I'm about to make my first foray into surround sound by purchasing a pair of QS4s from SutterCane. I had a question about positioning. I don't have much wall space to hang the 4s from, so my wife proposed putting them on the ceiling, with the backs flat against it. Has anyone tried this? I know the QS4s are forgiving, but is this a bad idea, a good idea, or an ....interesting idea?
(gawd, I've been here for over a year... you'd think I knew this stuff by now... ;-)
Ken
I saw a post sometime today concerning this very thing.
I wished I could remember where, maybe Questions and comments.?
Anyway it seems to me like the reply was "yes" it is ok to mount on the ceiling.
I'll look and see if I can find that thread.
Bray
Yeah, I do recall an earlier thread on it, but I remember the general movement was to convince the guy not to do it. I guess I'm just throwing the idea back out there.
BTW, I live in a rental, so I'd like to minimize the damage if possible. If anybody has any tips on this... Stands are not an option, either.
Ken, I'll vote for..."interesting". Of course surround sound is supposed to come from the sides and maybe the back too, more than from above, but even with them on the ceiling some of the sound will be reflected from the walls and should give a reasonable effect. Try some temporary thing with them up there.
I've been racking my brains trying to think of a temporary way to hang them off the ceiling. All I can come up with (and really, it's Jen's idea) is to have Peter and Adam (pmbuko & adamp88) come over and hold them up for awhile, so I can test it. Somehow, I don't think this idea will fly...
Now THAT conjures up a humorous image.
If Adam is as tall as Peter you won't even need stools.
If you don't know both of them well, it's hard to tell them apart.
Jen's idea sounds good to me, Ken. Peter and Adam are tall enough to almost touch the ceiling. The test should work without any problems. Since you don't want to drill, the difficulty will be in convincing them to come over whenever you want to listen.
It's worked very well for me.
Picture here. I've angled mine down slightly, and they perform beautifully.
Mike,
Ken is talking about mounting the QS4s with the backs FLUSH against the ceiling, not hanging them as yours are. But, you bring up a good point. Ken, is there a reason why you CAN'T hang them, similarly to Mike's?
P.S. "I don't want to hang them" is a perfectly valid reason.
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.
Hi Ken,
Have you considered a set of the Axiom QSS stands? That way you don't have to drill any holes and you have the flexibility to do a bit of tweaking.
Tom
Oh, stands are totally verboten... but thanks for the idea!
With almost 100% certainty, I can tell you that Ken's wife has vetoed stands.
Just noticed Ken's post above. Heh, told you!
With those stands, I'd say it's 160% likely. I've never found a stand that she liked. She dislikes the idea of "boxes on sticks" immensely.
Ok, work with me on this one. If I recall your room layout correctly, it's the left surround mounting that's the real problem, since there's a big window along the entire wall. You have a useful wall to the right of your couch, so that's not a problem. Am I correct so far? Good.
My idea for your left mounting involves placing a spring-tensioned or otherwise securely mounted vertical pole in the window area at a point where the cutains come together. Then attach a piece of scrap wood to the pole with a couple of
U bolts. Then either mount the included T-bracket directly to the scrap wood or, for a more aesthetically pleasing look, mount an FMB or other bracket to the scrap wood which would allow you to poke the speaker through the gap between the closed curtains.
What do you think?
I think I'll probably ceiling mount them with FMBs.
I need to see how big they are; they might fit above the window. The other problem is I just hung something in front of/over the heater, right where I would normally put the right one.
Then move it, dear Henry.
But I just put in the hook, dear Liza. Besides, I'm hoping it'll spin in the hot air from the heater. (it's one of those decorative spinny things. It's cool...)
In reply to:
hot air from the heater
are you still turning the heater on??
its AC weather down here!!
alas, i digress.. i am sure you have an impeciable sense of style.
bigjohn
no, no, during the winter. It's hot enough... Pity we don't have AC.
