Browse Forums Home Theatre & Automation 1 Apr 27, 2009 7:55 am Hi. We wired our new place for home theatre, 7.1. The room layout is quite open plan, as such there are not enough walls to place the rear speakers, nor is there space for stands. We have pre-wired speaker cables into the ceiling, my plan being that I was going to use my existing rears mounted to ceiling brackets and angles so as to be firing toward the main listening area. I am now thinking though, that in-ceilings would look an awful lot better. I would stick to my floor slanders for the front, and my front centre under the screen at the front, but I am thinking if in-ceilings for the rear and side pairs. Can anyone enlighten me on how good these are? What is an ok brand to go for? My worry is that they fire directly down - is that correct? Or, do they have deflectors to widen the sound? Any info on how well in-ceilings for the two rear pairs, and regular speakers for the front would sound, along with suggestions for which models to go for, would be very greatly received. Thanks. Re: In-ceiling speakers - any good? 3Apr 27, 2009 11:19 am We're thinking of doing the same as you - floorstanding fronts, centre under TV, sub to the side and with the middle L& R, and rear L & R speakers as in-ceiling ones. I've had Paradigm recommended to me, in particular the CS-80R in-ceiling speakers. What's your budget and level of your other equipment? Re: In-ceiling speakers - any good? 4Apr 27, 2009 12:03 pm Thanks for the replies. My budget would be around $250 - $350 per pair. Current kit is a Yamaha 5.1 (Can't remember model number, something like RXV6400?) - It's about 5 years old, DD & DTS 6.1. Would love to upgrade to 7.1 TruHD but that will have to wait a while. When I do upgrade, it will likely be another Yamaha and in the $1000 range. Front floor standees and sub are Eltax, (budget Danish speakers I got in the UK). I always intended to upgrade them, but I have been so happy with them that they have stayed. Front centre is a KEF if I remember rightly. I'm leaning toward the in-ceilings, just a bit worried about whether they will sound like they are in the ceiling if you know what I mean? At least with speakers on drop down poles I can lower them slightly and point them toward the seating position. Those JB Hifi ones look good though, with the angled cones. I'm also worried that they will be really bassybeing up in the ceiling void. It's a two storey house so the speakers will be sandwiched between the ceiling and the floor above. We have high ceilings too, so they will be a fair way up from the seats. Cheers. Re: In-ceiling speakers - any good? 5Apr 27, 2009 1:06 pm In-ceiling speakers are actually quite ambient in the way they deliver their sound (ie. the sound does rediate out a bit in all directions - it doesn't just shoot straight down), and as Surround speakers in a cinema are supposed to be ambient that makes In-ceiling speakers rather suitable for Surround speaker use. You could actually pick up the Paradigm CS-60Rs (6.5") for very close to that sort of money if you look hard enough... Re: In-ceiling speakers - any good? 6Apr 28, 2009 11:32 am Thanks Rod. I'm definitely leaning towards them, if only for the girlfriend-approval-factor of being less intrusive. I have found those Paradigms for $339 a pair, so may order myself a couple of pairs courtesy of Mr Rudd's stimulus hand out that's been burning a hole in my pocket. I noticed on one website that there is a pre-installation kit available for them, does that mean they need something in the ceiling prior to the ceiling being fitted, (sorry if that sounds like a daft question). I was hoping it was a simple case of cutting a hole in the ceiling, hopefully they come with a template? then just slotting them in and a few screws into the plaster board? Or, do they generally need bracketing back to a joist to take the weight? Cheers. Re: In-ceiling speakers - any good? 7Apr 28, 2009 6:33 pm Tony & Emma I was hoping it was a simple case of cutting a hole in the ceiling, hopefully they come with a template? This is the case. No install kits or brackets required - they come with what you need. You simply cut the hole using the template supplied and screw the speakers in place using the built in screws provided (at least thats how all the decent ones work). Re: In-ceiling speakers - any good? 8Apr 29, 2009 7:31 am Thanks Rod. I'll away and order myself a couple of pairs in readiness for the big move. We took an impromptu visit to the house last night as we were bored, and we were very pleasantly surprised to see the kitchen cabinets half installed and the bathroom cabinets had been delivered. We can't be too far off now - and to say it's exciting would be the understatement of the year! Re: In-ceiling speakers - any good? 9Apr 29, 2009 11:34 am Tony & Emma I have found those Paradigms for $339 a pair, so may order myself a couple of pairs courtesy of Mr Rudd's stimulus hand out that's been burning a hole in my pocket. Was that at Digital Centre? They had the best prices when I was looking into Paradigm CS-80Rs. Re: In-ceiling speakers - any good? 10Apr 29, 2009 11:40 am I think I was mistaken, I was looking at the 60's by mistake. Price for 80's I have found has been around the $450 mark. I have no idea what the difference is between the 60's & 80's but $450 is a bit over my budget. I'll take a look at the place you have mentioned, thanks. Re: In-ceiling speakers - any good? 11Apr 29, 2009 11:50 am Tony & Emma I think I was mistaken, I was looking at the 60's by mistake. Price for 80's I have found has been around the $450 mark. I have no idea what the difference is between the 60's & 80's but $450 is a bit over my budget. I'll take a look at the place you have mentioned, thanks. I may have confused the issue. I was looking for CS-80Rs but Rod recommended the CS-60Rs to you. Digital Centre have: CS-60R (6.5") $339 per pair http://www.digitalcentre.com.au/p/10080 ... akers.html CS-80R (8") $409 per pair http://www.digitalcentre.com.au/p/98420 ... akers.html Re: In-ceiling speakers - any good? 12Apr 29, 2009 11:59 am No worries, thanks for the links. At $409 a pair I think I'll stretch to them. Cheers. Re: In-ceiling speakers - any good? 13Apr 29, 2009 12:10 pm Hope you enjoy them. Let me know how your setup goes as it sounds very similar to the sort of 7.1 setup we've got in mind for when we build. As our build will not be ready for home theatre for at least another 6 months it would be good to see a sneak preview of a similar setup Re: In-ceiling speakers - any good? 14Apr 30, 2009 6:54 pm purpleninja Hope you enjoy them. Let me know how your setup goes as it sounds very similar to the sort of 7.1 setup we've got in mind for when we build. As our build will not be ready for home theatre for at least another 6 months it would be good to see a sneak preview of a similar setup No worries - we're proabably about 7 weeks from hand over, then another week or two for me to fit my kit. I'll post back on here with the results. 9 24789 Thank you. Do I use timber floorboards for stairs or do people use timber treads? Or is both the same? 6 7272 Hi, I have had them in the past and the pros are: Versatile, i.e many different colours and styles to choose… 1 6875 |