Battery powered in-ceiling speakers??

[abjonesiii]

So I, probably like most you, get a lot of calls from friends and relatives asking question about TV's and speakers. When most people come over and see my dedicated HT they immediately go into "i have to have this" mode and begin bombarding me with calls and text about what do i buy first? Though very little actually ever materializes. I did however get a call yesterday that puzzled me. A very excited friend called to say his wife had approved a surround sound system for their living room. He then went onto explain that for stealth and convince he was going to do 7.1 surround with all in-ceiling speakers. Sigh... for me this is unacceptable in my convoluted audioholic bigotry but the only person that needs to be happy is the owner so whatever. I said "good, have fun building it and be sure to test a lot of setups before buying" He then went on to explain that for even further ease of installation the speakers would all be wireless and battery powered

Ok so I know there are plenty of wireless speaker out there and even battery powered but I always though of those as coffee table and desktop low quality jobs. But I realize that I have no right to piss on others less than audiophile aspirations so I just said "that must be something new. never heard of battery powered, good luck let me know how it turns out".

A bit bewildered I didn't even ask make or model. Anybody know anything about these? Immediate reaction is that batteries in an HT speaker won't last 10 minutes let alone a two hour movie at high volume. Should I organize an intervention?

 

[Ares]

I have never heard of in-wall battery operated speakers but I have heard of Bookshelf speakers that are battery operated. I would let him know that this would not be the way to go.

Here are the Bookshelf speakers I was talking about.
http://www.rainbowappliance.com/APS25.html?utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase&cvsfa=673&cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=4150533235

 

[krzywica]

I have never heard of in-wall battery operated speakers but I have heard of Bookshelf speakers that are battery operated. I would let him know that this would not be the way to go.

Here are the Bookshelf speakers I was talking about.
http://www.rainbowappliance.com/APS25.html?utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase&cvsfa=673&cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=4150533235

Wow they are ugly and battery powered....


To the OP I have never heard of anything like this. And to your friend I don't see the point in not running speaker wires to the in ceiling speakers. I mean you are already making holes in the ceiling, why not just run some cables to them right?

 

[highfigh]

He then went onto explain that for stealth and convince he was going to do 7.1 surround with all in-ceiling speakers. Sigh... for me this is unacceptable in my convoluted audioholic bigotry but the only person that needs to be happy is the owner so whatever. I said "good, have fun building it and be sure to test a lot of setups before buying" He then went on to explain that for even further ease of installation the speakers would all be wireless and battery powered

Sonance and Triad make some really good in-ceiling speakers and the Triads are really expensive, so they had better be really good. If they're designed for a specific application, good sound can result but there are a lot of brands and models, so it can't be expected that everyone know about all of them.
http://www.triadspeakers.com/products/icb8lcr.html

Did he mention make and model of these speakers?

 

[j_garcia]

Sonance and Triad make some really good in-ceiling speakers and the Triads are really expensive, so they had better be really good. If they're designed for a specific application, good sound can result but there are a lot of brands and models, so it can't be expected that everyone know about all of them.
http://www.triadspeakers.com/products/icb8lcr.html

Did he mention make and model of these speakers?

I don't think the Triad speakers are wireless and battery powered...

 

[highfigh]

I don't think the Triad speakers are wireless and battery powered...

I was responding to this: "He then went onto explain that for stealth and convince he was going to do 7.1 surround with all in-ceiling speakers. Sigh... for me this is unacceptable in my convoluted audioholic bigotry". While the OP continues to say that the only person who needs to be satisfied is the owner, I wanted to point out that not all in-ceiling speakers are crap.

 

[j_garcia]

I agree that they aren't all crap, but I think what he is getting at is the fact that he knows this probably won't even happen and the indicator was the fact that this person wanted wireless and battery powered. I'm not a fan of in wall/in ceiling, but I've actually heard a few decent systems.

 

[James NM]

... Anybody know anything about these? Immediate reaction is that batteries in an HT speaker won't last 10 minutes let alone a two hour movie at high volume. Should I organize an intervention?

Sounds ok to me. After all, all the smoke detectors in my house are mounted on the ceiling and battery operated!

 

[TLS Guy]

Sounds ok to me. After all, all the smoke detectors in my house are mounted on the ceiling and battery operated!

Yes, but the battery drain of a smoke alarm is tiny. The drain of a powered wireless speaker huge. This is just dippy.

 

[abjonesiii]

I wanted to point out that not all in-ceiling speakers are crap.

Noted. and thanks for the reminder, I have a buddy in Danville, VA who is a professional a/v installer who i once recall telling me about an install he did with all in-ceiling speakers and was surprised out how well they did. Those were however $500ish a piece and wired.

I do agree that not all in-ceiling is crap. I'm just not fond of sound from above. There are some higher end models with directional tweeters that help but still not my cup of tea.

I'm not familiar with Sonance and Triad, I'll have to look for some and reevaluate my opinions. thanks

 

[abjonesiii]

Wow they are ugly and battery powered....

I mean you are already making holes in the ceiling, why not just run some cables to them right?

I totally agree with you on both points. This friend is however the same one who last year tried to fix his own leaky toilet and somehow shattered the bowl. So i can't say I blame him for wanting it real simple with no skill involved

 

[abjonesiii]

Did he mention make and model of these speakers?

No, and I was biting my tongue, he was very excited so i didn't want to say anything to bring him down so I just let it go. If i don't see him in the next few days he'll definitely be over at my house for the super bowl so I'll question him a bit for make and model and get back to you.

 

[abjonesiii]

hey TLS Guy that's a pretty impressive room you have there. I could spent a few days in there just pushing buttons.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

This friend is however the same one who last year tried to fix his own leaky toilet and somehow shattered the bowl. So i can't say I blame him for wanting it real simple with no skill involved

Well, that explains a lot, like not even wondering what it would take to change out the batteries in an in-ceiling speaker...

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[highfigh]

No, and I was biting my tongue, he was very excited so i didn't want to say anything to bring him down so I just let it go. If i don't see him in the next few days he'll definitely be over at my house for the super bowl so I'll question him a bit for make and model and get back to you.

Ask him how he plans to re-charge the batteries when they go dead just before he needs them to work. I have never seen battery powered ceiling speakers and can't see why anyone would make them. Too many things are wrong with the plan for them to be practical.

 

[26oz]

better off with these...

 

[James NM]

Yes, but the battery drain of a smoke alarm is tiny. The drain of a powered wireless speaker huge. This is just dippy.

Actually, I wasn't being serious ......... although both ceiling mounted speakers and smoke detectors make sound.

 

[abjonesiii]

well just to rap things up... I saw my buddy as expected at the super bowl party. About half through the game I asked " Hey remember the other week you were telling me about getting those in ceiling speakers? what brand did you say those were? He says " I don't recall it was something we saw at Sam's Club but we changed our mind" (good choice) " we found a better deal at Sam's Club" (du what!?) " They had a great deal on a Bose 3-2-1 system so we got that"

I didn't say a word other than "OK" i guess ignorance is bliss. I did have to hold back laughter as he began bragging about how the Acustimass "sub" really rattled the house.

anywho that's the story.

 

[boomba]

ceiling speaker

Ceiling speakers with the battery is a problam
on amazon they have some great ceiling speakers

 

[James NM]

... " They had a great deal on a Bose 3-2-1 system so we got that" ...

Dang. They should have just installed those smoke detectors. The Bose system might sound a little better, but the smoke detectors are wireless.