In-Ceiling Speaker Suggestions

[Dasen Luo]

I have an Onkyo 7-Channel home theater system, and will stay with this system at least for the time being. My home theater area is in my basement, and the side of the basement with the prewiring covers approximately an 15ft*15ft area. This is an arear starting from the wall to the holes of surround back speakers in one direction, and mostly from wall to wall in the other direction. It is “mostly from wall to wall” because there is also a small window well area next to the end of this 15ft*15ft area. The whole basement is open without any wall separating the three areas described. The attached figure depicts the layout of the basement.

I previously thought I would install ceiling speaker mounts (i.e., racks hanging down from the ceiling) for my Onkyo speakers, but after I learned from various sources, including from this forum, I have changed my mind. I now plan to install in-ceiling speakers, and wonder anyone here could offer me some advice.


My current plan is to leave the Onkyo front speakers and subwoofer as they are, but install four in-ceiling speakers that are comparable in price range to my Onkyo system (about $900 when I bought it 7-8 years ago). If possible, I hope these speakers will allow me to adjust the directions of the speakers to max the surround sound effect. I don’t know whether there has been a thread on this forum that is applicable exactly to my situation, but since people here are very knowledgeable and also appear to be so kind, I thought I may post my question here regardless. Any of your input about suitable speakers to install, as well as other related tips, would be greatly appreciated.

 

[beginjapan!]

If the pdf you attached shows the location of your speakers you might want to reconsider the approach. I'm not knocking your layout by any means but if possible you should have speakers to the left and right of your seating position and two behind you at or slightly above ear level. What you have shown looks more like a Dolby Atmos or DTS setup with height speakers in the ceiling. I realize you have no wall behind you to mount rear surround speakers but you do still have the option of running wires to speakers on stands to get them to ear height.

Does your Onkyo have room correction? For the room layout you have it would be a definite plus.

 

[Dasen Luo]

Thanks a lot for your input! The ear-height surround speakers certainly would produce great surround sound effect. My question is, with the prewiring of surround speakers above the ceiling, how should I connect the wires to the surround speakers that could make the hanging wires not unpleasant-looking? Or should I totally forget about the prewiring in the ceiling?

Yes, my Onkyo system is equipped with a room correction device.

 

[beginjapan!]

If there there is any way you can run wires to the walls for side surrounds, do that. In some cases you can run cable along baseboards using special concealing channels. Leave the rear ceiling speakers in place for the rear surround and use the front two ceiling speakers for atmos or dts-x. I think you'll be happiest with that set-up and it will be the easiest way to get a full surround package. It's great that your asking the right questions before fully committing. Good luck and let us know what you decide to do.

 

[Dasen Luo]

I will do what you suggested for side surround speakers. What in-ceiling speakers would you recommend for the surround back ones?
Thanks!

 

[beginjapan!]

Find something with tweeters that can be aimed. Timbre matching might be difficult with the Onkyo set you have but it's not as important for rear surround. Your receivers room correction software should compensate for some diiferences in sensitivity but try to get that and speaker load equivalent to the other speakers you have regardless. I assume the Onks are 8 ohm?

 

[Dasen Luo]

I know these questions may sound rudimentary, but what would be suitable speaker stands for my Onkyo surround speakers? What about wire concealing channels leading to the surround speakers?
Thanks!

 

[Dasen Luo]

Find something with tweeters that can be aimed. Timbre matching might be difficult with the Onkyo set you have but it's not as important for rear surround. Your receivers room correction software should compensate for some diiferences in sensitivity but try to get that and speaker load equivalent to the other speakers you have regardless. I assume the Onks are 8 ohm?

The Onkyo surround and surround back speakers are of 130W and 6 ohm.
Thanks!

 

[beginjapan!]

Sensitivity will be shown in dB. Something like 90dB at 1w for instance.

Maybe the best way to approach this is with a question. Are you happy with your Onkyo speakers? There are a lot of choices for full surround systems out there and you could easily upgrade with a package of speakers that complements each other. You don't need to go very high end to get good sound quality. Makes like JBL, Polk, Sonance, Klipsch, Speakercraft and even Yamaha make good in wall/ceiling speakers to go with front left center right speakers. You may be able to find something that fits your budget and you'll wonder why you didn't pull the trigger on this earlier. The receiver you have is OK but it might be a bit short on power.

If you go to your local home improvement store or Best Buy and ask for wire concealing strips they can point you in the right direction. This isn't a difficult item to find and it's not terribly expensive.

 

[Dasen Luo]

Sensitivity will be shown in dB. Something like 90dB at 1w for instance.

Maybe the best way to approach this is with a question. Are you happy with your Onkyo speakers? There are a lot of choices for full surround systems out there and you could easily upgrade with a package of speakers that complements each other. You don't need to go very high end to get good sound quality. Makes like JBL, Polk, Sonance, Klipsch, Speakercraft and even Yamaha make good in wall/ceiling speakers to go with front left center right speakers. You may be able to find something that fits your budget and you'll wonder why you didn't pull the trigger on this earlier. The receiver you have is OK but it might be a bit short on power.

If you go to your local home improvement store or Best Buy and ask for wire concealing strips they can point you in the right direction. This isn't a difficult item to find and it's not terribly expensive.

Pardon me for my ignorance, but where should I look for the sensitivity information? The info does not appear to be listed anywhere on my surround back speakers (Onkyo Model SKB-770).

As I said in my initial post, with my budget constraint, I plan to stay with my Onkyo system for the time being. Buying additional accessories will be fine, but again I hope I will do the purchasing in a way comparable to my Onkyo system. In other words, buying additional items that are in a higher class than that of the Onkyo system may be an overkill to me. Thanks!

 

[beginjapan!]

Pardon me for my ignorance, but where should I look for the sensitivity information? The info does not appear to be listed anywhere on my surround back speakers (Onkyo Model SKB-770).

As I said in my initial post, with my budget constraint, I plan to stay with my Onkyo system for the time being. Buying additional accessories will be fine, but again I hope I will do the purchasing in a way comparable to my Onkyo system. In other words, buying additional items that are in a higher class than that of the Onkyo system may be an overkill to me. Thanks!

In that case you should make a trip to your local electronics store and audition some speakers within your budget. Only you will know what sounds good to your ears at the price you're willing to pay.