ceiling speaker setup question - Blu-ray Forum

evman333 · 05-08-2009, 07:49 PM

Hello all

In the process of building a house and have an option when its being built to have the family room already prewired for surround sound. would have the wires dropped from the ceiling.

Now my question is are ceiling speakers good for movies? I really know nothing about them.

thanks in advance for any advice

DiverSpear · 05-08-2009, 08:45 PM

Behind would be better but with a print to the house it is hard to give a recommendation for speaker location.

LOTR07 · 05-08-2009, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiverSpear

Behind would be better but with a print to the house it is hard to give a recommendation for speaker location.

+1... need to know where the walls are going to be.....

evman333 · 05-08-2009, 09:06 PM

in family room not getting a fireplace. cable plug 6 feet up on wall with master bedroom

also have and attic so wiring through walls maybe possible

LOTR07 · 05-08-2009, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evman333

in family room not getting a fireplace. cable plug 6 feet up on wall with master bedroom

also have and attic so wiring through walls maybe possible

Looks like from the diagram that the floor space is open so IMO in-ceiling speakers would work well for the application of side surrounds and back surrounds for 7.1 or just back surrounds for a 5.1 since you dont have much wall space to work with on the kitchen side. The fronts and center speaker sound stage is wide open with either floor's on wall or in-walls so your preference their.

RacerX · 05-13-2009, 04:36 AM

I too am in the process of buying a house, and my builder offers a 5.1 and a 7.1 "Home Theater" option. Thankfully, in the Design Studio, they have an example of the installation and which speakers they use. I don't remember the brand of the speakers, and wasn't impressed with their sound. I did think about having them pre-wire the ceiling for 7.1 thinking I could add my own speakers later.

Then I saw the speaker wire they use. It looked to be about 22 awg and not very high quality. While 22awg wire may be ok for the low output of surround speakers (compared to the fronts), I just believe that it would be too small for a 20 - 30 foot run.

My house is a single story also, so I fully plan on installing the speaker wire in the ceiling myself. Not only will this save me about $800 (what the builder wanted to pre-wire) I will get to choose the locations of each speaker.

If you like what your builder is using, and really don't want to crawl around in all that fresh insulation, then having the builder pre-wire might be your best choice.

Fors* · 05-13-2009, 12:11 PM

$800 to run wires?

I had a house built, and what some of them charge for something that is not considered their usual work can be outrageous. Not to mention they obviously are not experts since they ran 22awg wire in the ceiling. Regardless if this is for the surrounds only, if it's behind the walls or in the ceiling, I would use 12 awg personally.

liquidice · 05-13-2009, 12:30 PM

that's what I was going to say, do it yourself with some good wire!

VinnAY · 05-13-2009, 12:32 PM

I'm not a fan of in-ceiling speakers but when you don' thave four solid walls all the way around that you could do in/on-wall, the in-ceilings might be good for your situation.
As far as the builder, they have an option they're offering you, counter their option. Specify the wire gauge w/o the speakers and give them a price. Negotiate from there.

RacerX · 05-13-2009, 08:17 PM

Yes, what they charge for some things can be downright silly. I'll be buying and installing my own 12 AWG CL2 rated wires.

Back to the OP...Don't be afraid to ask a few questions. Make sure you're getting what you think you're getting. Good Luck! and Congratulations on the new house! I like your floorplan, very open and family friendly.

kingofgrills · 05-13-2009, 08:41 PM

Without four walls, as your floorplan indicates, either have in ceiling surrounds installed. Or, if you know exactly where your seating will go, you can opt for in-floor pre-wired terminals, if you prefer standmounters. I wouldn't recommend going in ceiling for the front channels though. The sound would be too indirect for the fronts.

Also, 6' up for your television pre-wiring sounds too high. The optimum screen height is eye level when your in the viewing position. If there's going to be quite a bit of standing as well as sitting, like in an open-room layout, then you might consider raising the TV height a little. 6' sounds too high though, even for mixed viewing.

Who is doing the home theater install work for you? Is the builder doing it, or is he sub-contracting to a specialist? When I had my house built, the builder sub-contracted out to Genesis Home Technologies for all HT and computer networking install work. Genesis is a local specialist that does a lot of huge home theater work in a lot of Street of Dreams homes. I don't know how I got lucky enough to get them, because I do not live in a Street of Dreams home.

Anyway, make sure your builder or sub-contractor either really knows what he's doing, including using high quality cable and installing future upgrade access points. I would recommend going for 6.1 or 7.1, depending on room size, with an alternate location away from the main gear for a subwoofer. Is your house gettin wired for a computer network too? I would recommend that as well as having good runs for HD cable and HD satellite installed to your main viewing points.

05-08-2009, 07:49 PM	#1
evman333 Member Member since:Apr 2009 Home Theater Gallery:5 Blu-ray collection:191	ceiling speaker setup question Hello all In the process of building a house and have an option when its being built to have the family room already prewired for surround sound. would have the wires dropped from the ceiling. Now my question is are ceiling speakers good for movies? I really know nothing about them. thanks in advance for any advice

05-13-2009, 04:36 AM	#6
RacerX Member Member since:Nov 2007 Location:Leander TX (just north of Austin) Home Theater Gallery:1 Blu-ray collection:116	Be sure to check the speaker cable I too am in the process of buying a house, and my builder offers a 5.1 and a 7.1 "Home Theater" option. Thankfully, in the Design Studio, they have an example of the installation and which speakers they use. I don't remember the brand of the speakers, and wasn't impressed with their sound. I did think about having them pre-wire the ceiling for 7.1 thinking I could add my own speakers later. Then I saw the speaker wire they use. It looked to be about 22 awg and not very high quality. While 22awg wire may be ok for the low output of surround speakers (compared to the fronts), I just believe that it would be too small for a 20 - 30 foot run. My house is a single story also, so I fully plan on installing the speaker wire in the ceiling myself. Not only will this save me about $800 (what the builder wanted to pre-wire) I will get to choose the locations of each speaker. If you like what your builder is using, and really don't want to crawl around in all that fresh insulation, then having the builder pre-wire might be your best choice.

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05-08-2009, 08:45 PM	#2
DiverSpear Active Member Member since:Mar 2008 Location:St. Cloud, Florida Blu-ray collection:154 Trading Score:1	Behind would be better but with a print to the house it is hard to give a recommendation for speaker location.

05-08-2009, 09:06 PM	#4
evman333 Member Member since:Apr 2009 Home Theater Gallery:5 Blu-ray collection:191	in family room not getting a fireplace. cable plug 6 feet up on wall with master bedroom also have and attic so wiring through walls maybe possible

05-13-2009, 12:11 PM	#7
Fors* Moderator Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Jan 2009 Location:Pottstown, PA Home Theater Gallery:160 4K collection:12 Blu-ray collection:142 Trading Score:11	$800 to run wires? I had a house built, and what some of them charge for something that is not considered their usual work can be outrageous. Not to mention they obviously are not experts since they ran 22awg wire in the ceiling. Regardless if this is for the surrounds only, if it's behind the walls or in the ceiling, I would use 12 awg personally.

05-13-2009, 12:30 PM	#8
liquidice Mad Scientist Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jun 2008 Location:Milwaukee Home Theater Gallery:43 Blu-ray collection:384 Blu-ray reviews:6	that's what I was going to say, do it yourself with some good wire!

05-13-2009, 12:32 PM	#9
VinnAY Banned Member since:Sep 2008 Blu-ray reviews:1	I'm not a fan of in-ceiling speakers but when you don' thave four solid walls all the way around that you could do in/on-wall, the in-ceilings might be good for your situation. As far as the builder, they have an option they're offering you, counter their option. Specify the wire gauge w/o the speakers and give them a price. Negotiate from there.

05-13-2009, 08:17 PM	#10
RacerX Member Member since:Nov 2007 Location:Leander TX (just north of Austin) Home Theater Gallery:1 Blu-ray collection:116	Yes, what they charge for some things can be downright silly. I'll be buying and installing my own 12 AWG CL2 rated wires. Back to the OP...Don't be afraid to ask a few questions. Make sure you're getting what you think you're getting. Good Luck! and Congratulations on the new house! I like your floorplan, very open and family friendly.

05-13-2009, 08:41 PM	#11
kingofgrills Blu-ray Guru Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Dec 2007 Location:PDX Home Theater Gallery:31 4K collection:5 Blu-ray collection:81 Trading Score:31	Without four walls, as your floorplan indicates, either have in ceiling surrounds installed. Or, if you know exactly where your seating will go, you can opt for in-floor pre-wired terminals, if you prefer standmounters. I wouldn't recommend going in ceiling for the front channels though. The sound would be too indirect for the fronts. Also, 6' up for your television pre-wiring sounds too high. The optimum screen height is eye level when your in the viewing position. If there's going to be quite a bit of standing as well as sitting, like in an open-room layout, then you might consider raising the TV height a little. 6' sounds too high though, even for mixed viewing. Who is doing the home theater install work for you? Is the builder doing it, or is he sub-contracting to a specialist? When I had my house built, the builder sub-contracted out to Genesis Home Technologies for all HT and computer networking install work. Genesis is a local specialist that does a lot of huge home theater work in a lot of Street of Dreams homes. I don't know how I got lucky enough to get them, because I do not live in a Street of Dreams home. Anyway, make sure your builder or sub-contractor either really knows what he's doing, including using high quality cable and installing future upgrade access points. I would recommend going for 6.1 or 7.1, depending on room size, with an alternate location away from the main gear for a subwoofer. Is your house gettin wired for a computer network too? I would recommend that as well as having good runs for HD cable and HD satellite installed to your main viewing points.

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