Question Speaker recommendations for complicated room (in-ceiling projector screen in front of sliding glass door)

PixelofDoom

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Like the title says, I'm planning a home theatre setup for a rather complicated room (see attached image). The projector screen will drop down in front of a 180-cm-wide sliding glass door, leaving no room below or behind for speakers. L+R channels could be wall-mounted or floor standing if necessary, but I'd rather keep the route to the glass door completely clear. The only solution I can think of is some sort of in-ceiling setup, but that seems to be advised against by most. Are there any good in-ceiling options or some other solution that I haven't thought of?

I'm remodeling the room in the spring (location of shelves on drawing is currently the doorway, entrance on drawing is currently a wall), so I'll have full access to the walls and ceiling.

Home theatre setup.jpg
 
KEF do some motorised ceiling speakers that angle down when in use.
 
Thanks for the suggestion. Do you happen to know how much the sound is affected by being mounted that high? I've heard it can be disconcerting, but haven't found much in the way of concrete information as to how bad it actually is.
 
Thanks for the suggestion. Do you happen to know how much the sound is affected by being mounted that high? I've heard it can be disconcerting, but haven't found much in the way of concrete information as to how bad it actually is.

In a previous setup I had speakers mounted above my screen and angled down (although not in the ceiling). While not ideal, the sound wasn't nearly as bad as some would have you believe — in fact it sounded pretty good, but obviously it's a compromise.

Another option might be to go for on-wall speakers with a suitable bracket (mounted to the ceiling). These are primarily designed for outdoor usage (although no reason they wouldn't work indoors), but something that has a horizontal mounting bracket like the B&W AM1 could be another option.

Given your room layout you're going to have to make some sacrifices, might be worth DM'ing some users on here who have installed the motorised KEFs and see what they think of them.

Although we would all like to strive for perfect sound, I think there is something to be said for having a discreet install. If you're not doing a side by side comparison I expect you'll soon forgive the shortcomings. I'd much rather keep clean lines and sacrifice a bit of SQ than have an unsightly Heath Robinson setup in a living space that I was forever moving around when not is use.
 
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If you sit fairly central, what about some on wall or in wall speakers either side of the screen? Run a phantom centre (so centre channel is split between the left and right speakers). I've tried it and it can work if you sit dead on. You could then maybe mount and the correct height?
 
Jamieu: Good idea, I'll see about asking other users. I think I might also test a ceiling-mounted set up with cheap speakers, just to get a feel for what it sounds like with speakers that high up.

Harkon321: I'm saving wall-mounted as a last resort, as I'd really prefer a clean walkway (and I know I'll walk into a speaker there at some point). Is there any reason the KEF motorised speakers couldn't be mounted vertically as in-wall speakers? I might be able to make enough room to accommodate that in the front corner of the utility cupboard.
 
You could for slim on walls. Or in walls. Most are less than 4’’ deep.
 
So my personal room had exactly the same issues, screen drops infront of patio doors, but being a Custom Installer at the time i had a solution.

At the time, GoldenEarTechnologies had a high end in-ceiling that has the whole driver angled and specifically designed for this application.

I have three in my ceiling, Centre and an Atmos pair and genuinely if i ask people to say where the centre comes from they always point to the screen.

I have just used the same for a client, changing from a projector / cinema room, to a tv room (all be it a 85" tv) and the aesthetics didnt work with a traditional centre. They love it.

Other manufacturers are starting to offer angled in-ceilings, but i think there are more target at atmos use.

If we could, i'd offer a demo, but we can't at the moment.
 
Might be worth seeing what @tails007 thinks of his Kef Ci3-80QT's now he's got them installed. Looks like a very similar layout to yours with the screen coming down over a patio door.
 
Hi @PixelofDoom have a look at my setup build, Finally building my 7.1.2 cinema room!

I had pretty much the exact same problem you have. If you have space either side of your window you could go with in wall speakers and an accoustically transparent screen.. but this wouldn't solve your center speaker issue.

I went with the Kef ci3-80qt's. Maybe if I were to compare a more traditional setup and then immediately try the height mounted speakers of hear a difference. I'm not an audiophile though and to be they say great. It's all about compromise. I wanted to keep the room free off speakers so went totally in wall... All personal preference.

I too asked about mounting them vertically in wall but the advice from Kef themselves was not to do this. I'd advise contacting their customer support email. I wasn't expecting much tbh but they were really knowledgeable and very helpful.
 

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