Flat renovation ceiling placement

[osikh]

Hi everyone,

I'm in the exciting planning phase of a new home and would appreciate some advice from people who have experience designing whole-home audio systems.
I'm a big fan of music (not that much a home theater guy, but might become?)

My current plan is to use Bluesound amps throughout the house because I like the network control and multi-room capabilities. Most zones will use in-ceiling speakers, with subwoofers in some rooms.

The system will be used almost exclusively for music (not primarily for home theater).

Living Room​

The living room is roughly 7m x 8m (56m²).

My idea was to use a pair of KEF bookshelf speakers as the main listening speakers, but also add in-ceiling speakers to provide more even coverage when entertaining or moving around the room.

I was initially thinking about 6 in-ceiling speakers, but I'm not sure if that's overkill for a room this size.

My Concerns:

• How many in-ceiling speakers would you recommend for a 7m x 8m room?
• Should the ceiling speakers be run in stereo or mono? (Will mostly be music)
• If stereo, what's the best layout for left/right placement?
• Would you mix bookshelf speakers and in-ceiling speakers in the same zone, or keep them separate?
• KEF vs Klipsch for this type of application?

Bedrooms​

For the bedrooms, I don't plan to use bookshelf speakers—only in-ceiling speakers.

The goal is good sound quality for music listening rather than just background audio.

Questions:

• One speaker, a stereo-input speaker, or a pair of speakers per bedroom?
• Any recommended models or layouts?

Bathroom​

For the bathroom I was planning a single in-ceiling speaker.

Does that make sense, or would you recommend a different approach?

Other General Questions​

• Is the common recommendation of keeping in-ceiling speakers roughly 80cm–1m away from walls/corners still valid?
• Are there any placement mistakes first-time whole-home audio designers commonly make?
• If you were designing this from scratch, how would you approach the speaker count and layout?
• Should I actually think about in wall speakers instead? But might change quite some architectural drawings and wiring might be more difficult

I'd love to hear what you'd do differently before I start cutting holes in ceilings.

Also Important point: I believe knowledge is acquired from passion and hard work. I would totally be up to jump on a quick paid call with an expert in that, if ever

Thank you so much for your help
Orion

 

[Redacted]

Unless the multi-speakers in a single living room are there as part of a proper AV multichannel system, I'd stick with a good pair of stereo mains, with subs if you are bothered.

I played with multiple speakers (off a stereo amp) years ago and never got a good result. But I may just be dim.

Nevertheless, I'd plan to have wiring put into the ceiling voids to cover any future layout that might be on the cards. And take photos before the plasterboard is nailed in. It's way easier to cut holes in a ceiling for speakers than to run wires neatly after the ceilings are finished. You'll need to run the wires down the walls too. I'd also run ethernet and maybe speaker wiring behind skirting boards before they go onto the walls, possibly with outlets neatly added in strategic places. Anyway, you get my drift....

 

[Flaesh]

Unless the multi-speakers in a single living room are there as part of a proper AV multichannel system,

+1 to just a decent stereo, with subwoofers it’s better and simpler. We are talking about a living room, not a store or a train station, yes? [I own a stereo with subwoofers in a 14'x30' room with no specific listening position (although there is an optimal area)].

KEF vs Klipsch for this type of application?

If you limit yourself to these brands - I would prefer (for example) K402 horn based Klipsch. For stereo of course))