Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Ceiling Speakers for Atmos

Be interesting feedback to set up your M3c speakers as mains and then compared them with ARC on and off ...

Anyone wanting full range performance out of in ceiling speakers should look at 8” drivers.

Axiom only claims to 70hz -3db. Totally reasonable and in line with other in ceilings.

Vertical null for 8’ ceilings is 70hz first order. 140hz second.

Seated height spells serious issues. Cross to subs for best and best modelled performance.

Trevor, with no volume behind them I never expected to get full-range. I did expect to get an M3 curve from the mids on up ... i.e. something close to the M3 sound. I'm not getting that.

I'm really trying to figure out what is not quite right ... I have not proven that the M3c is not performing to spec (There are other factors which can be in play here). I'm only stating that I'm not getting the sound I was hoping for.

I think for a fair comparison you need to listen to the speakers on the same axis and bandwidth limit the content. Take port out of the equation.

We dont hear frequencies equally from above, nor do pleasing sounds usually eminate from above in nature-especially music. Usually danger.

The goal of distributed audio is equal coverage, and almost always in mono. Not sure if that is your use.

I’ve been involved in a few projects and can say sound from above does not sound the same compared with in wall speakers on the listening axis. Definitive Di6.5r all around in an 5.2.2 Atmos install was one. Sound from above without the aid of subs sounds thin and extremely directional.

Oh, by the way.... my posts are usually direct but I’m not trying to be a dink. Sorry if they read that way. Lol...

Trevor, no worries ... you have some good points. I need to have a listen in a smaller more conventional space. Haven't had the time to set that up.

I really should not have posted anything on the M3c till I had a full understanding of what was going on ... I do think I can safely say that the M3c is a big compromise sound-wise vs a M3 bookshelf or on-wall. If some of that is solely because it is ceiling mounted so be it ... that's part of the compromise.

BTW, I also think your right on in-ceiling mono vs stereo. I can get some imaging in my dining room (9' ceilings) if sitting centered and surprisingly when standing. I might be able to place the speakers if I think about it but I seem to be able to ignore it at the same time.

In another thread, I concluded that in-ceilings are best for ambient sound where aesthetics are overriding factor. I still feel that way. There we also bought up the idea that the QS series might be the better speaker to use for ambient sound if the aesthetics supported it. So, If I was designing a restaurant SQ10s would be my first thought. Here, I'm really trying to figure out if the M3c is worth buying ... over say the less expensive in-ceilings I had in my last ATMOS setup (which BTW is an impossible comparison to do by memory)

Ceiling speakers for stereo are an abomination.

Rich are you going for distributed or immersive audio?

Would influence the choice for sure.

I'm not really trying for immersive as in most cases it's just background music. It would be great if as you raised the volume it became immersive