After market "tilt" for in wall speakers

[Bryce_H]

Visiting the in-laws and their set up has 3 in wall speakers above their TV (about 6' up). They are having a hard time hearing dialogue. A thought I had is to install a "wedge" between the wall and the speaker to add a downward tilt to the speaker to aim the tweeter at their ears. I think even a 15 degree tilt would help. I searched around and didn't find anything like this...any ideas is a product like this exists?

Their hearing aid person suggested installing a sound bar below the TV and then trying to "match" it to their existing speakers, but that seems fraught with other challenges (matching timber, compensating for distance differences,etc.)

Ideas/thoughts?

 

[XEagleDriver]

Pics would help us a lot.

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[Eppie]

In-walls mount flush to the drywall. Angling one would require custom work. Many in-wall speakers have an adjustable tweeter that can be angled towards the listener. Do you know what brand they have and if upgrading is an option? Can the in-wall be moved below the TV?

 

[Bryce_H]

No easy ID of brand (even behind the grill). No adjustable tweeter. Mounting below TV not as option given layout of room.

My thought was a wedge (thick at top, skinny at bottom) between the flange and wall. I can't get a picture loaded right now.

Looks like night be out of luck.

 

[Eppie]

No easy ID of brand (even behind the grill). No adjustable tweeter. Mounting below TV not as option given layout of room.

My thought was a wedge (thick at top, skinny at bottom) between the flange and wall. I can't get a picture loaded right now.

Looks like night be out of luck.

If the unit is a sealed box you might be able to make a wedge from wood or foam but if it is open back any wedge needs to also be sealed to the wall and speaker properly. Might also be that it is simply a cheap in-wall with not very good sound. That would require a speaker upgrade which could include a tweeter that is aimable.

 

[Golfx]

No easy ID of brand (even behind the grill). No adjustable tweeter. Mounting below TV not as option given layout of room.

My thought was a wedge (thick at top, skinny at bottom) between the flange and wall. I can't get a picture loaded right now.

Looks like night be out of luck.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1272197-REG/on_stage_asp3001_foam_speaker_platforms.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&lsft=BI:6879&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwqCOBhCdARIsAEPyW9kn5FnKZGCXyZUCjK5_1FZl_DPHHHaqovTYJ0w61QMnPMydxh2y18waAsbWEALw_wcB. Auralex makes different sizes if there is enough room between their speakers and the walls.


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[TLS Guy]

Visiting the in-laws and their set up has 3 in wall speakers above their TV (about 6' up). They are having a hard time hearing dialogue. A thought I had is to install a "wedge" between the wall and the speaker to add a downward tilt to the speaker to aim the tweeter at their ears. I think even a 15 degree tilt would help. I searched around and didn't find anything like this...any ideas is a product like this exists?

Their hearing aid person suggested installing a sound bar below the TV and then trying to "match" it to their existing speakers, but that seems fraught with other challenges (matching timber, compensating for distance differences,etc.)

Ideas/thoughts?

First of all speakers with poor voice intelligibility, just abound, and are the rule rather than the exception.

Next in wall speakers that are any good are a formidable design challenge.

Next 6 ft. is just way too high.

The next issue is that more likely than not those speakers are just awful.

If you want success, then you need a major rethink, of the system.

This is an optimal layout for an in wall system

The enclosure below the center is an in wall sub, which is getting into exotics. So just look at the layout of the upper three enclosures.

So, you are more likely than not on a wild goose chase. There is the old saying, that "You can not make a silk purse out of a sow's ear."

 

[highfigh]

Visiting the in-laws and their set up has 3 in wall speakers above their TV (about 6' up). They are having a hard time hearing dialogue. A thought I had is to install a "wedge" between the wall and the speaker to add a downward tilt to the speaker to aim the tweeter at their ears. I think even a 15 degree tilt would help. I searched around and didn't find anything like this...any ideas is a product like this exists?

Their hearing aid person suggested installing a sound bar below the TV and then trying to "match" it to their existing speakers, but that seems fraught with other challenges (matching timber, compensating for distance differences,etc.)

Ideas/thoughts?

OK, the fact that they use hearing aids tells us all we need to know- if they're going to hear dialog, the sound will need to be equalized for THEM, rather than attempt to angle the speakers. You wouldn't be able to angle them enough to time-align the woofer and tweeter, so don't bother. The tweeters and woofers already cover the area, but by being so high, the sound from both drivers is suffering from phase cancelations. However, by the time you angle them enough to do any good, you may as well replace them with small boxed speakers and use wall mounts to aim them in a way that actually works.

What AV receiver is in the system?

If it has built-in equalization, make the changes manually- Audyssey, YPAO and MCACC are only designed to create a larger 'bubble' where the sound is good, not to tailor it to someone's hearing issues. Once you find out what deficiencies exist in their hearing, you can boost the needed frequencies and find a happy medium for everyone- if you really make it sound good only for the person with hearing aids, nobody else is likely to enjoy the sound. If you want to try boosting the 500, 1KHz and 2KHz bands a bit, it may help them- I have done this and found that happy medium for someone who didn't understand that jogging with ear buds cranked up would royally scerw up her ears and now, she's paying the price.

You could also look into some kind of tunable in-ear monitors, like musicians use. Etymotic and Shure make them.

Do the hearing aids use a smart phone app to make changes to the perceived sound?

 

[Bryce_H]

Thanks everyone. Unfortunately I'm only here for the week. They had this system "custom" installed many years ago and (in my opinion) were taken advantage of...

We upgraded their TV a couple years ago to a smart TV so they could get Netflix and Amazon. We also upgraded them to a basic Denon model receiver (AVR-S540BT) to get HDMI.

It is unlikely they are willing to go through any real upgrades at this stage in their life

The wedges that were linked above are sound isolating pads to put under speakers, but I suppose I could adapt them.

 

[Eppie]

Thanks everyone. Unfortunately I'm only here for the week. They had this system "custom" installed many years ago and (in my opinion) were taken advantage of...

We upgraded their TV a couple years ago to a smart TV so they could get Netflix and Amazon. We also upgraded them to a basic Denon model receiver (AVR-S540BT) to get HDMI.

It is unlikely they are willing to go through any real upgrades at this stage in their life

The wedges that were linked above are sound isolating pads to put under speakers, but I suppose I could adapt them.

Before you go through all of the work, have a good listen from a seating and standing position. Does the sound change appreciably for you? If you notice a big difference standing up, then maybe angling them down will help. Highfigh's suggestion of checking the hearing aids is good too. I've seen models with remote controls and remote apps that could help taylor sound for TV viewing.

 

[Golfx]

Thanks everyone. Unfortunately I'm only here for the week. They had this system "custom" installed many years ago and (in my opinion) were taken advantage of...

We upgraded their TV a couple years ago to a smart TV so they could get Netflix and Amazon. We also upgraded them to a basic Denon model receiver (AVR-S540BT) to get HDMI.

It is unlikely they are willing to go through any real upgrades at this stage in their life

The wedges that were linked above are sound isolating pads to put under speakers, but I suppose I could adapt them.

They are sound insulated pads that come in wedge shapes purposefully designed to change the angle of listening up or down. I use them to tilt my high center speaker down toward my main listening position.


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[-Jim-]

Folks,

People with hearing aids have them tuned to their own deficiencies already, so sounds are corrected by the aids to be the same as folks without hearing losses. If their aids are operating correctly there should be no rationale to equalize the speakers and more than what Bryce would do for himself. Granted, there are many speakers that sound like crap and in-walls that don't deliver as promised. Did you run the Denon Room Correction function? If not try that.

If the in-laws have smart phones with a Hearing Aid App you could try to see if it has a speech focus setting, or even a Restaurant setting may help. That also means they have to have their phones on nearby (and synched to their hearing aids) when watching TV.

I see aiming the speakers down as a last resort and not done without difficulty.