Active Monitors for Surround / Atmos with Passive LCR? Or Ceiling Mount bookshelves?

[tehas]

Hi ASR !

Context:
I'm adding surround and height channels to my listening room and need advice/recommendations.
I'm restricted in that I can't use in wall or in ceiling speakers because I don't have sufficient depth, nor the ability to build a false ceiling to create that depth.
Another constraint is that I have to wall or ceiling mount these and cannot use stands - there is no area that doesnt interfere with a walkway, and I have a hyper energetic 75 lbs dog that terrifies me for the safety of my av equipment whenever he has zoomies. He would easily knock over any stand mounts.

Questions:
1. What are the pros/cons of using active monitors for surrounds and heights?
Personally, I love that they are made of aluminum or plastics, have solid mounting hardware on the cabinet and an array of mounts (eg see here accessoriess and photos here : https://www.genelec.com/8331a). And great measured performance. On the other hand I wonder if I'm assigning too much importance to the cabinet and mounting ease and can achieve the same thing with cheaper bookshelves.
2. Would the calibration that genelecs, neumann etc have be wasted in a system mixed with passive LCR that have Audyssey room correction applied ? Is there a guide to mixing GLM / Neumann calibration with Audyssey?
3. Without drilling a hole in the cabinet, what's the most secure way to mount bookshelves on the ceiling (edited from 'surrounds')?
4. What are the pros/cons or gotchas of using bookshelves as height speakers? Is there a better option?

Thank you all !

 

[tehas]

Possibly these:

The 10 Best Speaker Wall Mounts for Home Audio Installation

Here are the best speaker wall mounts and mounting brackets that are simple to install with adjustable clamps for bookshelf and surround sound speakers.

www.bassheadspeakers.com

You may need to use rubber sheeting to protect the speaker finish.

Jim

Going thru these, many look good, but I misspoke in my OP, i was looking for ways to ceiling mount bookshelves. (edited the OP just now).
Most of these dont tilt enough for ceiling mount, except ones like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IJSBCRA/ which require threaded holes in the bookshelves.

 

[tehas]

Thank you for these ideas. Are there pros/cons to using bookshelves for height speakers? One thing that came to mind was whether I'd be able to align the tweeter axis with the listener and whether vertical dispersion would be a factor. I've seen some images of people mounting them upside down to overcome this. Are there any other pro/cons with bookshelves?

 

[stevenswall]

Thank you for these ideas. Are there pros/cons to using bookshelves for height speakers? One thing that came to mind was whether I'd be able to align the tweeter axis with the listener and whether vertical dispersion would be a factor. I've seen some images of people mounting them upside down to overcome this. Are there any other pro/cons with bookshelves?

Even if you align the tweeter axis with the listener, you're going to have strong ceiling reflections with how close they are.

A coaxial monitor like the Genelec will have reflections that sound similar to the direct sound, or you could mount them pointing straight down.

Any non-coaxial speaker will typically have bad reflections, or limit your front to back seating options because of ragged vertical dispersion.

A compromise for budget might be the Kali IN-5c, (there's a mounting bracket on the back, should work with any VESA mount) or going with passive KEF in ceiling speakers.

For flexibility of placement/mounting and not having to worry about things, the 8331 seems ideal. Kali is a bit less flexible with mounting because of the size, KEF doesn't have a mount system so you'd have to do in ceiling speakers or drill, and Revel/JBL/basically anyone else at any price seems to sell in ceiling speakers significantly handicapped compared to coaxial monitors.

 

[tehas]

good point on the reflections, fortunately my ceiling is fairly easy to line with some OC703. The Kali is also a great recommendation, for 700$ a pair including amplification!