Hi all,

I'm building a new home and at the stage where I need to plan some wiring for in-ceiling speakers.

I'm not certain that this is the right forum however I'll continue anyway.

I plan to have 4 zones (outdoor patio, kitchen/great room, master bedroom and bonus room). I've done some research and the amount of speakers out there are limitless. My budget is $2000 for the speakers, volume controllers and amplifier.

I did a search on here but didn't find any conclusive threads. Any advice for speaker and amp selection?

Thanks in advance,

Add a speaker to the bathroom. I use this one the most.

A lot of people are happy with the in-walls they get from Mono Price. Someone else may be able to give you better amp advice. I just use an old stereo amp and use the speaker A/B selector and Left/Right balance control as well as the volume controllers in the rooms.

Wire for speakers in every room. It is much easier and cost efficient to run the wires now and add speakers later than it is to try and add wires after the fact. Even though you are only wanting to use 4 zones now down the road you may want to add in other rooms. Also depending on the size of your property I would run for a second pair of speakers to somewhere in the basement where you can get outside later as you may want to add a pair to the outside lawn.

When you are running the speakers also run at least 1 if not 2 cat5 to each volume control location to allow for upgrades later.

Like Jake said just go with something simple for now like a Stereo amp and pick up a 4 way speaker selector and impedance matching volume controls and you should be set for now and can upgrade later.

diddo on wiring in for more locations... in my house, i went in at night [shh ;)] and wired up the kitchen, living, family, dining rooms with in ceiling wiring. now i should have also ran wires to the powder room and laundry room. i didn't run anything to the 2nd floor either as i didn't have time before drywall was started :( but i do have a route planned out to run a 2" conduit from the basement utility room to the attic [need to open up a main floor closet ceiling to get access], so i will be able to add what i need later but it is much easier to do it before.

so what i want to add now is 4 bedrooms, upper hall, 2 upper bathrooms. i will wire them probably next year when i crawl up in the attic to run the conduit and pull rg6 & cat5 to all the rooms up there, but i don't think the speakers will get installed [don't really want to drop a grand on speakers right now]

I installed a system from BreathAudio. Nice little system 4 zones, 2 speakers per zone and the amp was included. One thing that I like was that all the wiring is Home run, meaning that the speaker wires and cat5 control wires all run back to the same spot.

I got the system for 1k.

Is there any sort of backing cup or cone or something you can install on the attic side to provide a bit of a surround for the in-ceiling speaker? I was asking at some local stores and they had nothing.

Neild, there are a lot of companies that provide back boxes for their speakers. You will probably have to go to a more advanced Home Electronics location but they are out there. Once you purchase these boxes you have to go with either the speaker that it is built for or try to find a speaker that fits in the opening properly.

Hi,

I'm in a similar position as the original poster. I am renovating a house and a bunch of the walls are currently down so we can re-wire the house. I am thinking of ceiling speakers in the living/dining/kitchen and eventually outside.

BreatheAudio was mentioned as an option. Can anyone suggest other brands/options that are easily available in Calgary for me to look at. I am totally going into this blind and think it will help if I can actually look at the products.

Any suggestions for ceiling speaker manufacturers?

s.

If you want nice looking ones: Sonance, if you want great sounding ones: Pioneer Elite EX series.

For budget installs: Speakercraft and B&W.

Thanks David

s.

David wouldn't you consider B&W more higher-end then Sonance?? from my Experience with the products paying say $500 for a great pair of Sonance speakers would be like getting the low-end B$W speakers. I know that the build quality in B&W is better than Sonance but I would put Sonance and Speakercraft in more of the same price point than Sonance and Pioneer Elite.

On a different note to the two that are in search for some ideas I do agree with David and would definetly suggest any one of those speaker companies.

From what jccamp95 about BreathAudio I have no information about it as I have never used it.

Sonance does make a great multi-room system, is a bit pricy to some, but does have a lot of cool features that some of the cheaper systems do not allow. it is 6 zone 4 source system expandable to 24 zones.

There is Zon audio that comes with 6 zones of speakers, keypads, and amp. I am not sure what the expandability of this system is but it will be to at least 12 zones.

Another option is a small company from Ontario called Nexus Audio. I haven't used this system in a while but it was a very robust system that has 6 zone 6 source capabilities and expandable to up to 18 zones.

Tunsky31,

when I talk about Speakercraft and B&W I'm not commenting on the sound quality, I'm just talking about their budget price range. On the other hand, however, I've installed some CCM 65, and quite honestly I like the sound of Speakercraft AIM LCR3 Three better. The evaluation is of course, subjective, and the materials I listen to is in the context of background music in relatively low volume.

oh, PS: Yes B&W still better than entry level Sonance, but the Sonance are just sooooo beautiful :)

Quite honestly if I ever forced to buy in-wall/in-ceiling speakers, I will only go with Pioneer Elite EX series. I don't like the sound of any others.

Hi,

I notice that the 'Shop has Energy in-ceiling speakers for under $200, which is a price I am willing to pay. How is this brand for in-ceiling surrounds? Are they a Canadian company?

s.

Energy is a Canadian company. All of their FS speakers are made in China (nothing wrong with that, IMO). I personally don't like Energy sound at all, not even their Reference Connoiseur series.

Admittedly, I'm a Wharfedale/PSB/Dali guy with high-end inclination towards Pioneer EX series (but EX Series only).

i have installed several dozen pair of the b&w in wall and in ceiling speakers. they are a good speaker, but the entry ones are not as good as their higher end ones. there are more budget friendly ones out there that do sound better and are better built than the b&w ones. for their entry stuff, you are paying a premium for the name. the cheap "episode speakers" i used in my family room are built better and were much cheaper in price. it depends on what you are looking for in the application. for background music you can get away with something not as expensive

In response to the quality differences between brands......B&W has a long standing reputation for a quality speaker, however when it comes to in-wall/ceiling speakers Sonance is the leader in innovation. Not just a pretty face as they say!!! I was lucky enough to have an a/b test done with Sonance, Speakercraft and B&W, same amplifier, same volume and like pricing. I was disappointed with the B&W, expected a much better sounding speaker. The Speakercraft was a little better than the B&W. The clear cut winner in a couple of price categories was the Sonance!!!! They have a wide variety of sizes, finishes and prices....How can you go wrong!!!

Hi

Where can I find Sonance in Calgary?

s.