Flush-fit ceiling mounted speakers: any recommendations?

The Focal ceiling speakers used by Naim in the Princess yachts sounded really impressive, I thought. I would certainly shortlist them for any similar custom install job in the home.

you might also want to consider using a subwoofer, which could be hidden if required.

I have heard Bose current ceiling speakers to good effect in a neighbour’s recent organgery extension... bass extension and dynamics are surprisingly good.. and are not bad at all.. yes can’t compete with quality conventional speakers in terms of detail, dynamics and imaging.. for obvious reasons.. but they are certainly quite respectable and a lot better than similar offerings of a few years ago.

Have a look at some of the Monitor Audio speakers - Custom Install range.
They offer a very clever setup, where you can dispense with building an extra box for them.

I use a previous generation of Monitor Audio Custom Install  in our kitchen / dining area, powered by a SuperUniti. Ok - it’s not Ovators powered by NAP 300 but surprisingly good

I have two pairs of B&W CCM664 ceiling  speakers in our kitchen, each pair driven by a Sonos Connect amp and another pair in our dining room again with their own Sonos amp. They've been running now for 7 years or so without a problem and they sound decent enough, they're 150mm speakers with a soft dome tweeter. If I did it again I'd probably  use their 200mm version for a little more bass. Although they're 150mm drivers the actual diameter that you seen in the ceiling with grilles in place is 200mm or so , the 200mm drivers would be 250 diameter with grilles. One nice feature is that the wiring goes into a cradle into which the speaker unit plugs, easy to remove a speaker if  there is a problem and also also easy to upgrade to better drivers from the B&W range as all 150mm speakers will plug into the same cradle. You may also wish to consider a "back box" behind the speaker this can be a solid box or a flexible rubber enclosure that you feed through the aperture in the ceiling before you fit the speakers, it improves the sound and reduces  leakage to any room above. The connect amps are fed by my QNAP NAS which also serves my Naim systems.

Chris

Think linn do a range too

Thanks everyone for your help. In the event it seems that the builders/electrician have effectively pushed me to an early decision, so I’ve (blind) chosen units around £5-600 a pair from Monitor Audio based on respect for the brand, price, ease of installation, electrical characteristics and crucially, 8” woofers ( which is what I meant to say in my original post, not 10” as I wrote). 2 pairs of C280IDC and 1 pair of C380IDC. Fingers crossed they’ll do the job. Thanks again all.

Good choice - been using a pair of C380IDC - good speakers. You may want to get your carpernter to build a small enclosed back-box for them (around 20-25 litres). Experiment with some damping material inside.

In my room mid-range +3 dB boost works well.

A small correction - I have a previous, now-discontinued model: CT380-IDC. Essentially the same thing

You might also give Dynaudio a look. They do both In-Wall and Ceiling applications.

Adam Zielinski posted:

Good choice - been using a pair of C380IDC - good speakers. You may want to get your carpernter to build a small enclosed back-box for them (around 20-25 litres). Experiment with some damping material inside.

In my room mid-range +3 dB boost works well.

Thanks Adam. I’d be very interested if you have any specifics on which back boxes work with the proprietary  3 point MA fixing which seems to just ‘grab’ onto the ceiling at edges of the circular cut out. Likewise on the (presumably fireproof) damping material you use.

Cheers, Kevin

kevin J Carden posted:

Adam Zielinski posted:

Good choice - been using a pair of C380IDC - good speakers. You may want to get your carpernter to build a small enclosed back-box for them (around 20-25 litres). Experiment with some damping material inside.

In my room mid-range +3 dB boost works well.

Thanks Adam. I’d be very interested if you have any specifics on which back boxes work with the proprietary  3 point MA fixing which seems to just ‘grab’ onto the ceiling at edges of the circular cut out. Likewise on the (presumably fireproof) damping material you use.

Cheers, Kevin

Good point about the fireproofing! If you cut holes in the ceiling to instal light fittings you can get fireproof covers to go over then inside the void, and in some cases these may be obligatory to conform to building/fire regs. The same regs might also apply to speakers. 

We’re having new bathrooms fitted in the coming months and are having flush in-ceiling Bluetooth speakers fitted from Lithe Audio (the grills attach with magnets once the speakers are screwed into a h9e in the ceiling).  These are purpose made bathroom speakers, are IP44 rated and will also have the matching fire hoods fitted.

Whilst not maybe as good SQ as in-ceiling Focal/KEF/B&W speakers, I liked the fact that the Bluetooth and amp are all built into the speaker unit and will be easy to maintain, should something go wrong.

We plan on having them switched via one of the light switches.  Also, we plan to have them paired with an Amazon Echo, so that when you want music (radio or from Synology NAS), we’ll simply be able to ask Alexa (there is an Echo ‘skill’ for Synology).  Each bathroom speaker will be given a different ID, e.g. en-suite or Family Bathroom, so that different music can be played in each bathroom.

Looking forward to it!

ATB. George.

kevin J Carden posted:

Thanks Adam. I’d be very interested if you have any specifics on which back boxes work with the proprietary  3 point MA fixing which seems to just ‘grab’ onto the ceiling at edges of the circular cut out. Likewise on the (presumably fireproof) damping material you use.

Cheers, Kevin

The back boxes were made of lacquered OSB board (approved for domestic use). We made them essentially into a cube, with a cut-out hole for the speakers. The boxes were positioned above the suspended ceiling, before the ceiling was completed, and mounted to the original ceiling and the ceiling suspension. All cables were laid before plasterboards were fixed.

Plasterboards then went on and a final cutout was made to match the back-box (now hidden from view).

Damping material: I bought some 'egg-shaped' acoustic foam (as used in pro-studios for walls and ceiling) and just glued it to the inside of the back box.

Speakers were finally installed once all the painting and other work was completed.

ChrisSU posted:

kevin J Carden posted:

Adam Zielinski posted:

Good choice - been using a pair of C380IDC - good speakers. You may want to get your carpernter to build a small enclosed back-box for them (around 20-25 litres). Experiment with some damping material inside.

In my room mid-range +3 dB boost works well.

Thanks Adam. I’d be very interested if you have any specifics on which back boxes work with the proprietary  3 point MA fixing which seems to just ‘grab’ onto the ceiling at edges of the circular cut out. Likewise on the (presumably fireproof) damping material you use.

Cheers, Kevin

Good point about the fireproofing! If you cut holes in the ceiling to instal light fittings you can get fireproof covers to go over then inside the void, and in some cases these may be obligatory to conform to building/fire regs. The same regs might also apply to speakers. 

You’re right Chrissu. Many speakers do need a hood, but these apparently don’t. However, just speaking with carpenter and electrician and we will just build some MDF boxes around the speakers and pad with fireproof and sound deadening padding. I’d still appreciate advice from anyone on which type of padding might be best.

Adam Zielinski posted:

kevin J Carden posted:

Thanks Adam. I’d be very interested if you have any specifics on which back boxes work with the proprietary  3 point MA fixing which seems to just ‘grab’ onto the ceiling at edges of the circular cut out. Likewise on the (presumably fireproof) damping material you use.

Cheers, Kevin

The back boxes were made of lacquered OSB board (approved for domestic use). We made them essentially into a cube, with a cut-out hole for the speakers. The boxes were positioned above the suspended ceiling, before the ceiling was completed, and mounted to the original ceiling and the ceiling suspension. All cables were laid before plasterboards were fixed.

Plasterboards then went on and a final cutout was made to match the back-box (now hidden from view).

Damping material: I bought some 'egg-shaped' acoustic foam (as used in pro-studios for walls and ceiling) and just glued it to the inside of the back box.

Speakers were finally installed once all the painting and other work was completed.

Thanks Adam. Much appreciated. I might try to combine acoustic damping with fire retardancy. I guess regular glass fibre based insulation might be OK?

kevin J Carden posted:

Thanks Adam. Much appreciated. I might try to combine acoustic damping with fire retardancy. I guess regular glass fibre based insulation might be OK?

I'd look for a BS mark on fire proofing / retardancy and it's suitability for domestic / industrial use.
I'd imagine that any soundproofing material must cary a certificate, especially when used indoors (as in - no one would pad the walls in a music studio with a combustable foam, would they?).

I think it is possible to get Kef Uni Q ceiling mount drivers ........ they should be pretty good.

Adam Zielinski posted:

kevin J Carden posted:

Thanks Adam. Much appreciated. I might try to combine acoustic damping with fire retardancy. I guess regular glass fibre based insulation might be OK?

I'd look for a BS mark on fire proofing / retardancy and it's suitability for domestic / industrial use.
I'd imagine that any soundproofing material must cary a certificate, especially when used indoors (as in - no one would pad the walls in a music studio with a combustable foam, would they?).

The need for fire regs compliance in the UK will depend on the constrution of the building more than anything else. You may be able to comply by boxing in the speakers with a suitably flame retardant material as an alternative to using an intumescent hood.