In recent times, we have seen a dramatic shift towards hi-fi home environments that are more designed focused. The rise of mind-broadening television programs and stylish, yet simple European furnishings has led home owners to become much more conscious of interior design. Exterior and interior finishing of our homes is something we’ve become spending far more time and money on, especially where it concerns home theater speaker systems.

With precious space competed for between large pieces of furniture and home speakers, consequently there has been a move towards reducing the amount of space occupied by large hi-fi units into space saving systems offering the same multimedia experience, whilst remaining complimentary to a stylish, minimalist home interior. The fact that superb results can be achieved without encroaching on living space has seen the emergence of home speakers that are actually mounted within a room’s walls and even in it’s ceiling. In ceiling speakers and in wall speakers have become increasingly popular, particularly in modern apartments and houses where part of the appeal is speakers that are positioned and placed into any ceiling in any room.

In contrast to conventional speakers, an in-wall speaker is a part of a speaker system where each driver is mounted in a frame that is set into the wall, rather than inside a speaker cabinet. Speaker systems that are “in-wall” actually use the wall instead of the cabinet, an effect that gives you additional bass than from a standalone speakers of identical size.

In-ceiling speakers are basically the same concept as an in-wall speaker except that they are positioned directly above the listener in the ceiling of the room. In general, inceiling speakers are round and in wall speakers rectangular. Why? Just because it looks better that way! Almost all in-ceiling and inwall speakers have paintable grilles, allowing you to match their color to suit that of ceiling or wall. Painted in wall ceiling speakers are hugely popular!

Performance Considerations

An in ceiling speaker is designed fundamentally identical to normal speakers using the same audio-visual materials. With the ability to produce two-channel music with the same ease, the most significant factors affecting the frequency response and performance of ceiling mounted speakers are the rigidity and size of the cavities in which they are installed. Provided that the ceiling cavity can accomodated it, it is worth – for consistency – using ceiling mount speakers that are fitted with a rigid, sealed box. A poorly fitted speaker can adversely affect it’s performance so it’s time well spent considering how firmly and easily your speaker driver fits into its ceiling speaker mounts.

Other considerations that should be made when shopping for the best in ceiling speakers for your home theater system are those associated with conventional home speaker systems. Here is a brief summary of the most important factors:

Frequency response. The range of human hearing deterioriates at the higher end of the audio frequencey spectrum, and while the full range is between 20-20,000 Hz, a speaker range that reaches about 16,000 Hz is a realistic upper limit. The average audio ceiling speakers and wall speakers encounter problems with the low frequencies. While most products specs claim to handle lower than 100 Hz frequencies, in practice this is usually only achieved at low volumes. A system with subwoofer component can resolve the issue of a problematic low-end.

Power handling. The power rating of a speaker specification indicates the upper limit of amplifier power. In practice, however the speaker can handle this only for short periods. More power is obviously better, low distortion levels are the crucial factor as speaker systems are usually damaged by high distortion levels.

Efficiency. The dB rating of a speaker driver is also called it’s sensitivity or efficiency and is an indicator of how effectively it utilizes the power delivered by the system amplifier. For example, a speaker with a rating of 91db requires much less power – in fact half as much – to sustain a volume than a speaker that is rated to only 88db. The general rules is that the power requirements are either doubled or halved for each 3db change in speaker efficiency. A very efficient speaker model, then can make the most of a low-power amplifier.

Features. Speaker systems vary by features and the best ceiling speakers for you will obviously be the one that has the features you need, for the price you are willing to pay. Taking your time to shop around is thus an excellent idea. Some examples of features that are found in home ceiling speakers include speakers with pivoting tweeter – these allow you to alter your listening position without losing the ability to recieve optimum sound quality. Some ceiling mount speaker systems allow you to make treble and bass tone adjustments with the controllers accessed simply by removing one of the ceiling speaker grills. The range of speaker features goes on and will vary by specific manufacturer.

Moisture Resistance. If you are going to place your ceiling surround sound speakers in a humid area like your kitchen or bathroom, ensure that you choose a speaker that has sufficent protection against these environments like components that resist deterioration and special coating over fragile components.

Positioning

When you are installing ceiling speakers – as with conventional floor standing speeakers, the positioning of tthe ceiling speaker system can affect how well the sound is heard. Since having just been fitted flush to a ceiling, it is therefore important to consider the positioning of the ceiling speaker installation from the outset since it is not possible to tow the speakers into position! Many products have begun to adopt a pivotal tweeter – some even with pivotal bass unit to change the angle of the sound and alleviate the limitations of a conventional ceiling mounted speaker, which only directs the sound directly down. With this type of system, your audio experience can be improved by pivoting the sound source to face your direction whenever you are unable to sit direction underneath the overhead ceiling speaker placement. Subwoofers are usually always placed in walls.

Audio Ceiling Speaker Configurations

You will soon realize just how many different ways ceiling and wall speakers can be configured and how many options are on offer from 4-5 inch speakers to the more sizable 8-10 inch options. In general, bigger drivers offer greater frequency response for the deeper notes, but will obviously require a bigger speaker cavity. Smaller speakers can be purchased if space saving is high on your priority list – for instance ceiling speaker systems can be purchased as a single driver, two tweeters and two seperate coils. The way this configuration functions is to have one of the driver coils hooked up to the right channel and one to the right. A tweeter is dedicated to the left channel and the other to the right. Pretty simple. If you would like stereo output, but only require a single unit, this solution works quite well and can be used in areas such as kitchen, hallway or bathroom.

The future

The potential for future innovation in stereo ceiling speakers is exciting. Some forseeable options include an idea that borrows from high end sub woffers in the addition of a motorised pivoting system that incorporates an automatic digital setup system. Another possible advancement is the incorporation of wireless ceiling speakers that would ease the burden of retro fitting. Remote sensors could also allow the speaker to track the position of the listener without the need for manual control, so delivering a complete wireless surround sound system that for all intents and purposes is entirely invisible!

Conclusion

When planning to install audio in ceiling speakers in your home theater setup, you should consider both the speaker technology you will use and also the material of your walls and ceiling as well as its thickness and most importantly how well and easily they will fit.

The benefits of surround ceiling speakers and wall speakers are clear, whichever system you end up choosing. The option of achieving exceptional sound from a hidden source while maximizing your living space allows you to maintain a minimalist design that blends in perfectly with your decor with the most visible clue being the very subtle and discrete look of the in-wall mounted grill.

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