milleniumaire
Established Member
I'm in the process of refurbishing my bathroom and plan to install some ceiling speakers, mainly for use while showering. I realise it's a bit extravagant having speakers in a bathroom, but my teenage boys gave me the idea as they position my old Sonos Play:5 outside the bathroom door whenever they shower, and they seem to spend a lot of time in the shower!
Anyway, I already have a Sonos Connect Amp (the old style - 55W), which will be positioned at the bottom of a wardrobe in the adjoining bedroom. I've done some research and was about to purchase two KEF Ci160QR's but just couldn't bring myself to spend £350 (and that is much cheaper than the retailed price of £440). I'm now considering the Ci130QR's, which I can get for £135 each, £270 total. I will also probably get some acoustic fire hoods as there is a living space above the bathroom. I've attached a diagram showing the bathroom layout. The red X's are the new downlights and the yellow objects are the speakers and amp.
Some questions I have:
1. Are the KEF Ci130QR's a good choice? Obviously, the Ci160QR's are bigger and better, but do I really need bigger for a bathroom? I had considered getting a single stereo ceiling speaker, but feel that two would be better for the size of the room. Any alternative suggestions?
2. The speaker cable will be run in the ceiling space alongside a lot of 240V power cables. Do I need to consider getting shielded speaker cable? (I suspect not).
3. Should I run a single 4 core speaker cable and split it so that 2 cores go to each speaker or is it better to run 2 x 2 core speaker cables i.e. one to each speaker. I suspect this is partially dependant on how close together the speakers will be?
4. Any recommendations for makes of speaker cable to use in this setup?
5. Positioning? As these are mono speakers, I assume positioning is quite important to get a stereo affect, however, this is not going to be possible to achieve from all areas of the bathroom. Assuming showering will result in the main use of the speakers, have I selected the best position for them?
Thanks in advance for any guidance you might provide.
Anyway, I already have a Sonos Connect Amp (the old style - 55W), which will be positioned at the bottom of a wardrobe in the adjoining bedroom. I've done some research and was about to purchase two KEF Ci160QR's but just couldn't bring myself to spend £350 (and that is much cheaper than the retailed price of £440). I'm now considering the Ci130QR's, which I can get for £135 each, £270 total. I will also probably get some acoustic fire hoods as there is a living space above the bathroom. I've attached a diagram showing the bathroom layout. The red X's are the new downlights and the yellow objects are the speakers and amp.
Some questions I have:
1. Are the KEF Ci130QR's a good choice? Obviously, the Ci160QR's are bigger and better, but do I really need bigger for a bathroom? I had considered getting a single stereo ceiling speaker, but feel that two would be better for the size of the room. Any alternative suggestions?
2. The speaker cable will be run in the ceiling space alongside a lot of 240V power cables. Do I need to consider getting shielded speaker cable? (I suspect not).
3. Should I run a single 4 core speaker cable and split it so that 2 cores go to each speaker or is it better to run 2 x 2 core speaker cables i.e. one to each speaker. I suspect this is partially dependant on how close together the speakers will be?
4. Any recommendations for makes of speaker cable to use in this setup?
5. Positioning? As these are mono speakers, I assume positioning is quite important to get a stereo affect, however, this is not going to be possible to achieve from all areas of the bathroom. Assuming showering will result in the main use of the speakers, have I selected the best position for them?
Thanks in advance for any guidance you might provide.