Speakers for Zone 2

[rbaustin]

Hi all,

I bought Boston Acoustics A2310 system and paired it with Yamaha HTR-7065 receiver. Everything is working good.
I wanted to buy 2 speakers for Zone 2 for my bedroom. I bought Klipsch R-1650-C In Ceiling Speakers, but the sound quality felt really bad. I tried this speaker as the Left and used my existing Boston Acoustics speaker as the Right and could notice HUGE difference.

Here are my questions:
1. Is it possible that since I hadn't mounted the Klipsch speaker in the ceiling completely that the SQ was poor? I just had it hanging off the wires for testing purposes.
2. Since, I already won the battle for getting bookshelf speakers with my wife, I would prefer to get in-ceiling speakers for the bedroom. But she wasn't impressed with the Klipsch SQ either. So if you think I can get better SQ with On Ceiling speakers for similar price I think I will be able to convince her to buy them.
3. Finally, my budget. Since I have already spent quite a bit for the living room systems, I would like to keep it close to $100 (give or take a few $$) for the pair. I know its very less, but hopefully I could find some.

So folks, your advice is highly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[zieglj01]

How much convincing do you need, that in-ceiling speakers tend to
be poor - do you like weak sound coming from above your head?

Note: even your wife agreed with you.

Look at the Teac bookshelf - the word is that they sound real nice.
Plus they look good - they are almost sold out
TEAC LS-H265 2-Way 5-1/4 in Reference Bookshelf Speakers Pair | Accessories4less

 

[rbaustin]

Thanks!

The problem is that I went through a lot of pain to route the 2 wires from living room back into the bedroom and already pulled the wires out of the ceiling. The connections are not above my head, they are in about 10 feet away from the head and I guess 10 feet high on the ceiling. I don't know how hard will it be to mount a bookshelf on the ceiling. Will it be possible to mount these Teac speakers on the ceiling because they seem to be quite big and heavy?
Alternatively, I was thinking if an in ceiling speaker with multi-directional tweeter work in my case wherein I can point the tweeter towards the headboard?

Thanks

 

[zieglj01]

The problem is that I went through a lot of pain to route the 2 wires from living room back into the bedroom and already pulled the wires out of the ceiling. The connections are not above my head, they are in about 10 feet away from the head and I guess 10 feet high on the ceiling. I don't know how hard will it be to mount a bookshelf on the ceiling. Will it be possible to mount these Teac speakers on the ceiling because they seem to be quite big and heavy?
Alternatively, I was thinking if an in ceiling speaker with multi-directional tweeter work in my case wherein I can point the tweeter towards the headboard?

The sound will still come from above - and the illusion will still be artificial-like.

While the Teac are not heavy - I still would not mount them in the ceiling.

Do what you feel you need to do, and try to enjoy it.

 

[adk highlander]

In ceiling speakers will not ever sound as good as a good bookshelf BUT they are meant to be mounted in a ceiling and not listed to in the free air. So they will absolutely sound much better when mounted. That would be like taking the drives out of your Bostons and putting them on the table to listen to them. I use several pairs of in ceiling speakers including my bedroom and for watching TV or background music they sound good and the convenience of being hidden. I have the Polk SC60's I think which are angled toward the listing spot (the bed) and there is no way to know the sound is coming from the ceiling and not the TV.

 

[XEagleDriver]

Tweeters that can be aimed might help

Hi all,
Klipsch R-1650-C In Ceiling Speakers, but the sound quality felt really bad.
Here are my questions:

1. Is it possible that since I hadn't mounted the Klipsch speaker in the ceiling completely that the SQ was poor? I just had it hanging off the wires for testing purposes.

As others have said, not being mounted probably contributed to the poor SQ.
- However, in a brief look at the R-1650s they do not appear to have pivoting tweeters you can aim. IMHO this feature can help a lot with getting better sound to your listening area from in-ceiling speakers.

2. So if you think I can get better SQ with On Ceiling speakers for similar price I think I will be able to convince her to buy them.
3. I would like to keep it close to $100 (give or take a few $$) for the pair.

FWIW: I have had good luck with inexpensive in-ceiling speakers from MonoPrice (only about $50-60 a pair) and several have angled or pivoting tweeters you can aim.

Cheers,
XEagleDriver

 

[Nestor]

Hi all,

I bought Boston Acoustics A2310 system and paired it with Yamaha HTR-7065 receiver. Everything is working good.
I wanted to buy 2 speakers for Zone 2 for my bedroom. I bought Klipsch R-1650-C In Ceiling Speakers, but the sound quality felt really bad. I tried this speaker as the Left and used my existing Boston Acoustics speaker as the Right and could notice HUGE difference.

Here are my questions:
1. Is it possible that since I hadn't mounted the Klipsch speaker in the ceiling completely that the SQ was poor? I just had it hanging off the wires for testing purposes.
2. Since, I already won the battle for getting bookshelf speakers with my wife, I would prefer to get in-ceiling speakers for the bedroom. But she wasn't impressed with the Klipsch SQ either. So if you think I can get better SQ with On Ceiling speakers for similar price I think I will be able to convince her to buy them.
3. Finally, my budget. Since I have already spent quite a bit for the living room systems, I would like to keep it close to $100 (give or take a few $$) for the pair. I know its very less, but hopefully I could find some.

So folks, your advice is highly appreciated.

Thanks!

The Klipsch need to be in a baffle of some sort. I would suspect hanging them free-air accounted for most of poor sound quality. I'd say give them a chance.

 

[rbaustin]

Thanks folks for all your replies. I would like to give in ceilings a try. My only concern is making a hole in the ceiling and then changing speakers which might need a smaller hole, then deal with patching the ceiling and making another hole.
Is there another crude way to test in ceiling speakers without actually mounting them into the ceiling?

The Klipsch need to be in a baffle of some sort. I would suspect hanging them free-air accounted for most of poor sound quality. I'd say give them a chance.

Do you mean some kind of box around the back part of the speaker? Does that mean I will have to go back into the attic (an adventure in itself) to put the baffle around the speaker?

 

[Nestor]

Thanks folks for all your replies. I would like to give in ceilings a try. My only concern is making a hole in the ceiling and then changing speakers which might need a smaller hole, then deal with patching the ceiling and making another hole.
Is there another crude way to test in ceiling speakers without actually mounting them into the ceiling?



Do you mean some kind of box around the back part of the speaker? Does that mean I will have to go back into the attic (an adventure in itself) to put the baffle around the speaker?

The speakers are designed for infinite baffle mounting. The idea is to prevent sound waves from the rear of the speaker interacting with the front, as most ceiling and wall mounting does. The bass driver is such that it does not depend on an enclosure for optimum performance, so no enclosure is necessary.

A couple of ideas. Both depend on being somewhat handy with tools:

1. Build a box and mount the driver. Doesn't need to be pretty or straight. Just sealed. I'm guessing here because I don't have the time to play with T/S parameters, but a couple cubic feet should be enough to prevent enclosure volume from interacting with the driver.

2. Attic access. If it's inside, cut a baffle the size of the attic access panel, mount the speaker, hook up the wire and plop it into the attic hole.

I'm sure there are other ways, but I think you get the idea.

 

[zieglj01]

Thanks folks for all your replies. I would like to give in ceilings a try. My only concern is making a hole in the ceiling and then changing speakers which might need a smaller hole, then deal with patching the ceiling and making another hole.
Is there another crude way to test in ceiling speakers without actually mounting them into the ceiling?

At least you are energetic - yes, mounting them in the ceiling can give better sound quality.
Doing some type of baffle test outside of a ceiling can give a hint - however, it still will not
be in the ceiling above you, regardless of distance. However, it is possible your wife may like
them Klipsch - however, that is low level Klipsch with that plastic small hard tweeter.

If you want to mount some speakers from the ceiling - then look at the mounts.
Amazon.com: ceiling speaker mounts

 

[zieglj01]

If you want a box to toy with - then look here, a good price
BOSTON ACOUSTICS FRB68 Universal inceiling 8in steel speaker enclosure | Accessories4less

 

[rbaustin]

Just an update. I finally bought these Energy Speakers and installed them. I did not have the time to experiment with enclosures and stuff. I guess they are okay for now. Bass response is weak, but now I at least have music in my bedroom.
1 quick question : I have Yamaha HTR-7065 7.2 AVR with powered zone 2. Can I connect another sub and use it for zone 2?