Two places for rear speakers in H/T which is best?

Searching

I got great help from this forum on my front speakers.
Now the the rear. Options are:
1. In ceiling.
2. In or on wall but 10 feet up.

BrentMcGhee

do you have any particular speakers in mind or are you deciding on placement first?

Willow

I say on wall. As good as inwalls have come along I don't think they can compare to a mounted bookshelf.

Searching

will a on wall work if it is 10 to 12 feet up?

SCompRacer

If you build a sturdy volume enclosure for your in wall/ceiling speakers, it will compare to a box speaker.

Where are you sitting in relation to the rears that would be 10-12 feet up? LC60's mounted in a wall could be turned so the driver is somewhat aimed at the seating area. The tweeter has a limited pivot range though, so I doubt you could get it to point to your seating area at that height. You may not be able to aim the tweeter at a close reflecting surface at that height either. However, you could use a bookshelf and mount it angled towards your seating area.

How high and what type of ceiling is above this area?

Willow

agreed with above, that is why I suggest bookshelf. For looks yes and WAF maybe inwalls are better. I just don't think that dry wall is as good as mdf or wood.

SCompRacer

Well here is the thing, if you can't get above the ceiling with existing construction, then it would be messy and perhaps best left alone. If you had attic access, dress appropriately, clear the insulation away and frame between your rafters and the back of the box with MDF and recover with insulation. Polk has info in the LC manual telling you where to frame based on rafter width and spacing. I don't believe they cover truss rafters though. Math would be required to keep the proper volume with dimensions not covered in the manual. Polk makes some nice but pricey volume enclosures for the in-walls. Check them out.



I had it easier due to being below the main floor of a quad level, but I still insulated the ceiling.

I chose the in-walls because I didn't want speakers all over the place in the lower level. The only exceptions are two LSi7's for R & L 7.1 surround. If you box the speaker in with MDF, you only have wallboard at the front of the speaker. Thinking about it now, I should have run MDF across the front of the box under the wallboard. You can choose to believe what you want about in-walls, but I suggest getting a listen on with some that are properly installed for an accurate critique.

SCompRacer

I don't know of anything you could use to substitute for a volume enclosure. Volume enclosures will smooth and extend bass response. One thing you would want to know is what kind of insulation was up there before making a hole for the speaker. Blanket insulation with a heavy paper vapor barrier most likely, maybe with some loose-fill on top of it. But if it were loose-fill insulation only, it will fall upon you through the open hole.