What in wall/ceiling setup would you choose?

[Farmdog]

I'll try to summarize and not get too wordy.

Upgrading current in wall LCR and sides along with rear in ceiling. Currently have 7.1 and looking to upgrade to 7.2.4
Initially looked into Def Tech as follows:
RLS II x 3 LCR
RSS II x sides
RCS III x 2 rear
RSL C34E x 4 Atmos
The total is around $4K for this setup.

Already have sub plan in place with a couple HSU subs

Just curious if anyone has "better" recommendations for similar price. Must be in wall as current setup is in wall behind AT screen.
I did look into Axiom a little bit as well, but they don't have as vast an offering.
Looked into Triad and Next Level Acoustics, but can't listen to them and have no idea on price comparability.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[shadyJ]

Deftech will probably be fine. There are better in-walls out there but more expensive, of course. I really like the KEF THX in-walls, but those are $$$. What will make a real difference is the speaker placement and calibration. Be sure to read through the Dolby Home Atmos installation guidelines. Properly installing the right kind of speaker is going to make a bigger difference than the speaker brand that you choose.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Can’t remember pricing off hand but I really was interested in Martin Logan. Fwiw I have four RSL C34e’s. I will install them this week, but curritwo of them are the mains in my bedroom 5.1 system lol. Nice speakers.
Here’s a little more reading.
https://www.dolby.com/us/en/technologies/dolby-atmos/dolby-atmos-next-generation-audio-for-cinema-white-paper.pdf

 

[Farmdog]

So like many things, this is a moving target. After lots more investigation and communication, I’m leaning towards a 7.1 system from Next Level Acoustics. Until I can figure out a way to bring rears out of the ceiling, I think atmos is on holdas well.

The Def Tech speakers are nice I suppose, but Def Tech as a company did not impress me. Not only did I read a few questionable threads about their specs, but they have horrible (to none) communication. I’ve tried contacting them numerous times to ask a few questions and it’s fallen on deaf ears. I realize they have bigger fish to fry, but nonetheless, I’ve been unimpressed with the company so far.

OTOH, the guys at Next Level responded instantly and have been extremely helpful in figuring out a system and configuration. One of their owners is a regular on AVS forums. It’s pricier than Def Tech or Axiom, but from what I’ve read, better quality and performance, closer to or surpassing Triad gold.

I’ll update this thread through the process for anyone that cares.

 

[everettT]

I'd look at triad speakers. As for the rear surrounds, I'd eliminate the and go 5.x.4, you wont be missing anything.

 

[TheWarrior]

I'll try to summarize and not get too wordy.

Upgrading current in wall LCR and sides along with rear in ceiling. Currently have 7.1 and looking to upgrade to 7.2.4
Initially looked into Def Tech as follows:
RLS II x 3 LCR
RSS II x sides
RCS III x 2 rear
RSL C34E x 4 Atmos
The total is around $4K for this setup.

Already have sub plan in place with a couple HSU subs

Just curious if anyone has "better" recommendations for similar price. Must be in wall as current setup is in wall behind AT screen.
I did look into Axiom a little bit as well, but they don't have as vast an offering.
Looked into Triad and Next Level Acoustics, but can't listen to them and have no idea on price comparability.

Thanks,
Chris

@DigitalDawn is a Triad dealer. I did a review on the Bronze 4/ LCR and we are overjoyed in having such good quality sound in our bedroom without sacrificing floor space. I wouldn't think twice about getting the higher end Silver or Gold to get all Scanspeak drivers for use in a proper home theater! Start with two for a stereo and add from there!

 

[2channel lover]

I'll try to summarize and not get too wordy.

Upgrading current in wall LCR and sides along with rear in ceiling. Currently have 7.1 and looking to upgrade to 7.2.4
Initially looked into Def Tech as follows:
RLS II x 3 LCR
RSS II x sides
RCS III x 2 rear
RSL C34E x 4 Atmos
The total is around $4K for this setup.

Already have sub plan in place with a couple HSU subs

Just curious if anyone has "better" recommendations for similar price. Must be in wall as current setup is in wall behind AT screen.
I did look into Axiom a little bit as well, but they don't have as vast an offering.
Looked into Triad and Next Level Acoustics, but can't listen to them and have no idea on price comparability.

Thanks,
Chris

7.2.4 is a really nice setup, but if you're struggling to get the Rears placed properly (i.e. not in the ceiling) You can save money without sacrificing much in performance going with a 5.2.4 system.

There are some good IC/IW speakers out there these days. One I was particularly taken by...Noble Fidelity...sort of a boutique Inwall/In ceiling speaker manufacturer...inwall is all they do.

The best speaker of the line up is the L85mkii...I have these for whole house music and I've been pretty impressed. Far better imaging, detail and bass than I was expecting. This speaker is an 8" round speaker, but it's fine to play as an inwall (LCR+SR) or in ceiling....they will run about $900 a pr and well worth it.

The L82 is a more traditional inwall...I don't have any experience with this one, but the L85 mkii...I would buy again if I could do it all over.

https://www.noble-fidelity.com/product/l-85-mk-ll-center-channel-ceiling-wall-loudspeakers/

 

[panteragstk]

I have Speakercraft 7.1.4 in my theater and they are pretty fantastic. Not cheap though for sure, but I didn't pay retail for them.

The also seem to just do ceiling and in-wall only, but you'll have a hard time getting a demo of them. Best Buy carries them, but not in most stores. I've seen some smaller shops carry them too.

 

[2channel lover]

I have Speakercraft 7.1.4 in my theater and they are pretty fantastic. Not cheap though for sure, but I didn't pay retail for them.

The also seem to just do ceiling and in-wall only, but you'll have a hard time getting a demo of them. Best Buy carries them, but not in most stores. I've seen some smaller shops carry them too.

Inwalls are challenging to demo...I found one of the higher end dealer shops here that actually had a decent selection of IW/IC speakers and they had the upper end of the Polk line, Paradigm, Speakercraft and B&W...but they do a lot of custom installs so I guess that explains the selection.

 

[panteragstk]

Inwalls are challenging to demo...I found one of the higher end dealer shops here that actually had a decent selection of IW/IC speakers and they had the upper end of the Polk line, Paradigm, Speakercraft and B&W...but they do a lot of custom installs so I guess that explains the selection.

Yeah, to have a demo section that vast is difficult to find. I couldn't find anywhere to demo the ones I got, but members here and my brother vouched for them. Not disappointed at all.

 

[DigitalDawn]

Thanks for the plug Alex. We are also currently having a huge Triad sale right now.

 

[Farmdog]

Here is a zoomed out view and zoomed in view of my theater area.
LCR and sides are in wall including the sub which is actually sitting in the adjacent room firing through a hole in the drywall with a grill over the hole (I know, not ideal). Rear's are in ceiling.
Sides are at 105 deg and rears are at 148 deg. My concern with using existing rears for anything Atmos is they are too far back. They double as speakers for WHA so they could just stay there and I could add 4 speakers in ceiling for Atmos and run 5.1.4 or 5.2.4.

Budget is not solid. From a few of the quotes I've gotten, it ranges from $2400-$6000.