Ceiling atmos speakers: Straight down or angled?

[Mark M]

I currently have a 5.2 setup and want to add a set of height speakers in the ceiling. I'm thinking of just adding 2 ceiling speakers in the middle/front position. Would angled speakers or straight downfiring be best?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Well if you’re focusing on one seat I’d definitely point them there. How high is the ceiling? What speakers are you considering? I think you’ll get a little better performance front top position vs middle.

 

[Mark M]

Well if you’re focusing on one seat I’d definitely point them there. How high is the ceiling? What speakers are you considering? I think you’ll get a little better performance front top position vs middle.

Yes, front top is what I meant. I was thinking of Elac Debut angled ceiling speakers. But crutchfield and others have suggested that angled is for LCF and straight downfiring is better for the heights.
My ceiling is 9ft high and flat.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Yes, front top is what I meant. I was thinking of Elac Debut angled ceiling speakers. But crutchfield and others have suggested that angled is for LCF and straight downfiring is better for the heights.
My ceiling is 9ft high and flat.

Guess you meant LCR?
9’ is a decent height. If the speakers have wide coverage, then pointing down would pretty much be the same thing. IMO, err on the side of caution, and(also imo) logic. If the area to be covered is the couch, it makes sense to ME to point them there.
Did crutchfield and others say why they thought to point them down for heights? Just curious.

 

[bigkrazy155]

Check out these: https://rslspeakers.com/c34e-ceiling-speaker/

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Check out these: https://rslspeakers.com/c34e-ceiling-speaker/

Yes! I have 4 of those in my Atmos system. Excellent speakers.

 

[Mark M]

Guess you meant LCR?
9’ is a decent height. If the speakers have wide coverage, then pointing down would pretty much be the same thing. IMO, err on the side of caution, and(also imo) logic. If the area to be covered is the couch, it makes sense to ME to point them there.
Did crutchfield and others say why they thought to point them down for heights? Just curious.

No, not ceiling LCR (yuck).
Just height channels.
Crutchfield says to use the straight down ones for better dispersion rather than speakers aimed at you because they would be too directional.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

No, not ceiling LCR (yuck).
Just height channels.
Crutchfield says to use the straight down ones for better dispersion rather than speakers aimed at you because they would be too directional.

Lol. I meant did they tell you if using IC speakers to use angled ones for LCR.

IMO the point IS to be directional. If we were talking about ambient noise, maybe but Atmos tracks are definitely not ambient.
Unless they meant that the speakers would call attention to themselves? I doubt that since they’d be like 9 or ten feet away.
I still say point them right at the couch. Then they should image etc like your mains.

 

[Mark M]

Lol. I meant did they tell you if using IC speakers to use angled ones for LCR.

IMO the point IS to be directional. If we were talking about ambient noise, maybe but Atmos tracks are definitely not ambient.
Unless they meant that the speakers would call attention to themselves? I doubt that since they’d be like 9 or ten feet away.
I still say point them right at the couch. Then they should image etc like your mains.

Roger that! Thanks!
Yes, Crutchfield says to use the angled ones for ceiling LCR (Yuck again...)
So you suggest that the angled speakers would be best for front-ish atmos?

 

[Mark M]

This guy says go angled.....

 

[panteragstk]

I got speakers that let me choose whether or not to point the tweeters. I've got mine a bit angled toward the MLP and it sounds very good.

Just go with something that gives you options that way you aren't stuck with one configuration or another.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Mark, are these what you’re looking at?

ELAC Debut IC-DT61-W

In-ceiling speaker

www.crutchfield.com

 

[Bryce_H]

I set my 5.1.4 setup with them pointing straight down, but they are wide dispersion. Remember they are there for more presence than directional awareness.

Reminds me a bit of the bi-pole/di-pole/direct debate for side surrounds...

 

[2channel lover]

I currently have a 5.2 setup and want to add a set of height speakers in the ceiling. I'm thinking of just adding 2 ceiling speakers in the middle/front position. Would angled speakers or straight downfiring be best?

Not saying don't do it, if you can't do 4, but if you can do 4 atmos, the playback is a lot better imo.

 

[Kingnoob]

Yes! I have 4 of those in my Atmos system. Excellent speakers.

Those are incredibleyy cheap do they make conventional speakers too?
It could be a long time until I upgrade to Dolby Atmos. mouse . Onkyo 818 plenty power for bedroom it lacks atmos sadly .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mark M]

Mark, are these what you’re looking at?

ELAC Debut IC-DT61-W

In-ceiling speaker

www.crutchfield.com

Yes

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Those are incredibleyy cheap do they make conventional speakers too?
It could be a long time until I upgrade to Dolby Atmos. mouse . Onkyo 818 plenty power for bedroom it lacks atmos sadly .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes they do. There’s actually a review of the new-ish line currently on AH. How they make such awesome speakers and sell for the prices they do... idk. Also, the customer service is first rate.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Yes

Well, IMO those klipsch are a little overpriced. And while I do think quality matters, Atmos is very forgiving, and you can save a little bit on height speakers. There are a LOT of speakers that will do a great job up there, but as we tend to do, I’m recommending what I have(rsl c34e’s), since I can speak directly to their performance. It also happens that they perform very well, and imo are nicely affordable. I have used other IC speakers and ESPECIALLY for the money, these rsl’s are exceptional.
In fact before I installed them in my ceiling, I made some temporary enclosures for them and used them as my mains in our BR 5.1 system. They image sooooo good. They also have a roughly 15° baffle so they should cover your seating very nicely.

 

[TLS Guy]

I fired mine straight down and it seems to be working very well.

Just one point. Note that had had the speakers poke their "noses" out just beyond the ceiling. As Dennis Murphy has point out this make a speaker get less interference from the flat wall.

 

[Mark M]

Well, IMO those klipsch are a little overpriced. And while I do think quality matters, Atmos is very forgiving, and you can save a little bit on height speakers. There are a LOT of speakers that will do a great job up there, but as we tend to do, I’m recommending what I have(rsl c34e’s),since I can speak directly to their performance. It also happens that they perform very well, and imo are nicely affordable. I have used other IC speakers and ESPECIALLY for the money, these rsl’s are exceptional.
In fact before I installed them in my ceiling, I made some temporary enclosures for them and used them as my mains in our BR 5.1 system. They image sooooo good. They also have a roughly 15° baffle so they should cover your seating very nicely.

They aren't Klipsch. They are Elac Debut's. I actually already have them. They just aren't being used for anything.
But I don't just want to use them for atmos because I already have them. I can always install them in the garage instead and get a better atmos speaker.