Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Best Value Priced In-Ceiling's to Match Axioms

What happens... you join a new community as a newbie and you start asking all kinds of questions. I must say, I have been very impressed by the participation here. Tons of good info.

Now, on to my question. Due to WAF issues and a few room layout issues, my only choice for rear surrounds is in-ceiling speakers. Has anyone found some that are reasonably priced, that sound good, and match well with the Axioms. I am currently considering the M60's as mains.

What I have found so far are the HTD (Home Theater Direct) AL-R65 (6 1/2 in.) and the AL-R80 (8 in.) $120 and $160 a pair. They also use an aluminum driver. I have no idea if their sound is anywhere near an Axiom. I have also read that the Paradigm's sound good, but they are over twice the price. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Hi ajb,

A "good-sounding in-ceiling speaker" is an oxymoron. Simply insetting a speaker driver into a wall or ceiling inherently compromises sound quality and neutrality. And the sound quality will vary with every installation--it's quite unpredictable.

Why not consider wall-mounting one of our quadpolar models (QS8, QS4)? You can get them in white with tan grilles. They're not that obtrusive.

Paradigm's in-walls didn't sound bad at all when I heard them in a "fake" wall installation some years ago. But is "not bad" good enough?

Regards,

I know this is very wild, but what would you guys say about ceiling-mounting the QS8's? Would it be out of question? Just curious...

Cheers from Tokyo, buying a front projector!

Alan, as much as I agree with you on this, I have absolutely no choice. In my first post I should have emphasized the WAF part more. My wife refuses to let me hang any speaker on the back or side walls of our living room. So, I have to make the best of a very compromised sonic situation. So, with that as the criteria, does anyone have any suggestions? And no... one of those is not trading in my wife.

I am very impressed with the Niles in wall speakers. You can get the niles at great prices on ebay...I picked up a pair of the Niles in walls for around 200 delivered (Niles HD800RP). They are pretty good. They dont compare to the axioms, but if you are stuck with in-walls, and the wife wont budge, you have to do what you have to do. Maybe you can get more expensive ones (better) because she has to have in walls...worked for me in the office and kitchen!

Hi,

Good suggestions from zsulak. I'm always trying to fight the tyranny of home-decor mavens, but hey, I've been separated for years, so I should just shut up. The problem with in-wall stuff is how on earth do you test them? In whose wall? And you can't extrapolate to other installations. I've never heard the Niles stuff but that's all they build, so they should know something about doing it right.

And sushi--yes, you can ceiling-mount QS8s with a custom bracket. One of our visitors posted pictures of such an installation. Are the blossoms out in Tokyo yet?

Regards,

If you're just cutting drywall in the ceiling you should be able to fit some MZerotis up there. They're only 4.5 inches deep. Most ceiling beams are 6 inches I think. There should be plenty of room between beams also. You could make mounting brackets that snap into the grill holes (since you'll remove the grill anyway) and simply have the speaker sit on the top of the drywall.

Then use a generic white grill attached to the drywall.

Frank

Thanks guys. The funny thing is... I showed my wife a picture of the QS4's last night and she said maybe. Breaking through slowly. They would have to be mounted on the ceiling however. Our ceiling is flat except above and behind the seating position it is sloped at about 30 degrees for about a foot and a half. The roof line cuts it down a little. The seating is only a foot from the back wall. I would need to mount them on that sloped section. Would that work and how should they be oriented? The same as if they were on a vertical wall? If this is feasble, how far from the side walls should they be?

AJ, although you've referred to these as "rear" surrounds, I suspect that you're talking about what are often called "side" surrounds(i.e. the 4th and 5th speakers in a 5.1 format). If so, you should position them so as to come as close as possible to the usual recommendation for sides, i.e about opposite the listening position and about 3 feet above ear level. This would mean the sloping part of the ceiling about a foot from the back wall and a foot or two in from the side wall(unless the room is very wide,then further from the side walls). The interesting question is whether the tweeters should be oriented front and back or side to side. I suspect that the former might be a bit better, but if possible try a temporary set up each way to see if it makes any difference.

Hi ajb,

Congrats on your progress with your wife and the QS4s. You can get them or QS8s with tan grilles, if that makes any difference.

John is correct: experiment with temporary positioning to see how they sound. If you want to adhere to the Dolby Labs specs, the surrounds should go to the sides of the listening area, above the level of seated listener's ears, up to 20 degrees forward or to the rear of an imaginary line drawn across the listening area. There's lots of flexibility with the QS surrounds. They are not usually "fussy" in terms of placement the way direct-radiating surrounds can be.

Regards,