Surround sound speakers for room corners?

Question

Not sure if I can explain this how I want to, let me try.

We're buying a new house and I'm going to get the builders to wire in cables for surround sound. They offer a package with speakers which are set flush into the wall, but they look terrible and I'd rather have some control over the quality of speaker I buy.

I've heard it said that the speakers should be positioned at more or less head height, for when you're viewing the screen sitting down - so the sound is project on the same level as your ears.

My questions is in two parts really:
1. Would it work if I put speakers up in the corners of the room near the ceiling, then angled down into the room slightly ... i.e. so the sound is projected towards a central point on the wall opposite the TV, where I'll be sitting on my sofa?

2. Are there any speakers which are designed to fit in an upper corner like that? I'd imagine the back would be somewhat triangular, and perhaps the front would be more spherical?

Answer 1

your front speaker should be some where around where your ears are when you sit down, as if someone was talking to you

the back speakers can be any where, in the celling, in the walls, on the walls, they are for effect, and nobody is talking to you behind you head

Theil makes a 10,500 souround sound unit that Sound and Vision just loved and they are all celling and just what you are looking for

now celling speakers have movable tweeters that can point at you to make the illionsion that it is in the right spot

you could also put your 2 fronts pointing at you from the top and on the center on top of the TV or below the TV you center channel can sit

Answer 2

Speakers Corners

Answer 3

1. It must work pretty good because a lot of people do that

2. There are a lot of in-wall & in-ceiling speakers to choose from & some can be painted. I think you should be able to find something that you think looks nice.

I've seen a lot of in-wall & in-ceiling speakers mounted at angle up in the wall/ceiling corner. I'm not sure how they get the dry-wall like that & the speakers mounted, but my guess is the builders make a 2" x 4" wooden frame to hold the speakers & dry wall & plaster the edges to blend in with the walls & ceiling. However it's accomplished if you gave the speakers & their mounting kits to the builders & told them where you wanted them pointed toward, I'm sure they could do it.

Excluding the subwoofer, it's best if all the speakers match. Although you might want to use a different center speaker if your TV is going not going to be wall mounted.

In-wall Speakers
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-xrRA0HrusEF/cgi-bin/ProdGroup.asp?g=12600

In-ceiling Speakers
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-xrRA0HrusEF/cgi-bin/ProdGroup.asp?g=101500

Answer 4

As far as speaker positioning goes, it's almost more important than which speakers you buy...And what IS more important than which speakers you buy it getting MATCHING speakers all the way around...Click this link to see what I'm talking about: http://www.whydoesmyhometheatersuck.com/shopping.html

It sounds like you've got the right idea as far as where to put your REAR speakers, but I would either suggest getting LARGER rear or SMALLER front speakers to match the back ones...You'll need a POWERED SUB-WOOFER either way...But keep things relative.

But I don't know about speakers shaped the way you're describing...I'm sure they have some somewhere out there...I know you're searching for a set-up that will be unobtrusive...But aesthetics will ALWAYS be the enemy of SOUND QUALITY.