In-Ceiling Speakers: Time to cut the wires?

[Killingbeans]

Sonos.

Yes, or Ikea Symfonisk.

 

[Frank Dernie]

It may be ready in the future, but for now I am not so sure. I admit that this may depend on construction technologies, as our Dutch homes are not as wireless friendly as US dry wall homes. Our two studies both have wired ethernet for greater reliability and speed and we are still very pleased with that. The bedroom CCA system is wireless and not quite stable - that bedroom is in a far corner of the house and above a heavy steel beam. We also have an extension/garden room where we could only have wireless by first taking it there by ethernet. All these problems are even bigger with the 5 GHz band, while on the 2.4 GHz I compete rather a lot with the neighbours.

I have a 1930s house. All the internal walls are brick as well as the external.
Wireless range is very poor and the house quite large.
I had ethernet through power line but that stopped working after we had the old part of the house rewired, to my surprise. I ended up with a Linksys Velop wifi mesh which has given a signal everywhere but not equally fast all over
I definitely will put wired ethernet into the newer part of the house next time we redecorate.
I have never heard ceiling speakers worth listening to btw, but I am odd and detest background music which is all they are moderately useful for IMO. If I am not actively listening I prefer silence.

 

[MediumRare]

Meaning you're looking for wireless?

There are a couple of different options beyond Sonos -- BlueSound / BluOS, the Dynaudio "Music" Series, Apple HomePods, Devialet Phantoms ....what's the price range you're looking to spend and how many rooms?

Seems like these are mostly free-standing pods. The essential requirement is in-ceiling.

 

[watchnerd]

That’s why I’m thinking no more tubes/wires. All that Ethernet cable is obsolete with WiFi. Same for speakers? New technology is wireless, but is it ready?

It's ready in my house.

All of our music is over streaming.

The office has a Roon server. There are no physical connections to anything. It's all using mesh networking.

 

[DDF]

Seems like these are mostly free-standing pods. The essential requirement is in-ceiling.

Check out Sonos in ceiling plus Sonos amp. I think its close to what you're looking for. In addition you get their room correction, its future proof with their evolving upgrades, its a proper architectural solution partnering with Sonance who are a leader in in built audio solutions (eg designed so the grills are paintable to match the ceiling) and it expands to outdoor speaker support

 

[MediumRare]

It's ready in my house.

All of our music is over streaming.

The office has a Roon server. There are no physical connections to anything. It's all using mesh networking.

Do you have any in-ceiling speaker recommendations?

 

[MediumRare]

Check out Sonos in ceiling plus Sonos amp. I think its close to what you're looking for. In addition you get their room correction, its future proof with their evolving upgrades, its a proper architectural solution partnering with Sonance who are a leader in in built audio solutions (eg designed so the grills are paintable to match the ceiling) and it expands to outdoor speaker support

I will have to but it seems fairly expensive for what you get and the Sonos amp did not test well when @amirm looked at it.

 

[amirm]

That’s why I’m thinking no more tubes/wires. All that Ethernet cable is obsolete with WiFi.

Every time I boot my Windows 10 laptop, Wifi doesn't connect right. I have to disconnect and reconnect to get it going. Broke in one of the Windows updates. In sharp contrast, my workstation with Ethernet works like a charm all the time. So don't skip on Ethernet cable and connection.

 

[DDF]

I will have to but it seems fairly expensive for what you get and the Sonos amp did not test well when @amirm looked at it.

Maybe it would be helpful then to clarify your earlier statement: "Price isn't so much a factor - I want it to sound good, but it won't be for critical listening"

 

[amirm]

Do you have any in-ceiling speaker recommendations?

Wired or wireless?

 

[MediumRare]

Wired or wireless?

Both would be much appreciated. If the wireless option isn’t reliable, as you indicated it might not be, I’ll need to fall back to the wired options.

 

[Cbdb2]

I had a new house built(never again). I ran all the HiFi cabling and told the builder to let me know when the drywaller got on site. He didn't and the drywaller just went ahead and covered it all in. My protests were met with "it's not written in the contract". Hard lesson learned.

You can get preconstruction speaker rings that you screw to the studs before the dry wall. Then its easy for the drywaller, ( its a 20 second cut with a dremel) and you get the speakers exactly where you want them. As far as powering lots of speakers, you might want to think about a 70volt system.

 

[MediumRare]

Maybe it would be helpful then to clarify your earlier statement: "Price isn't so much a factor - I want it to sound good, but it won't be for critical listening"

Well, if I am spending $300 per speaker x 8, plus a lot for wiring, it would be a shame for a $600 amp to spoil the sound. So spending more makes sense if that’s what’s required. But I’m not going to spend $1,000 per speaker or $3,000 for an amp.

 

[MediumRare]

Could you link to the 70v option? I’m not familiar with that.

 

[Cbdb2]

How is any of this wireless? It needs a power cord! And any ceiling between floors will not be accessible, do you really want electronics in there.

 

[MediumRare]

How is any of this wireless? It needs a power cord! And any ceiling between floors will not be accessible, do you really want electronics in there.

The power for an active speaker comes from mains, just like for a light bulb, but in this case the signal is sent wirelessly.

Here’s an example (suspicious of the quality, though): https://www.amazon.com/Pyle-Bluetooth-Connections-Polypropylene-PDICBT852RD/dp/B01JH3PNPW

 

[ernestcarl]

How is any of this wireless? It needs a power cord! And any ceiling between floors will not be accessible, do you really want electronics in there.

Wireless in the sense that a direct *wired connection to the audio source can be eliminated. Powerwise, wires are obviously still needed, we're not talking about battery powered speakers.

 

[Cbdb2]

Could you link to the 70v option? I’m not familiar with that.

70v systems can drive dozens of speakers in parallel, but you need transformers in the speakers. This means more expensive and usually poorer quality, I wouldnt recomend it for less than 10 speakers per channel. Didnt know how many speakers you wanted to use. You can also try to wire your speakers series/ parrallel to get between 4 and 8 ohms total per channel. How many speakers and amp outputs and different zones do you plan on having? And ive heard the Sonance in cielings and they were better than anything similar from Tannoy or JBL.

 

[Cbdb2]

Wireless in the sense that a direct *wired connection to the audio source can be eliminated. Powerwise, wires are obviously still needed, we're not talking about battery powered speakers.

What im saying is, you have to run wires, speaker wires are easier and cheaper than power. You can do it your self, you dont need to hire an electrician. How much are the extra breakers going to cost you?

 

[ernestcarl]

What im saying is, you have to run wires, speaker wires are easier and cheaper than power. You can do it your self, you dont need to hire an electrician. How much are the extra breakers going to cost you?

I get your point, although -- as for me -- I am quite capable of wiring my own cables and can comfortably add the additional breaker on my own. It's not like we're doing major electrical work here.