideas or suggestions about any of this, be it setup or speaker choice please chime in. Thanks for your help.

Mark

[Ayreonaut]

I see the difficulty in locating in-walls for stereo.

I would recommend a 5.1 system with the left, right, and surrounds in the ceiling and a center channel to anchor television and movies to the TV. You could put a conventional box speaker on one of your new shelves, or build in a matched in-wall speaker right above or below the TV.

Where is your listening position (bed?) located?

[Mark64]

Naut-
The bed is right behind where I stood to take the picture. The wall against which the headboard rests is parallel to the one to the left of the fireplace/TV unit (the one where the flashlight is plugged into the outlet in the pic). There is also a ceiling fan at the foot of the bed (it was above my head where pic was taken). I have been told I need to space any speakers outside of the ceiling fan swath to keep the sound from being colored by the rotating blades. I had considered doing 5.1 surround in the bedroom, but we have a nice 6.1 system in the greatroom (or at least I will when I choose a sub), so I had planned to just get a good pair of stereo speakers & a small sub, and a DVC single stereo speaker for the master bathroom. Music is the primary consideration, and while we occasionally watch a late movie in the bedroom, if we want the surround experience we watch it downstairs. I realize stereo speakers will not compete with 5 channel surround, but it should sound markedly better than through the speakers of my JVC television. I have considered mounting them at the midpoint between the headboard wall and the far wall left of fireplace to serve the entire room. There is a sitting area just visible at the left side of the pic where two rocker/recliners are located, where we often read or watch TV. The mounting location I speak of should serve this as well. What do you know about Speakercraft speakers? I looked into a couple models of their AIM-8 series over the last couple days. They look good (specwise) and have an enclosed back which I'm told helps bass response, eliminates sound carry to other areas, and improves overall sound in general. The AIM-8 One and AIM-8 Two can be had within my budget, I just hope to get some feedback from someone who has them or has heard them. Thanks again for your help. Now to choose some speakers, and a sub or subs for my greatroom.

Mark

[Ayreonaut]

My local hi-fi boutique has SpeakerCraft and Elan Architectural speakers but I've never auditioned them. I should give them a listen next time I'm there.

Maybe 5.1 is overkill, but I'd still consider including acenter channel at the TV. A hi-fi speaker will still sound wierd when the voices come from the ceiling and not the TV.

[Mark64]

Naut-
Thanks for the response. I see your point about the center channel and voice orientation. Maybe I could find some type of center that would fit somehow in the unit and be enough of a voice match to the in-ceilings to pull it off. There would be a difference in distance from the listening position but I guess the setup (channel balancing) would help. I still have my old pair of Infinity SM152's (great speaker) and the center speaker (Infinity Video One) from a Pro Logic setup, maybe that could do as a center for now. As I remember, it was a fairly neutral speaker, so it might work.

Mark