Do in-ceiling speakers "open up" when installed?

[TP143]

Hi everyone,

I have a local seller who is offering some in-ceiling speakers at a good deal and I am considering purchasing. I stopped by their house a few days ago to give them an audition. They were not installed in the ceiling but rather were sitting on a table. I was suprised that they sounded particularly weak, or flat. There was very little bass response and they sounded weak. The guy said that they "open up significantly" and that the base response improves greatly once installed in ceiling. Being open baffle I figured they should sound about the same from the table as they would from the ceiling. Does anyone have experience here or know who is likely more correct?

Thanks!

 

[TLS Guy]

Hi everyone,

I have a local seller who is offering some in-ceiling speakers at a good deal and I am considering purchasing. I stopped by their house a few days ago to give them an audition. They were not installed in the ceiling but rather were sitting on a table. I was suprised that they sounded particularly weak, or flat. There was very little bass response and they sounded weak. The guy said that they "open up significantly" and that the base response improves greatly once installed in ceiling. Being open baffle I figured they should sound about the same from the table as they would from the ceiling. Does anyone have experience here or know who is likely more correct?

Thanks!

No they won't. The rear output is out of phase with the front output, by 180 degrees, so there is severe bass cancellation on the table. So the baffle effect of the ceiling will greatly increase lower frequency response. That said ceiling speakers are not Hi-Fi and for background music only.

 

[j_garcia]

Agreed. It sort of depends on the exact speaker, but bass response should be better when installed. It is not likely to suddenly have super low extension, but it should improve considerably compared to having no support to the driver and no front and back wave separation.

 

[lsiberian]

IMO it's a lot more work hooking up ceiling speakers than small speakers and small speakers have better sound than the typical in-ceiling.

Even if you are setting up a retail space I'm not entirely for in-ceiling speakers, but certainly not in a home theater. Grab a set of Kef 2000 series if you want small speakers with good sound. You can even hang them from the ceiling. They are light enough to probably hang from a good toggle and will have much better sound.

 

[TP143]

I took the chance and purchased these speakers so ill have to find out how much the sound changes at installation. Also, is there any reason in-ceiling speakers couldn't/shouldn't be used in in-walls?

 

[TLS Guy]

I took the chance and purchased these speakers so ill have to find out how much the sound changes at installation. Also, is there any reason in-ceiling speakers couldn't/shouldn't be used in in-walls?

Wall or ceiling should make no difference.

 

[TP143]

Thats what I figured. I think circular cutouts in walls just look a bit odd which is why these are used interchangeably more often. The performance shouldn't be different I wouldn't think.