Kitchen Audio Set up

D

David1234

Audiophyte
Hi

I am getting a kitchen extension and wish to put some in ceiling speakers in for use during parties and when cooking. I am a complete novice with audio equipment so apologies for the amateurish questions. I have drawn out my plan (see image, outdoor speakers are not necessary just an added bonus) I have a couple of questions-

Does the setup look ok in general?

Do my speakers need to be mono or stereo speakers (to avoid different sounds, L and R, in different areas?) I have looked at a couple of options for my speakers-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Polk-Audio-Performance--Ceiling-Speakers/dp/B00005T3BD/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475018889&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=Polk+Audio+RC6

and/or

http://www.richersounds.com/product/installation-speakers/monitor-audio/ct165-t2/moni-audio-ct165-t2

Would these both work as stereo speakers?

Thanks for your help

David
 

Attachments

WaynePflughaupt

WaynePflughaupt

Audioholic Samurai

Stereo only works if you’re sitting in the sweet spot, which means it doesn’t work at all for in-ceiling applications. A so-called stereo speaker will get both the left and right into the same speaker, but it will sound like mono to the listener. Still, they can be useful if the original stereo signal hasn’t been converted to mono.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
 
XEagleDriver

XEagleDriver

Audioholic Chief
David,
The proper speaker for the application you seek are called "Dual Voice Coil" (DVC) speakers.
Here is one example I found on Amazon (not recommending this one).
- The picture shows it has two tweeters (Left and Right) mounted to one woofer and is fed both the left and right channels from your amp.
- Like Wayne said, the listener will perceive the DVC speaker as a mono music signal. This is good because no matter where the person is in the room, or which direction they are facing, the music will be clear and complete.

DVC speakers are very useful in situations (like yours) where the people are in various places around the room and not oriented in the same direction, thus negating the ability to provide a balanced stereo presentation except in one location with one orientation.

Concerning your diagram, using DVC speakers implies doubling the wiring requirement to each speaker shown, as well as doubling the number of amplified channels [i.e. instead of four speakers needing four channels (2xL, 2xR); four dual voice coil speakers will need eight channels (4xL and 4xR).
Clear as mud?

Cheers,
XEagleDriver
 
WaynePflughaupt

WaynePflughaupt

Audioholic Samurai

What Eagle said. In the end it would be much cheaper to simply convert the signal to mono in front of the amplifier and use regular speakers.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
 
Mike Ruby

Mike Ruby

Audioholic Intern
I use double voice coil speakers in bathrooms only. Stereo almost always sounds better in my experience indoors.
 
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