Need surround recommendation

dtuttle428

We are closing on our first house soon and I want to finish out my system now that I'm out of an apartment. I need a recommendation for in-ceiling (wife's requirement - freestanding or wall mount not an option) surrounds and placement that will match up well with the following speakers.

Main speakers - RT7
Center - CS275

The setup area will be a living room (approx 19l x 19.5w) with 10' ceilings vaulted to approx 13' and an open floorplan. I plan on placing the rear surrounds on the angled sections of the ceiling vault and the center surround on the flat top section of the vault. Besides the speaker model recommendation, I'd like to get a suggestion on placement. I have the ability to place them on the angled celing areas and position them to the sides of the seating area, directly overhead, and/or slightly behind.

Thanks in advance. Hope the description makes sense.

Dave

trubluluc

I would try to get your wife to change her mind.
First, sell your wife on the idea, and that "in wall" is permanent, and it will greatly limit
her ability to change her mind later when re-decorating.

You will have hit upon 2 major womanly issues,
that of "changing her mind" and "decorating".

If all else fails, try jewelery.

-Luc

nascarmann

I'm not really sure on placement, but this would put you in biz for $268.00...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1381408436

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1380639303

Frank Z

In wall speakers in an vaulted ceiling is not a good idea. Keep in mind that the speakers will be aimed at a point that may or may not be the ideal listening position.

Meet her half way and go with a satelite system, something like the RM6600. The omni mount system would allow you to position the speakers properly.

Does the living room have an attic above the vaulted ceiling that you can access to run your speakers wire or will you have to "Fish" the wire between the drywall and the insulation?

dtuttle428

Thanks for everyone's input.

I've already used up my bribery allowances justifying inwall wiring, new satellites, new sub and new reciever, so that suggestion is out. One of the problems with inwall speakers (aside from the wife) is that I don't have enough space behind the listening area to properly mount them (wall opens half way to kitchen/bar). I was thinking inceiling with adjustable tweeters to direct the sound. I'm making the assumption that the Polk options are not specific to wall or ceiling, correct me if I'm wrong.

A satellite system is not really an option b/c I love my RT7s and want to keep them as the main speakers and freestanding satellites are out of the question. Also, installation is not a problem. I have room in the ceiling and can fish the wire down the wall if necessary. I used to do network installations and have seen some really scary cable runs.

Through some additional research I think my best placement options are in the ceiling just behind the listening area, maybe a little outside, and directed to point straight down. I haven't read anything about vaulted/tall ceilings specifically so let me know if this is going to sound really bad. I'm also looking for a model recommendation that will match up best with the RT7s.

Thanks again for the feedback.

nascarmann

I may be wrong.....the AB755 maybe as close to matching your RT-7's as you will get.......

dtuttle428

Sorry, I wasn't ignoring your suggestion. I'm always weary about buying certain things on ebay and I wasn't able to find the 755s available for retail. Best I could do were 555s on sale at an online retailer. I was considering the RC60i or RC65i as alternatives. They are listed as inceiling and inwall respectively by the retailer but I've yet to find anything specifically stating that they can't be used in either location. Would these be the equivilant newer models?

Sorry if this post is getting annoying, I've just been out of the hobby too long and don't know how to compare the specs to my older speakers. 10 years ago I would have relied on mag and retailer recommendations.

Thanks again

liv4fam

If you have to put in-ceiling speakers in as rears here are a couple of things to remember. 1. You should really find an in-celing speaker that has a pivoting tweeter so you can somewhat have direct control over dispersion towards you listening position (direct, indirect, or reflected)

2. When you install any speaker that high up in a room it will tend to become really echoey and overly bright as there is nothing to absorb or diffuse the sound. The best thing that I have found to work the best in these installations is to place them at a point in the ceiling where you can effectively use a 3 point dispersion pattern thus creating a Bipolar effect with a direct radiating speaker.

3. To accomplish this type of sound you have to determine at which angles are going to yield the best results to your seating position ie....ceilings, wall, or side walls. Sometimes it's best to place them about three feet from the corners of your room and use the pivoting tweeter to angle the sound away from the listening position and into the corner . This can also be accomplished using pictures with glass frames, mirrors, soffits, and so on............... Hope this helps

shanzlik

I recently installed a pair of RC60i's in my ceiling and have been very pleased with their sound. We have 9ft ceilings that taper down to 8ft when they reach the exterior walls, and I mounted my speakers in the sloped taper section fairly near where it joins the wall. This puts them at a gentle angle towards the listener. They are about three or four feet behind the listener and about 2-3ft wider than the edges of the couch. I angled the tweeters somewhat down and in towards the listening position, and that has produced great surround effects. The transition from front to rear is seemless, and I prefer them to the speakers I had mounted to the walls in my last home. For connections, I used in-wall rated 14-gauge speaker cable that I picked up in a 500' spool from Lowe's (with good results).