Ceiling speakers

[JackVa1]

I went to a Party last night and the hosts home had ceiling spekers throught the home, even it the baths.

The speckers seemed to be connected to the home theater system. My Surround receiver only has connections for the surround and Sub speakers.

How do you wire a home with all these speakers and still receive some sort of stereo sound? I think that the powder room only had one speaker in it.

Also, what is a good brand of speaker to use in ceilings? If I need to buy a bunch of them, so I need to spend a ton? Maybe simple car speakers would work.

Thanks in advance

Jack

 

[mazersteven]

Also, what is a good brand of speaker to use in ceilings?

Jack

www.speakercraft.com

 

[adk highlander]

Jack,

What receiver do you have? Many new receivers can use the Surround back speakers for a second zone.

Other questions you need to consider?

1) Do you want separate source control for each set of speakers or just pipe the same source to all the speakers?

2) Do you want to control the volume separately for each zone/speaker set?

Some in-wall/in-ceiling speakers act as a pair of speakers and have inputs for both left and right.

There are many good in-wall/in-ceiling speakers. I have BIC acoustics and audiosource for my house system. These work well for this kind of application and are inexpensive. I have also recently purchased some higher end Sonance Symphony for my surround speakers in my theater.

 

[JackVa1]

The same source would be fine. My ONKYO has a seperate zone, but you need a seperate Pre-amp to control that zone - seems complicated.

Maybe just an A+B+C black box would be simpler?

I like the idea of a speaker that handles both right and left stereo. Thanks

Jack

 

[adk highlander]

The same source would be fine. My ONKYO has a seperate zone, but you need a seperate Pre-amp to control that zone - seems complicated.

Maybe just an A+B+C black box would be simpler?

I like the idea of a speaker that handles both right and left stereo. Thanks

Jack

Which model Onkyo do you have. I did not know of one that requires an separate parts. You may add an amp but a pre-amp does not make sense.

 

[Gimpy Ric]

Which model Onkyo do you have. I did not know of one that requires an separate parts. You may add an amp but a pre-amp does not make sense.

An amp and a Niles Audio switcher, or many other speaker switches that keep your amp happy around 6-8 ohms. Mono would be nice, especially if your second zone need not be in stereo.

Imagine getting your in ceiling speakers tweeters aimed "just right" so the sound stage will image properly when your on the crapper

 

[JackVa1]

Yes I need an amp, not a pre-amp. A seperate amp from my ONKYO to the amp is not speaker wire so I would have to research that.
It's a TX-DS797.

Thanks for the ideas, guys.

Jack

 

[adk highlander]

Imagine getting your in ceiling speakers tweeters aimed "just right" so the sound stage will image properly when your on the crapper

HeHe. Makes me wonder about adding "special" home theater seating.

 

[Gimpy Ric]

That picture is priceless! Homer is the man.

Taken from cnets website:

The receiver welcomes just about every hook-up contingency--everything from a turntable input, two wideband component-video inputs, a 7.1-channel Super Audio CD/DVD-Audio input, and enough digital audio ins and outs to accommodate almost any rack of gear you care to collect. An extra set of audio, video, and digital connections is conveniently located on the front panel. The DS797 also has the necessary outputs for multiroom, multisource operation, along with dual-zone, infrared remote inputs and a 12-volt trigger control that can turn on or off an external amplifier or other remote electronics. We were pleased to find line-level preamp outputs for all 8 channels--just about every upgrade option is possible. The only thing missing from this receiver are real bass and treble knobs. You'll need to tweak those settings in the setup menu.

So yes, your receiver is VERY capable to do what you want. I'll go find you a bunch of speaker links...Where is Mazer when we need him?

Many offerings from MB Quart:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_/002-6545785-1724048?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=MB+Quart+in+ceiling&x=0&y=0

Aperion Audio:

http://www.aperionaudio.com/catalog/In-Wall-and-In-Ceiling,31.aspx

Home Theater Direct:

http://ceiling-speakers.com

From Circuit City:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Speakers/sem/rpsm/catOid/-12950/Ns/net_price|0||accm_grs_mgn_dllr|1/link/ref/N/20012898+20016882+20012950+4772/link/ref/rpem/ccd/categorylist.do

Good Luck!

 

[jcPanny]

In-ceiling speakers

I had good results with some inexpensive Phoenix Gold in-ceiling speakers in my DIY distributed audio system. The "Powder Room" and the Kitchen are not exactly a critical listening environment and these worked well for background music.
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34083&highlight=Phoenix

I use a dual tweeter "stereo" version in one of the bathrooms. I have 5 rooms powered off of a stereo amp and impedance matching volume controls in each room.

 

[MDS]

If you use the second zone feature of the receiver to drive multiple pairs of speakers then you need either a speaker selector or impedance matching volume controls. All pairs would play the same source although that source can be different than the main zone.