Suuround Speakers On Ceiling

[nautica250]

Hey everyone!! I am just wondering if there is any downfall in having my surround speakers mounted on the ceiling pointed down towards the "sweet spot? I have them currently mounted up there and the wires ran through the attic. Each one points down and towards the listener. I like the clean install that I have but I was thinking about getting speakers stand to put them on instead..Any input would be appreciated!! Thanks

[HAMP]

Ceiling installs are fine, did you calibrate after installing them.

What kind of speakers are you talking about? Is this a 5.1 or a 7.1 install?

[nautica250]

Yes I calibrated with an SPL meter and this is for a 5.1 setup. The speakers are Sony ss-sr107's...

[HAMP]

Originally Posted by nautica250

Hey everyone!! I am just wondering if there is any downfall in having my surround speakers mounted on the ceiling pointed down towards the "sweet spot?

I'm sorry, I just re-read your OP and to answer your question, I believe there is no downfall to having them pointed at the sweet spot.

I had mine setup like that and I didn't miss anything, the surround sound had me and others convinced.

It was plenty of times when action was going on I turned my head toward the sound as if something really was going on. Other’s having told me the same thing with my system.

I know the front three speaker position is important, but the rear speakers are more of an ambient sound.

Good question, because if it’s so important to have the front three at a certain level and position why not the rears speakers.

[nautica250]

Ok thanks for the help!! Now I wont have to rewire or anything.

[HedgeHog]

I'm mixed on how I feel about ceiling mounted surrounds. For some material, I really like the elevated effects (like helicopter/plane fly-bys) but once can definitely sense a difference in the "height" of the sound.

In watching live concerts, most of the surround sounds I hear are audience and reflected sound. In some, I feel as if the audience in back is from a higher location. Kind of neat since it gives one the perception of a concert hall where the rear seats are higher up.

The weird thing will be if you listen to surround music sources, like SACD or DVD-A. EG. in the Roxy Music - Avalon SACD, the song India is not really a true multi-channel mix; they remixed the 2-channel music by having it pan left front to center to right front to right surround/rear to left surround/rear and back to left front again. With this, the music goes "up" when it cycles towards the back...trippy.

I had no choice due to space limitation but if you have the option to go wall-mount or floor standing instead of ceiling mount, I choose the former. For the record, I'm running B&W CCM818 so they do angle towards the "sweet spot".

Cheers,
-H