Atmos Speaker Woofer Size

[DarkStar140]

I'm looking to finish buying my speakers and I'm looking at the Atmos in-ceilings now. I see that the RSL C34E has 2 four inch woofers, and the HTD HDX-R80 has 1 eight inch woofer.

My question, for those that have used them, is - is there an acoustic difference between the two presentations?

My room is approximately 14x15x8 and I plan on doing a KEF 5.1.2 setup, as I have some of the Q Series speakers. At this time, I do not believe a 7.1.4 system will fit the space. A pair of either brand is about $250, which is a comfortable price for Atmos speakers.

The RSL speakers are already angled, the HTDs are not, but are aimable.

 

[AdamG]

Take this for what it’s worth. The Atmos spec sends full range signal to every channel except the Sub channels. So every channel may be called upon to play down to 80hz and possibly below. IMHO I want the speakers that have the widest FR range rating. Some might say this is overkill and they have a point. Most of the content sent to celing/height atmos speakers is probably above 150 hz. Will a lesser capable speaker work, sure. Will a more capable speaker work better, absolutely.

So it all depends on your end goals and budget. My recommendation is to go full size towers for all your Bed speakers and go with satellite type speakers for the overheads/heights. Best compromise.

 

[jhaider]

We have 4x Tannoy Revolution XT Mini installed as heights. These are tiny things with 4” coaxes. I have not tried larger height speakers, but can’t say I’ve noticed a deficiency. For reference, fronts are JBL 708i L/R +SCL-3 C.

As for those two speakers, I think the amiable tweeter is a dumb gimmick. You’ll just have worse dispersion disruption between the beaming 8” woofer and the spinning tweeter. The other ones I have not heard but have a more promising geometry.

 

[raistlin65]

I'm looking to finish buying my speakers and I'm looking at the Atmos in-ceilings now. I see that the RSL C34E has 2 four inch woofers, and the HTD HDX-R80 has 1 eight inch woofer.

My question, for those that have used them, is - is there an acoustic difference between the two presentations?

My room is approximately 14x15x8 and I plan on doing a KEF 5.1.2 setup, as I have some of the Q Series speakers. At this time, I do not believe a 7.1.4 system will fit the space. A pair of either brand is about $250, which is a comfortable price for Atmos speakers.

The RSL speakers are already angled, the HTDs are not, but are aimable.

They appear to have fairly similar sensitivity and power output ratings. Which is the first thing I would look at. So no advantage there to either speaker.

The HTD's are rated to play lower. But that's just one factor among many in the speaker's potential performance. RSL does have some directivity measurements https://rslspeakers.com/products/c34e-edgeless-in-ceiling-speaker/.

But without independent frequency response measurements, I'm not sure how you could reliably distinguish which is likely to be the better overall performer.

 

[Sancus]

My room is approximately 14x15x8 and I plan on doing a KEF 5.1.2 setup, as I have some of the Q Series speakers. At this time, I do not believe a 7.1.4 system will fit the space. A pair of either brand is about $250, which is a comfortable price for Atmos speakers.

If you already have a Kef system I'd be inclined to using the Kef in-ceiling speakers even if they're a bit more expensive.

In any case, I made a detailed post about ceiling speakers here. Short story is the gold standard that is used for mastering is the Revel C763L, an angled 3-way with a rectangular woofer that is roughly equivalent to a 6" circular one, I think. Here are its measurements. As you can see, the bass already starts to roll off by 100hz. In general, you want something that's either coaxial(for 360° uniform dispersion) or angled towards the listening position. Aimable tweeters don't accomplish much.

 

[jhaider]

If you already have a Kef system I'd be inclined to using the Kef in-ceiling speakers even if they're a bit more expensive.

It’s too bad KEF doesn’t make an angled or amiable ceiling speaker. If one wants to stay coax, Tannoy CMS403DC is an option. They have the advantage of being enclosed, so better isolation for the floor above and known/fixed bass tuning. Or going with your other point in the linked ceiling speaker post, why not KEF E301 eggs high on walls? They have a neat rotating foot mount.