New home speakers advise

[Deepwater]

Alright guys need some input for some inceiling speakers for my house. I do pro audio and work with Renkus Heinz and EAW so I'm not to familiar with home audio speakers.

First - I'm doing triad bronze in my media/kids game room..my research seems to point to those as the best bang for $ going right now.

Second - I want 5.1 in my master since me and the wife watch movies in bed. Has to be inceiling - got the whole decor thing going on. Maybe Martin Logan helos 100 and 10

Third - I need something for my great room and kitchen. Has to be inceiling but must sound awesome. I'm liking MartinLogan EMR or B&W CCM38

Fourth - guest bedrooms I'm thinking basic 6.5 polks in those .

Budget is flexible but nothing stupid...just moderate.

 

[Deepwater]

Bump.... I need to order soon

 

[ImcLoud]

I think your going to have a hard time getting guys in here to recommend in ceiling speakers for more than ambiance music listening and multiroom intercom duty.......

Some more info like room sizes would help, are you going built in subs too?

The speakers you are looking at are decent, but I wouldn't put the surround sound setups in the ceiling I would go in wall.... or if that doesn't work, just get a decent sound bar for under or over the tv and call it a day because in my experience no matter how much you spend on a speaker if you mount it 5 feet over your head and fire it straight down to the floor, you aren't going to get the greatest sound, and when you couple this with surround effects, it just makes a mess, and distracts the listener, its hard to disappear into the material when your attention is constantly getting pulled away and directed at the speaker making the noise.......

But for the most part you have nice speakers listed, IMO though you can go much cheaper since its already starting off on limped legs...

 

[markw]

I don't think I've ever seen the words "in-ceiling" and "awesome" used in the same sentence before.

 

[lsiberian]

Number 3 is impossible with anything in-ceiling and very hard to do in wall.

My advice buy good speakers and make them work with the décor. If your passion is audio I'm sure you can find a compromise with the wife. Speakers are common in homes all over. No a soundbar isn't good sound either.

If you want to do an in-ceiling sub(Infinite baffle) That is actually a good option, but I suggest speakers for all the other parts.

 

[Deepwater]

Well the inceiling in my family room and kitchen are for music and yes I want them to sound great. Like I said I do pro audio and as much as would love to have this hanging over the fireplace i can't

Renkus-Heinz Inc. - Professional Powered and Non Powered PA Loudspeakers

Therefore what products will get the best sound available for music and listening in those areas.

 

[zieglj01]

Well the inceiling in my family room and kitchen are for music and yes I want them to sound great.

Therefore what products will get the best sound available for music and listening in those areas.

I do not consider any in-ceiling speaker great -
However, if you must go in-ceiling then Triad, Boston high-end,
and Monitor Audio are some options.

Also be kind to your guests, and leave Polk out of the room.

 

[Irishman]

It seems you're faced with a hard choice - do you want them to sound great more or disappear in the room??

 

[ImcLoud]

Being in pro audio you obviously know that down firing speakers are not going to sound fantastic no matter what you spend...

I have tried a bunch of speakers in my ceiling and ended up going with the yamaha directionals, they sounded the best by far, and they are built around the idea that using a smaller 6.5" driver but being able to slightly angle it in the same space an 8" driver fits will sound better than even the best 8" driver firing straight down.... This works, because I picked them... Firing at even a slight angle improved the sound over every 8" driver I bolted up there.... they were cheap too, I believe $120 a pair... BUT make no mistake they are NOT audiophile sound quality producing speakers... They sound OK, and they work great for what I use them for which is ambiance and background sound... I wouldn't do any critical music listening or want to have them making the sound for my tv by any means...

Talk your wife into a theater and music room, whats more "decor" than that. lol I went on the ask for forgiveness not permission road, and it worked out, I have speakers everywhere now.... Im thinking a nice 3.1 in the master bathroom...

 

[ACsGreens]

Alright guys need some input for some inceiling speakers for my house. I do pro audio and work with Renkus Heinz and EAW so I'm not to familiar with home audio speakers.

First - I'm doing triad bronze in my media/kids game room..my research seems to point to those as the best bang for $ going right now.

Second - I want 5.1 in my master since me and the wife watch movies in bed. Has to be inceiling - got the whole decor thing going on. Maybe Martin Logan helos 100 and 10

Third - I need something for my great room and kitchen. Has to be inceiling but must sound awesome. I'm liking MartinLogan EMR or B&W CCM38

Fourth - guest bedrooms I'm thinking basic 6.5 polks in those .

Budget is flexible but nothing stupid...just moderate.

I am not sure what your idea of moderate is but I really like these speakers. They site inside the ceiling at a 30deg angle which helps project out to you. Just a thought, here is a link.

CS-60R-30 - Welcome to the New Official Paradigm® Website.

 

[ImcLoud]

I am not sure what your idea of moderate is but I really like these speakers. They site inside the ceiling at a 30deg angle which helps project out to you. Just a thought, here is a link.

CS-60R-30 - Welcome to the New Official Paradigm® Website.

them look sexy

 

[Deepwater]

Thanks for the input guys. I have always felt 3-way speakers (+ a sub) sound better then 2 way + a sub.

Im leaning toward these 3-ways now in the kitchen and family room. Has anyone heard them? Boston Acoustics Hsi 4830 or Vsi 5830



http://www.bostonacoustics.com/US/Product/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?CatId=HomeAudio(BostonAcoustics_US)&SubCatId=InCeiling(BostonAcoustics_US)&Pid=HSi4830(BostonAcoustics)

http://www.bostonacoustics.com/US/Product/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?CatId=HomeAudio(BostonAcoustics_US)&SubCatId=InCeiling(BostonAcoustics_US)&Pid=VSi5830(BostonAcoustics)

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

If I were doing ceiling or in-wall speakers, I would go Revel, KEF, or B&W.

 

[Gordonj]

If I were doing ceiling or in-wall speakers, I would go Revel, KEF, or B&W.

If you were going to go all in on the ceiling speaker approach and being that you deal in the pro-audio world, i would look at some of the following as well (and you should have direct access to them as well since they are all pro-speakers):

http://www.tannoypro.com/#Page=Product&Id=56.71
or any of those series of Tannoy ceiling speakers (stay with the "DC" series).

Since you know EAW then you could also consider this: EAW: L8CX2XO

While not hi-fi it may work for you. You would have to buy separate the back-box, tile support and grille to mount it since it is not an assembly.

There are some from JBL that may get you close to the sound you want. JBL has a certain sound to their ceiling speakers but again are designed for what you are doing.

Just a thought...

Gordon

 

[zieglj01]

Thanks for the input guys. I have always felt 3-way speakers (+ a sub) sound better then 2 way + a sub.

Boston Acoustics Hsi 4830 or Vsi 5830

The Boston VSi can be a real nice one.

 

[Nuance AH]

If you must go in-ceiling, check out Triad. As already stated, in-ceiling starts you off already severely compromised concerning sound quality.