In ceiling 5.1 surround sound?

[Coult_45]

I know in-ceiling speakers for the front 3 speakers are not ideal. But how bad is it.

My father-in-law's receiver just died. He asked me to help him find a replacement. He then ask me if he should get new speakers. I tried to explain to him that the biggest problem he had was not his speakers, but his placement. His wife constantly moves the speakers to the back of the Shelf behind other objects. The shelves are already 7 feet high. My mother in law refuses to stop moving the speakers. She doesn't care how the system sounds. And she doesn't want to see the speakers.

I am wondering if in ceiling speakers would be a better option since it is the only way they would not be covered buy decorations. The viewing positions are a good 14 ft away from the TV and where the in ceiling speakers would be installed. I know the tweeters would not be pointing directly at the seating locations.

So how bad of an idea is this. Would he be better off with speakers that will be covered up by decorations on a 7 foot shelf and not pointing at the listeners?
Also now that we are upgrading the receiver should we go atmos if we are already installing in-ceiling speakers?

 

[lovinthehd]

In wall would be better for front three and to keep the wife's hands off, altho may not be as easy as a particular ceiling. I'd personally never consider in-ceiling for anything but Atmos. WAF sucks but some think they're worth it....

 

[Coult_45]

https://www.google.com/search?client=tablet-android-samsung&biw=1024&bih=768&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=1vDCWt_fAYfYzgKKjojoCw&q=old+big+screen+TV+wall+units&oq=old+big+screen+TV+wall+units&gs_l=mobile-gws-img.3...17644.27705..28555...2....384.1592.0j6j0j2..........1..mobile-gws-wiz-img.......35i39j30i10.6x29rUbdW1k=#imgrc=tsKP_WbLNMtqPM:

Remember these things? Glass doors, no shelf available. So speakers are on top currently with decorations in front of them. They do not want to get rid of this furniture piece. Would forgetting the thought of surround sound be better. Is this a situation where a sound bar is the only solution.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

https://www.google.com/search?client=tablet-android-samsung&biw=1024&bih=768&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=1vDCWt_fAYfYzgKKjojoCw&q=old+big+screen+TV+wall+units&oq=old+big+screen+TV+wall+units&gs_l=mobile-gws-img.3...17644.27705..28555...2....384.1592.0j6j0j2..........1..mobile-gws-wiz-img.......35i39j30i10.6x29rUbdW1k=#imgrc=tsKP_WbLNMtqPM:

Remember these things? Glass doors, no shelf available. So speakers are on top currently with decorations in front of them. They do not want to get rid of this furniture piece. Would forgetting the thought of surround sound be better. Is this a situation where a sound bar is the only solution.

Lol! I have one of those in my garage. Been trying to sell it for about 7 years...
In your in laws case, IC might be the best thing. Although I would personally wage a war, some people just can’t.
As far as atmos goes, in no way will that work with an all in ceiling layout. Atmos works with the height difference between the “normal” surround speakers and height speakers. He’s already too high with the LCR at 7’. I guess they might wanna consider IC. Any budget?

 

[Coult_45]

Lol! I have one of those in my garage. Been trying to sell it for about 7 years...
In your in laws case, IC might be the best thing. Although I would personally wage a war, some people just can’t.
As far as atmos goes, in no way will that work with an all in ceiling layout. Atmos works with the height difference between the “normal” surround speakers and height speakers. He’s already too high with the LCR at 7’. I guess they might wanna consider IC. Any budget?

Very small budget.

Denon AVRS730H
3 pair of Jamo 6.5 2 way
$420 at frys with promo codes right now.

He already has a sub.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Remember these things? Glass doors, no shelf available.

Why are there no shelves? In any event, what about installing some?

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[BMXTRIX]

I would talk about solutions where perhaps some leafy plant is put in front of the speakers where you are sending the audio through foliage instead of going to an in-ceiling speaker.

I think this would be an ideal solution which covers both the WAF issue and the sound issue at once with minimal expense. Greenery on top of a wall unit looks good, and does a good job disguising speakers, with minimal cost and maximum visual quality. Get the speakers up a bit and direct them down towards listeners to help with sound quality.

This is likely a better solution than in-ceiling which may cause more WAF issues if she can't handle speakers sitting on top of a wall unit to begin with.

There are times I love my wife a great deal.

 

[DigitalDawn]

What is the speaker budget?

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Ditto to what BMX said. As long as the tweeters aren’t covered, it should sound acceptable.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Coult_45]

@BMXTRIX
Great advice. I will talk to her about that.

The speakers they currently have are terrible. Sony htib speakers. She doesn't care to see speakers.. But he wants to hear dialogue, and likes the surround speakers. @WaynePflughaupt No tweeters in these gems!

I told him we first need to get the speakers unobstructed. Then if they still are not clear enough we could look at buying new speakers.

The budget for speakers would be from $0-$300 spending the least amount possible.

Same budget on the receiver. Denon avr s730h for $280 seams like the way to go but I am not sure it is worth the money for them. What does that give a basic user that a cheaper 5.2 like the avr s530bt receiver doesn't have.

They will not use the streaming music services.
More power but is it enough to matter. The loudness has never been an issue.
Audyssey multi EQ.... how is that different from the basic setup mic that comes with the s530bt?
the biggest selling factor for me is to get rid of the spring clips. I HATE jamming frayed wire in those I know that is a dumb reason to spend $50.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

 

[Foxrox]

Is the placement of the surrounds also offensive to the wife? If she will allow a sound bar in front of the TV, you can get one with wireless surrounds. Yeah, sound bars are not wonderful, but it would at least be unobstructed and have clear dialogue. $500 budget should do alright for a sound bar with surrounds. Better than Sony HTiB probably.

 

[Coult_45]

Surrounds are behind objects. But they don't sound that bad.

If we buy speakers that are not ic they will likely be three small speakers that are less noticeable than large speakers. Maybe superzeros or energy take speakers used. I have thought about talking to them about 3 Pioneer Andrew Jones center speakers that are constantly on sale at fry's. But I know she will not like that idea at all.

I know small speakers are less efficient and need to be crossed over at a higher frequency. But they have two cheap subs. Since there are two, the location of the subs isn't as noticeable.

 

[mtrycrafts]

In your situation, I see two options, soundbar or bow out altogether. It is a no win situation and will get nasty perhaps.
Last resort for him, move to an unused bedroom?

 

[3db]

I have in ceiling surround speakers for my secondary system as a compromise to my wife when we downsized into a town home. However, I miss my surrounds near the sofa at ear height.

 

[panteragstk]

I have an all in-ceiling setup in my living room and it sounds pretty good. HOWEVER, if I didn't have a dedicated theater room I would not have gone that route, but I'm picky about sound quality and it sounds like they aren't.

If the wife won't leave the speakers alone then all in-ceiling may work very well.