I've been reading a lot of articles lately that say in-ceiling speakers are the way to go. What are your opinions about that? Would they really be that much better than upward-firing speakers?
Wayne Parham Messages: 18786 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
Nope. The ceiling is the worst possible location for speakers, except maybe for surrounds. But even surrounds are better being mounted lower, preferably just a few feet above ear level. Mains should be nearly the same height as ear level.
There are very few sounds that naturally come from above. Most all sounds are generated by things at or near ground level, so the most realistic illusion is created when the main speakers are at this height too. Again, the only exception is surrounds, which do work best being above the listeners - but not overhead - to the sides (for five channel) and sometimes also behind (for seven channel).
I've been reading a lot about ceiling speakers as well, lush, but I wasn't too sure about them either. It seems like an unnatural direction for sound to travel, as Wayne pointed out. I wonder why they seem to be so popular. Maybe it all just boils down to aesthetics.
I've been reading a lot about ceiling speakers as well, lush, but I wasn't too sure about them either. It seems like an unnatural direction for sound to travel, as Wayne pointed out. I wonder why they seem to be so popular. Maybe it all just boils down to aesthetics.
It could just be aesthetics. It could also be an attempt to take up less space (which might qualify as aesthetics, I'm not sure).
Is there any time that in-ceiling speakers would be the best choice, maybe in a certain layout or something? or is it just a bad call no matter what?
Are the speakers mounted so they hang from the ceiling or are they within the ceiling space? If the latter they might aid surround sound - I suppose it depends on the size of the room and the acoustics of the ceiling space.
Either way, I agree with Wayne that sound from above is not the best source.
Wayne Parham Messages: 18786 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
Subs act differently than mains or surrounds, since they energize (only) the room's modal region. And they're omnidirectional too, like you said. In this case, it's the room that creates the "directionality" in that it causes a "polka dotted" sound field because of interactions with reflections.
All that said, subs work best when distributed. The ceiling would be fine for one of them, maybe even a couple. The main thing with subs is that we spread 'em around.
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