In-wall or LSi7 for rear

Bamadude

I've pulled down all of the crappy looking paneling in my living room (19'x17') and am getting ready to hang sheetrock. I need to make a decision on my rear speakers before I put up the walls and wire everything. I've decided on LSi9's and LSiC up front, but the wife wants the rear speakers on stands or in the wall. I'm thinking either LC65i in-walls or LSi7's on stands. Aesthetically I like the in-walls although I've heard they take a back seat in SQ compared to good floor/bookshelf speakers. But since the 7's would have to be on stands, 36 inches is about as high as I could get them off the floor which isn't quite optimal for HT from what I've read.

So, do I get the in-walls for better aesthetics and speaker location for surrounds, or do I get the 7's for possible better sound since I have a SACD player and would like to start using it some. I'll probably end up 80% movies & 20% music. I would love to listen to both and decide, but it just isn't possible in my area. Thanks for any opinions cause I'm driving myself crazy with this decision.

Daniel

jdhdiggs

The inwalls with the performance enclosure are definately on par with the rest of the LSi series. I just don't like the cost of the inwalls vs. the non-inwalls

sbpolk

LC65i's for me, they sound great. I did not do enclosures, I could have done them on the side, but don't have access for the rear ones. They still sound great in movies. I had bookshelves on the back before, and bipole/dipoles on the sides. It was really nice to get them recessed into the wall.

FYI, I have LSi15's and an LSiC up front.

Bamadude

wow, that's a really nice setup. which bookshelves did you have? how would you compare the sound before and after?

cyberhazard

Check my sig.

Properly placed & tuned in-wall surrounds are outstanding for HT work, and the LC65i's are a perfect match for the LSi series. I'm very happy with mine.

On the SACD front. Something I know very little about so maybe someone else will chime in. But I'm thinking the right surround setup might work against you when it comes to listening to SACD's.

reeltrouble1

Polk now has a surround in-wall which is rather awesome, adjustable and can be set to fire either in or out of phase, since you are talking back surrounds you can also go with several pair of excellent in ceiling speaks for your back, you might also build a sofet to house them in.

Just some more thoughts, Random ones no doubt. They are all voice matched to the LSi, Polk speakers are awesome and the company keeps moving forward, especially in the HT arena.

RT1

scottdwagner

Polk makes some sweet inwalls. I think it is one of the better products in their stable in addition to the LSi's. Multiple channel audio definitely suffers with inwalls though. You just can't find an inwall/inceiling speaker that sounds as good as the same drivers in a bookshelf form. My father in law has a HT that is all top of the line B&W inwalls and it just doesn't compare to the in-the-room B&W setups I have heard for the same $. Check these out...would provide easy mounting of bookshelves without drilling holes:

http://www.btech-usa.com/bt77.html

cheddar

Just curious Bamadude,

Your wife would rather have the 7s on 3ft stands than mounted on the wall? The 7s really are a compact speaker that mounts nicely through the keyhole on the rear port. You can run the wire in the wall to where you would mount the speaker, terminate it near each 7 with a speaker wall plate. Then run a short piece of wire from the plate to the speaker. That's what I did with my 7s as back surrounds. It's a nice clean look and the 7s look great high on the wall. While it's hard to wall mount the 9s without some sort of shelf, the 7s do just fine flush up high on the wall.

Bamadude

thanks for all the input folks. i found the LC65fx if that's what your referring to rt1. it does appear to be a great choice for in-wall HT and about the same price as the LC65i.

cheddar, yeah, i know it sounds weird with her wanting stands instead of wall mounted bookshelves. i guess she sees them as furniture which makes stands okay in her mind, but she's not bucking about the budget so i'll have to give in on this one

i'm seriously thinking of just pulling wire for both scenarios and going with the 7's for now. i might then follow sbpolk's path and decide later to switch over to in-walls. also seems easier to find and sell used 7's which could help the budget. i have to remind myself i still have a drywall job going on and just bought a 50" plasma

then again... somebody just flip a coin and let me know what happens:)

cheddar

Well the 7s are great speakers. You're still getting a quality LSi set-up with the 7s as rears. When they get there, I'd still put two screws in the studs and mount them up there to try and show her how well they blend in higher up. Hope the installation goes well.

Bamadude

thanks, i'll give it a try and see what happens. can't wait to get it all done. i decided to leave the plasma in the box until i finish the drywall to help keep a fire under my arse. it's pure torture.

just installed the recessed lights and love em. for those who have or plan on recessed lights, go ahead and get a digital dimmer (~$25 at lowes). they fade up and down automatically at the touch of a button which is really cool looking. i find myself doing it for kicks all the time.

thanks again, i really appreciate all the input. bamadude

reeltrouble1

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/lc80fx/

Another good option for HT, besides the RTSFX.

RT1