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Re: M3 In-Ceiling Loudspeakers
CV #407402 09/24/14 12:22 AM
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My ceiling M3s finally showed up. Hoping to try them out tomorrow or the next. You can tell its a new product- no manual. Looks pretty straightforward though, once I figured out how to remove the grill. Feels very substantial for a plastic enclosed speaker. I bought these for an Atmos setup. I'm considering these for the surrounds as well.

Last edited by rprice54; 09/24/14 12:22 AM.
Re: M3 In-Ceiling Loudspeakers
CV #407403 09/24/14 03:19 AM
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I really like the idea of using 34 of them in a Atmos layout.
Its growing on me.



Re: M3 In-Ceiling Loudspeakers
CV #407486 09/29/14 06:38 PM
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Okay, got a chance to compare these a bit to my outdoor M3s. This was the easiest/quickest way I could do a direct A/B comparison. This is not high end audio equip, this is my shop music system. Cheapo Sony AVR, two outdoor M3s (v4), and a cheap 10" sub. The M3s are the most expensive part of the setup. I'm NOT an audiophile, but I like my Axiom speakers (M60s/VP150/EP500 previously) and can appreciate how much better they sound compared to others I tried. I figured the plastic outdoor speakers would be a good comparison to the plastic ceiling speakers.

I have these on a shelf, about 6' up, about 8' apart, and I stood about 10' from the speakers in the center. I used some music from Fireflight, a Christian metal band, with a female (breathy) vocalist and some classical accompaniment, which gave me a wide range of sounds to compare in just a couple of songs. (this is way overkill for ceiling speakers isn't it?).

Trial 1- speakers set to large, sub off. Here the ported regular M3s obviously won with lower end punch. Vocals were still very clear and airy (listen to me [sarcasm]) and the imaging always amazes me. It's like she's singing directly in front of me, I'm looking there, and my eyes don't see a speaker, but my ears and brain tell me she's right in the middle. I was curious how the different tweeter would compare, and it was maybe just a hair less 'real' sounding compared to the regular M3s, but the difference in the vocals was very subtle. The tell, though, was the much more anemic low end- understandably so without a port. Not much punch at all. There was also a good deal of 'plastic' sounding tone with the lower end. I imagine this would go away once these were mounted in a ceiling. Admittedly these were not made to just sit on a bookshelf, so I really can't hold that against them.

Trial 2- set speakers to small, sub on, crossover about 80 (dial on the back of the sub goes from 40-240 without any other marks, so I do my best to get it around 80). Here it was nearly impossible to tell any difference between the two. The plastic tone was gone. The regular M3s still sounded a bit fuller, vocals were more 'real', but I could easily listen to the ceiling speakers in that setup on a regular basis sitting on a shelf. The sound was MUCH closer to the regular M3s with the sub.

So there you go, a very unprofessional review of the new speakers. I think they will do great for my use, overheads in an Atmos setup and will complement my other speakers well. I don't think anyone would use these for main speakers unless you just had to with WAF. Now I just need to decide if I use these for the surrounds as well or in-wall M3s or on wall M3s...

Re: M3 In-Ceiling Loudspeakers
CV #407487 09/29/14 09:07 PM
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Just to note, the frequency response on the low end will change significantly once they are ceiling mounted. The "plastic" tone could have been caused by vibration- again remedied by mounting. Its hard to do an apples to apples comparison if they are not on the same plane I know. blush

Great review and comparison for us! Thanks. cool

Re: M3 In-Ceiling Loudspeakers
CV #407675 10/17/14 03:32 PM
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Did you get a chance to mount them up yet? I am considering my choices and wonder what you thought about the mounting process and how the sound changed. If they still seem to fall off at 70ish hz I'll check out other options I guess. Pics?

Re: M3 In-Ceiling Loudspeakers
CV #407676 10/17/14 04:23 PM
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I have not. Drywall crew finished today. I won't have any time off until next week to try them out, and right now it's a big echo chamber with 4 walks and concrete floor.

I'm confident they will work as surrounds/tops supported by a subwoofer. I think you would not ideally use these as front L and R main speakers. I get the impression they aren't designed for that anyways.

I went with on wall M3s for surrounds and these for overheads. I couldn't put them in the walls where I wanted for surrounds due to structural supports that couldn't be easily moved.

Once I get the room a little more finished I'll compare the ceilings to the on walls.

Re: M3 In-Ceiling Loudspeakers
CV #407677 10/17/14 08:41 PM
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Gotcha. Thanks for the update. I'm looking to use them as the atmos component (like you I think) of a 7.2.4 setup. Anxious to see what you think once your room is finished. I'm months away from Drywall the way things are going so no biggie.

Thanks for your response!

Re: M3 In-Ceiling Loudspeakers
CV #407928 11/02/14 02:35 AM
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Got a start on painting these bad boys. Using an airbrush and my ceiling color. Two light coats tonight. Hoping to get them installed next week assuming I can get the rest of the room painted this week.



Last edited by rprice54; 11/02/14 02:39 AM.
Re: M3 In-Ceiling Loudspeakers
CV #407945 11/04/14 02:43 AM
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I have been considering these as well for atmos but I am unsure of if I should wait and see if there are options specifically for Atmos whereas these seem to be just ceiling speakers. I am thinking these would be the obvious choice with the rest of my Axiom setup though. They do seem to be priced high considering they have no cabinet though.

Was hoping more people would have tried these for Atmos.


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Re: M3 In-Ceiling Loudspeakers
CV #407947 11/04/14 03:30 AM
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They are fully enclosed in the back, but they are not ideal for Atmos. They need to be able to be angled towards the listener instead of pointing straight down.


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