Need recommendation for rear speakers

[Christine]

Dear Audioholics:

I have a pair of loudspeakers from DCM TF-400 from 1993. I recently upgraded my TV to a 60" samsung and a new AV receiver from Denon AVR-X2000. My current family/tv room is wired for rear speakers on the ceiling (you can see the wire hanging on the ceiling from the picture attached below).

I would like to know what kind of rear speakers I should buy to complement my current loudspeakers. And will I need a subwoofer also? Please give me specific model and brand of the rear speakers that you would recommend for my situation. Thanks so much.

 

[ImcLoud]

That is similar to how I have my surrounds mounted, I used a pair of Omni mounts Amazon.com : OmniMount 10.0WC Wall or Ceiling Speaker Mount, Black : Home Speaker Mounts : Electronics {that is for one mount, you need 2 for a pair}
And a pair of Ascend 200se's HTM-200 SE Home Theater Monitor

I have mine pointed at each other with a slight downward angle, they sound great... I tried everything with mine, omni, bi, di polar arrangements, larger bookshelfs, sats, ect I had to mount 10 sets up there, and the 200se did the best and looked the best, a huge rear speaker hanging from the ceiling looks terrible, the 200s are nice and small...

I would definitely get a sub, I would look into an HSU Research VTF2 at the minimum, my room looks larger than your and it shakes it up pretty good..

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Christine, How large is the room (total space, including any openings) ?
Sub will "see" all of it so you need to properly size it.
Also what's your budget for sub? Keep in mind anything decent starts at $500

 

[tmurnin]

You can do "on ceiling" with mounts like ImcLoud suggests or you can do "in ceiling." In general, in ceiling speakers don't sound as good as others, but sometimes aesthetic concerns overrule sound, and I would also say that it isn't as big of a factor for surrounds as it would be for fronts. A number of companies make decent in ceilings if you end up going that direction - I like Aperion for their price factor.

One question, do you have a center channel?

 

[Christine]

Christine, How large is the room (total space, including any openings) ?
Sub will "see" all of it so you need to properly size it.
Also what's your budget for sub? Keep in mind anything decent starts at $500

The TV room is 21 ft long by 15 ft wide, and it's step down from the adjacent kitchen, so it is open the completely on one side. Open concept floor plan is great, but not for watching TV as you can see in the picture. Because the room has tile flooring, the sound bounces all over the place. I am debating if it's worth investing a subwoofer for this room. I would love to hear your knowledgeable opinion.

 

[Christine]

You can do "on ceiling" with mounts like ImcLoud suggests or you can do "in ceiling." In general, in ceiling speakers don't sound as good as others, but sometimes aesthetic concerns overrule sound, and I would also say that it isn't as big of a factor for surrounds as it would be for fronts. A number of companies make decent in ceilings if you end up going that direction - I like Aperion for their price factor.

One question, do you have a center channel?

Hi tmurnin, I do not have a center chanel. I only have 2 loudspeakers. I know, my home entertainment is from previous century.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

The TV room is 21 ft long by 15 ft wide, and it's step down from the adjacent kitchen, so it is open the completely on one side. Open concept floor plan is great, but not for watching TV as you can see in the picture. Because the room has tile flooring, the sound bounces all over the place. I am debating if it's worth investing a subwoofer for this room. I would love to hear your knowledgeable opinion.

There are few simple fixes you could do to improve the room acoustics. Get a larger area rug to cover more space from couch to tv.
Get wall-paint matched bass corner traps right behind the towers.
Corner Bass Trap - 24x48

Since you didn't mentioned sub and you do have large room to pressurize you should look into this sub - VTF-3 MK4 Subwoofer
It will look very nice in rosewood

 

[Cos]

Having recently become a fan of GoldenEar. If you are looking for a Ceiling solution, the Golden ear Invisa HTR 7000 might be an option to consider.

Invisa Series | GoldenEar Technology | A Passion for Sonic Perfection

The use the same driver as the Aon 3 Speaker Series which has received very positive reviews and I can say first hand, they I was surprised by the sound quality of such a small speaker.

 

[vardo]

Speaker Craft Aims....in ceiling speaker would be a good choice IMO
Speakercraft AIM5 One - SPEAKERS

You have a very large area to fill with bass so I recommend a Power Sound Audio XV-15 (mainly
because I own 3)

POWER SOUND AUDIO — XV15 Home Audio Subwoofer

or an HSU VTF3/MK4 (I used to own one of those also).

Corner Bass Traps from ATS acoustics....would help taming the bass (also a larger area rug)
Corner Bass Trap - 24x48

These are all affordable (well the sub not so much). You area looks big, so I think a sub
would be necessary at some time.

Best

vardo