Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater QS4 Mounting

Doh!!! Inattention to detail, again. Sorry about that.

Ok guys - don't laugh. Due to a restricted budget, (wife on mat leave, 3 kids, etc.) I was forced to use speakers that I had laying around. They just happened to be a set of Alpine 6x9's. I mounted them IN the ceiling about 3ft from the back wall.

So here I have 2 strikes - not the correct speaker AND incorrect positioning. (But they work surprisingly well.) Could it be better? Absolutely, no question - but at this point I am just thrilled to have surround.

Mike,

No apologies necessary. There are few here who haven't, done the same thing.

Shawn,

Nobody should laugh at you for living within your budget. We all do the best we can. Enjoy what you've got and don't worry about it.

Would there be any problems actually SECURING the speakers to the ceiling? In other words, do the backs of the Q's make it possible to even place a couple of screws in the ceiling that would allow them to be flush, against the ceiling?

If so, please explain. Thanks.

The std T bracket that comes with the Qs attaches to the wall with screws. The speaker simply hangs off a couple of flanges that stick out a little. I wouldn't be comfortable with that mounting system on the ceiling - especially in California where earthquakes are a certainty.

Ken, my concern is the same as the Capn; I don't think it would be sonically problematic, but the actual fastening of the speaker could be more of a challenge than you'd like.

It doesn't seem to me like the QS T-Bracket is designed to be mounted in that orientation. At a minimum, you'd have to find a way to ensure that the speaker doesn't "slide out" of the bracket since you would not have gravity holding it in. At worst, the T-bracket or corresponding mounts on the speakers could conceivably bend or not hold the speaker flush to the ceiling.

Finally, there is a big difference in the amount of strength between "pull-out" and "shear" weight. While I have no qualms about using E-Z Anchor or similar fasteners on a vertical surface, I don't think I would hazard that method in the ceiling. So, to get the QS brackets to hold the weight, you'd need to get lucky with where the ceiling joists are, or use molly bolts or some other highly reliable (and possibly rental-ceiling-damaging) mounting hardware.

Personally, I'd find a way to do it on the wall, or if you are set on the ceiling, use a FMB (whose smaller mounting surface area should help you relative to potential damage and/or hitting the joists). Of course, if your ceiling is concrete, some of those concerns are moot.

Best solution is to just have Adam and Peter come over and hold them whenever you want to watch a movie.

not particularly. I'm not sure how the WAF would be. I'll show Jen that picture when I get home. What brackets are those?

Good point. I hadn't thought of that. I guess it'll be the A&P for me. Or FMBs. Hey, I didn't realize those only used 2 screws. That would probably work just fine.

To play devils advocate, and to ignore sheering forces (or whatever the downward force from a ceiling is called)....

If you were to place the T-bar on the ceiling, well and securely mounted in whatever fashion available (stud, lag bolt, etc.), then maybe you could slide the Q's onto the bracket and then secure them with another semi-protruding nail, pin, bracket etc. so taht the speaker will be compressed onto the T-bar such that it can't slide either way (because on one side, you'll have the hanging lip and the other side, you'll have the retaining screw/nail/bracket.

I'm thinking taht those white speaker tacks which are white and come with a whole to put a nail through so you can slinky your wire aroudn a door would work fairly well. So would a snugly fitted L bracket placed against the speaker and securely into the wall.

On a side note - what kind of dispersion characteristics woudl this impart to the speaker, with the woofers playing parallel to the ceiling and the tweeters aimed downward at a 45 degree angle?

Second, what woudl this look like? How deep is the speaker box and would it look funny stickign out of the ceiling?

How about mounting them from the ceiling, but on a bracket or some other support piece that allows them to point horizontally (or even slightly downward)? You would only need to ensure that the top driver is at least a few inches from the ceiling. It doesn't seem that it would be much more obtrusive than flush-mounting a QS-4 to the ceiling.