Choice of ceiling speaker

Itanium

Hi everyone, I have a question: I have a Polk es10 and Polk es15, which one do you recommend placing on the ceiling for a 5.1.2 atmos? Alternative: 4x4 environment, are 2+2 Polk es10 or 2+2 Polk es15 recommended? Thank you so much for those who reply

mantis

The only speakers in a Theater system I would say that don't have to perfectly match is Atmos speakers. They are not as critical as floor level speakers are. So you can get away with something kinda neutral or something close.
I suggest just getting any in ceiling polk speakers you can afford and don't over pay for them.

I'm very picky when it comes to my system, matching amp channels and matching speakers. I have a 5.2.2 Atmos system ( Soon to be 5.2.4 ) and I went with a different brand in ceiling speakers for my Atmos channels and I can't tell they are different at all. With todays AUTO EQ systems , they do a good job of getting all the speakers to sound similar enough where it's not a distraction like if you had a different brand center channel which sticks out like a soar thumb usually.

Itanium

mantis wrote: »

The only speakers in a Theater system I would say that don't have to perfectly match is Atmos speakers. They are not as critical as floor level speakers are. So you can get away with something kinda neutral or something close.
I suggest just getting any in ceiling polk speakers you can afford and don't over pay for them.

I'm very picky when it comes to my system, matching amp channels and matching speakers. I have a 5.2.2 Atmos system ( Soon to be 5.2.4 ) and I went with a different brand in ceiling speakers for my Atmos channels and I can't tell they are different at all. With todays AUTO EQ systems , they do a good job of getting all the speakers to sound similar enough where it's not a distraction like if you had a different brand center channel which sticks out like a soar thumb usually.

Hi Mantis, thanks for the reply. Sorry for my English, I'm Italian. My system (already in my possession) is the following: Yamaha RX-V6A amplifier, center: Polk Audio ES30; fronts: Polk Audio LS50; side surrounds: Polk Audio ES15; ceiling speakers: Polk Audio ES10; Jamo SW-7000A subwoofer and I will add another one to make the 5.2.2 system. My question is: do I keep the ES15s like this or do I move the ES15s to the ceiling (being larger and with more bass) inverting them with the ES10s that I would place on the sides at this point? Thanks for your opinion and anyone who wants to have their say.

Kex

Not sure it’s all that important either way. There’s not a lot of information going through the rear surrounds or the Atmos speakers. Maybe someone with more experience with Atmos can clarify whether Atmos or surround channels reproduce the most information.

The main difference between the ES15 and ES10 is that the ES15 overall frequency response can go as low as 48Hz, whereas the ES10 go as low as 75Hz wihich is more or less where many Home Theater systems set the crossover frequency for the subwoofer (80Hz).

I personally prefer a lower crossover than 80Hz (usually 50Hz), if the main front three speakers can play that low, but that’s my listening preference.

Just to clarify, are your front mains LS50, or ES50?

Itanium

Kex wrote: »

Just to clarify, are your front mains LS50, or ES50?

Hi, thanks for the reply the fronts are the Polk LS50 floor standing ones. They are speakers from the 90s but they still sound really good (based on your opinion, do you think the ES55s give better sound? If so, by how much in percentage approximately? based on your opinion? In the first image there are the technical characteristics ( Overall Frequency Response: 30 Hz - 26 kHz), in the other image the photo of the speakers.

Kex

The LS range from the 90’s are well respected AFAIK, and those specifications tend to confirm that.

I would only consider the -3dB limits, not the overall frequency response, but anything reaching 50Hz or lower is good in my opinion, which is true of the LS50. Those are also easy to drive, with almost 90dB efficiency and an 8Ω rating. All of that is good news for the Yamaha. Anything rated at 4Ω or with a lower efficiency than 89dB might prove challenging for the Yamaha, risking irreparable damage to the tweeters at higher volumes.

I personally wouldn’t consider changing these for Signature ES55 speakers as a significant upgrade, other than the more contemporary design.

A quick search didn’t provide any detailed specifications for the Jamo SW-7000A, but I suspect that this subwoofer is probably the weakest link in your setup, especially for home theater.

Itanium

Kex wrote: »

The LS range from the 90’s are well respected AFAIK, and those specifications tend to confirm that. I would only consider the -3dB limits. A quick search didn’t provide any detailed specifications for the Jamo SW-7000A, but I suspect that this subwoofer is probably the weakest link in your setup, especially for home theater.

Using an amplifier I can inc
rease the 3 decibels via software speaker by speaker, so in this case only to the front channels, but I must say that they can already be heard quite a bit, even without a subwoofer. As for the subwoofer, I will definitely add another one to make a 5.2.2 system, but the Jamo, even though it is only an 8 inch, makes walls and windows tremble and gives a good punch to the stomach in combination with the LS50 and the ES30. . I'll get a modern 10 inch. I have been using the LS50s regularly for 30 years (i.e. when I created a 5.1 based on a Sony STR-DE875 amplifier and Onkyo speakers. Other elements were a Pioneer PD8700 CD player, a Thorens TD166 turntable, Sony cassette recorder, etc.). Thanks a lot for the answer. Ultimately, would you use the ES15 as side surrounds or as ceiling speakers for Atmos?

The Jamo PJSW-7000 is a 100W RMS active subwoofer. It features a long-throw 8" woofer. This subwoofer also features an adjustable cutoff frequency, adjustable phase and adjustable crossover settings. Long/Short Term Power: 1 00 W. Frequency: y Range (Hz): 35-150 Upper cut-off frequency (Hz): Adjustable 40-150 Impedance (Ohm): 22K Phase: Adjustable 0 - 180 Dimensions (HxWxD): 390 x 237 x 491 mm Weight: 10.8 kg

Kex

100W is not very powerful for subwoofers in general, but if you are happy with it, that’s all that matters. 😊

As for the crossover setting, don’t use the subwoofer. You should use a coaxial cable from the Yamaha subwoofer pre-out to the LFE “in” on the Jamo, using just the “Left/Mono” connection. The crossover setting on the Jamo will be bypassed and the Yamaha receiver will control the crossover. This is a far superior way to get the full effect from Low Frequency Effects in movie soundtracks.

The adjustable phase will depend on subwoofer placement in the room.

The manual subwoofer level control on the Jamo can be left on max, and just use the Yamaha receiver to control the subwoofer output level using the setup menus.

Itanium

Hi Kex, I already use it (the subwoofer with LFE and coaxial cable. My question is another. Do I use the ES15s as side surrounds or as ceiling speakers? I also already have the ES10s, which of the above speakers would you put in the ceiling?

Kex

It probably doesn’t matter all that much either way. Probably use the ES10 for the Atmos height channels. 🤷‍♂️

Itanium

Thank's! 😊👋👏👋