Please Assist with In-Ceiling Surround Crossover Issue...

[PearlcorderS701]

This had been discussed before but there was never any definitive conclusion, and since contacting SpeakerCraft yet again via their customer service email and again getting no response, I was hoping someone else here could take a crack at assisting me with this question...any help would be greatly appreciated...

When we moved into our new house nearly a year ago, the living room had pre-intsalled in-ceiling speakers included, which we later found out from HT installers we hired to come wire them were SpeakerCrafts -- they were unsure of the exact models, but they were positive they were from the "AIM" series which allowed pivoting of the drivers under the grilles...

I had the installers repurpose and arrange these for surround channel duties, and I wired them up to my Onkyo 605 as the surrounds (in a 5.1 arrangement). The thing is, being that I don't know their exact model numbers or series, I don't know what the crossover point is that I should set these to -- I have been leaving them at 80Hz to be safe (the AVR is not running with Audyssey auto setup, I have adjusted all my own settings) but I am wondering if this level should be higher because they're such small in-ceiling speakers...

Is 80Hz okay for small in-wall/in-ceiling models? And there's also the ohm concern -- I have read that SpeakerCrafts come in all kinds of ohm flavors, but I don't know what I have up there in the ceiling...if these are anything other than 8 ohm speakers, should I be using them with my 605?

If anyone could lend some insight here, it would be greatly appreciated, once again.

 

[jcmccorm]

I think you're stressing over it too much. Just change the crossover and see how it sounds. 80Hz is probably right, but there's no "wrong" answer. The easy way to know is to just listen. Otherwise you'll have to get EQ hardware and software and take measurements.

Also, if they dip under 8ohms, it's ok, your amp will just have to work a bit harder at those frequencies. You'll know if it's out of steam.

How do they sound? I'm putting together a bedroom system and due to the room constraints (and WAF), I'll be installing in-ceiling for surrounds. I looked at the Speakercraft AIM series and they looked interesting. I ended up ordering a pair of Mirage Omnicans because I found the cheap on ebay. Haven't received them yet but was wondering how in-ceiling works for surrounds.

Cary

 

[AVRat]

What’s the diameter of the grill alone? If it’s in the 6”-7” range, it’s probably using a 5.5” driver in which case I’d use a XO of 90/100Hz although 80 Hz shouldn’t hurt it. I wouldn’t worry about the impedance since most of their speakers are 8 ohm and your receiver hasn’t shut down yet.

 

[PearlcorderS701]

Thanks Guys,

Appreciate the responses -- here's what I got from SpeakerCraft, finally, about this matter; it doesn't seem to make sense to me to drop surround channels down as low as they say, but...

"It goes all over the place, from 55hz to 33hz, which in speaker terms are miles apart. I guess if you’re looking for some average it would be around the 40hz range, but there could be some huge gaps in there. If you want to play it safe, keep your crossover closer to the 55hz, that way if you do have the smaller and lower end Aim you will be ok. The real test would be to get a test tone, like those found on THX certified DVD’s and have it go through the frequencies and make sure it has no gaps. That it has a smooth crossover from your speakers to your subwoofer. As long as it has that, you should be fine. Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with. Thanks."

 

[PearlcorderS701]

Cary,

As for the in-ceiling SpeakerCrafts, I suppose they sound OK; of course, I'm only using them for surround duties, but they did come already in place up in the ceiling when we bought the house...it was one of the "upgrades".

 

[PearlcorderS701]

Can anyone give me some more feedback in terms of SpeakerCraft's response I posted? They're claiming that I could use a 55Hz crossover for their models -- but that seems ridiculously low for a surround speaker; heck, I don't even use a crossover that low for my big Polk RTi12 towers (using 60Hz)...

I'm not using Audyssey, so what should I manually set these to? Leave them at 80, or should they be higher in the 100+ range?