Complete system from ceiling speakers?

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Lounge is approx 7m x 3.5 (rough drawing below)

Not wanting any floorstanding speakers or bookcase ideally due to room restrictions so ordered a bunch of Polk MC80 ceiling speakers (no AV receiver ordered yet but looking for 2 or 3 zone denon or yamaha).
TV will eventually be mounted on the wall in the centre of this rectangular room but for now is on the far right of the room.

My plan was to put 2 x ceiling speakers towards the front tv wall on the left and right, then 2 more left and right at the back of the room above the sofa and armchair.
A polk ceiling centre speaker with the angled tweeter can go in the ceiling in the middle but up the front of room above TV.
Will get a sub to put at rear of room tucked away.

Will this sound any good???

kfHqXe

kfHqXe
 
A compromise too far in my opinion. Centre speaker will not be locked to the TV. Panning of the front soundstage will be above and not across. It's your choice though but it will not sound anywhere near as good as a traditional 5.1. layout, even a traditional stereo soundstage would beat it.
 
Will this sound any good???
This question is asked here many times before and answer is still the same - usual in wall or bookshelf speakers are much better.
Dedicated 10x more expensive than Polk in ceilings still don't sound the same as usual ear level layout. Mostly because they are in ceiling.
 
Appreciate the replies, I do have 2 x polk wall speakers coming as well and was planning on these being at the rear side walls. Could be a real pain to install into the existing wall (timber frame) and run wires up to the ceiling space/attic.

Would these help at all?

I get what people are saying regarding the sound coming down from up high rather than from the tv area though.

With 2 rear wall speakers then 4 ceilings plus a centre ceiling it will sound good enough for tv/movies and occasional background music?
Its never going to be required for a theatre experience or music party.
 
No. Simple answer as before. What I now gather is that the centre will be considerably lower than the front left and right? If this assumption is correct then that will make the front soundstage, especially when panning, sound really poor. Why not use those ceiling speakers in an Atmos configuration and stick to a recommended floor pattern. Then you will have spectacular sound.
 
The centre is a ceiling as well so same height as the rest.

the only speakers not at ceiling height will be the rear wall speakers and sub
 
the only speakers not at ceiling height will be the rear wall speakers and sub
You need exactly the opposite - fronts in wall at ear level and surrounds in ceiling.
But this sound and as you hear it depends heavily - maybe you like in ceiling sound.
For me and many others this is totally no go (except for Atmos).
 
ok thanks, I may be able to get some bookshelf fronts for left and right once the wall has been remodeled

Can i keep a ceiling center as the main and have bookshelf left and right?
TV will be center wall mounted so no space for any other type of centre

This is a crude mockup of the wall once its remodeled showing tv and wall area

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Can i keep a ceiling center as the main and have bookshelf left and right?
TV will be center wall mounted so no space for any other type of centre
Forget the center speaker, if in ceiling, let receiver decode center channel info into left and right front speakers.
Can you imagine (in film), that door opens left (left ear level speaker produce sound), then someone walks in and start talking from ceiling?

And TV height is wrong if it will be wall centered. TV screen midpoint should be at your eye level. Higher positioned TV is VERY uncomfortable to watch.
 
In-ceiling - down firing is, as others say, far from ideal for TV/Movie viewing. There are In-ceiling Front LCR designs which aim the Mid and HF drivers at the listeners so are a potential option for you, though you want three matched speakers.

Sub - where you have relatively small Front LCR the Sub is undertaking Bass duties for those three speakers in addition to producing the LFE 'effects' channel, separate the Sub from the Fronts and you run the risk of being able to localise it at the rear of the room.

Bookshelf - like city walker I would be going with a Front LR pair of speakers set at seated ear height and set the AVR to 'No Centre'.

TV - put it where it is comfortable to view not where it 'looks' good when stood up in the room, it'll 'look' too low to begin with.

Joe
 
Would this receiver be able to run 2 fronts if i go LR bookshelf speakers then run all the ceiling speakers as well for surround etc?

I can see speaker connections for
Left and Right fronts
Center speaker
2 x surround
2 x surround rear

How do i connect the 4 ceilings plus ceiling centre and then also the other rooms ceilings speakers and then again the 2 x outdoor speakers?


Denon AVR-X2500H 7.2CH 4K AV Receiver with Amazon Alexa Voice Control

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The 2500 will only power 7 speakers. Although it has a Zone 2 for audio you will have to provide a separate amp for that room. Connections for your preferred speaker set out is simple, just follow the instructions on the set up menu.
 
So this amp will only run 7 speakers in the main room and i need another who receiver or is an amp different for the other room and then outdoors?
What about a speaker switch?

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The 2500 will only power 7 speakers. Although it has a Zone 2 for audio you will have to provide a separate amp for that room. Connections for your preferred speaker set out is simple, just follow the instructions on the set up menu.

What do you recommend for a 2nd amp to run the zone 2 and 3?
 
What do you recommend for a 2nd amp to run the zone 2 and 3?
This is what Denon say:
Multi-Source/Multi-room

With the AVR-X2400H it's possible to enjoy 5.1-channel surround in one room, while another 'zone' plays another source - such as CD or streaming audio. You can simply connect a pair of stereo speakers to the multi-room amplified outputs. Or, connect a separate stereo amp and speakers to the Zone 2 pre-outs, allowing full 5 channel surround sound in the main room with stereo in the second.

With the HDMI connection you would still be able to keep a seven speaker set up in the main room but you would need an amp with HDMI in. I'm afraid I cannot recommend any as it is something that has never been on my radar. Personally, as a second zone can be audio only, I would get a complete set up which will sound a lot better anyway. You already have the speakers, will have to buy an amp so all you need will be a source.

The easiest way though maybe to use Heos?
 

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