Ceiling speakers for a highly reflective room.

[tengiz]

I am trying to improve music listening in a room where I cannot add acoustic treatment - it is not a dedicated space and has to serve other purposes. Floorstanders or bookshelves are not an option, as the speakers have to stay as invisible as possible, and I cannot do nearfield setups.

I tried shallow speakers (KEF Q4 Meta) in corners and against walls, but the room is so reflective that nothing worked. Ironically, the built-in in-ceiling speakers give a better, more balanced experience than anything else I tried just for the heck of it - including ESL hybrids and KEF R/Q Meta models. The room has such a strong character that nothing could overshadow it.

These in-ceiling speakers are nothing special - 30 year old two-way units that are just OK elsewhere in the house. But in this room they somehow work better than anything else, probably because of their location near the corners.

I want to replace them with something more advanced, hoping to improve without ruining what works. My shortlist:

• Straight down firing coaxial JBL with broad radiation pattern
• JBL with asymmetric waveguide
• Focal with slanted baffle and aimable mid/tweeter

The last two at least let me steer some energy away from reflective walls and windows and into the room.

Question: does this really matter? Is down firing omni close to the corners already good enough, or would angled or waveguided options bring real gains - or just diminishing returns?

 

[kyuu]

If there is a specific listening position, then having something that allows you to aim the tweeter can be helpful as the highest frequencies will generally be only ones that are directional with an infinite baffle design. Getting a design with a good frequency response is the biggest challenge as in this market segment that's often not a metric that the designers seem to consider.

JBL or Revel is a good bet (I use Revel C363s as surrounds and they sound great). If you have a practically unlimited budget, then the KEF CI250RRM-THX is pretty faultless as long as you keep in mind that the design axis is 45-degrees.

 

[tengiz]

JBL or Revel is a good bet (I use Revel C363s as surrounds and they sound great). If you have a practically unlimited budget, then the KEF CI250RRM-THX is pretty faultless as long as you keep in mind that the design axis is 45-degrees.

Thank you.

I do want to optimize for a specific listening spot, if that is even realistic in this room. With the current in-ceiling speakers the sound is vague - under one speaker or between them it is more from above, but the room is so reflective it all turns diffuse. Oddly, the middle of the room sounds the most natural, which makes me wonder if directing the sound would even matter that much.

The KEF you mentioned is in budget. A 45-degree design would cover the sweet spot, but the cutout needs to match the existing square/rectangular holes. I could enlarge them, but a round model would mean drywall and paint work I want to avoid.

 

[kyuu]

The KEF you mentioned is in budget. A 45-degree design would cover the sweet spot, but the cutout needs to match the existing square/rectangular holes. I could enlarge them, but a round model would mean drywall and paint work I want to avoid.

What size are the current holes? The KEF needs a hole with a diameter of 11.8 inches. If the existing holes aren't too big, it should be possible to circularize them without having to perform any drywall repair.

Edit: Alternatively, if you prefer to stick with a square cutout, the CI200RS-THX should still be a great performer.

 

[tengiz]

What size are the current holes? The KEF needs a hole with a diameter of 11.8 inches. If the existing holes aren't too big, it should be possible to circularize them without having to perform any drywall repair.

Edit: Alternatively, if you prefer to stick with a square cutout, the CI200RS-THX should still be a great performer.

It’s about 11" by 11", so a 12" round shape wouldn’t cover the corners - otherwise it sure looks good!.

The square one is a 2-way design, right? I mean, unlike the CI250RRM-THX. I have a high ceiling pushing 13', so a 3-way or a 2-way with a larger bass driver would probably be more suitable.

I’ve just found that JBL in-ceiling and in-wall speakers with asymmetric waveguides have also been reviewed here; the results seem mixed, so I’d probably stay away for now.

What still looks promising is a "plain" coaxial: JBL Control 321C. It’s a 2 way with 12" bass driver with published 90° coverage and what seems to be good directivity.

But I could not find any in-depth reviews.