Bathroom Ceiling Speakers

Finally got around to installing this, and in have to say I'm mightily impressed!

Hooked it up to an old 80's Sharp amp (it's living in a old dirty loft so didn't want to go to town just yet) which has an apt-x Bluetooth receiver connected to its aux-in.

Means I can stream music to it as I want, works well.

The speaker has plenty of bass, clear treble, and just generally surprising for the size and install.

Also, thanks lucid for the advice!
 
@lucid Sorry to bump this very old thread, just discovered this through a Google. I'm looking for a single stereo bathroom speaker (to run from a Sonos Connect Amp) and my max clearance is around 90-95mm. How do you rate the Kinetik E160-LPS low profile speaker? This would fit, but it would be tight - will that be an issue with regards to SQ?

I was just about to buy the QI65CP ST but your damning review put me off :)

Any advice much appreciated - newbie to ceiling speakers and its a bit of a minefield.
 
As long as it'll fit you'll be fine with that.

If anything, having less space around an in-ceiling speaker helps rather than hinders the acoustic performance. If you think about ordinary bookshelf speakers they're fitted inside a box, and although ported, the air mass inside the box helps to act as an additional acoustic suspension. Ceiling speakers don't have the benefit of that. The cubic volume of the air mass inside a ceiling is huge compared to the speaker cabinet of a typical 6-6.5" driver speaker, even where the mounting point is shallow.

Speaking of depth, remember that your ceiling board has thickness - 9.5mm, 12.5mm or 15mm are typical. If you've measured inside the void to the upper surface of the board then you still have it's thickness to account for. That will put the speaker a little lower in the space than you might have been accounting, and that's good.

There are two things to watch out for with a restricted space install. The first is the back of the speaker touching something hard inside the ceiling void. That'll just create vibration.

The second thing applies to any in-ceiling install; it's dust and debris falling on to the back of the speaker driver. A fire hood not only keeps you safe but also protects the back of the speaker, and cushions against things touching, but also helps to provide some acoustic suspension too.
 
Thanks for getting back to me. Speaking to the builder there will actually be approx 100mm from the underside of the ceiling board to the top of the void, so there's a little more space than I expected, which is good and opens up a few more speaker options too.

So just weighing up some alternatives too as the Kinetik doesn't seem to be widely stocked - do you have any thoughts on these?
  • Blucube BCK65-SS (£200)
  • Monitor Audio AWC265-T2 (£300)
The Blucube goes down to 45hz so might give a fuller sound? Not sure if the Monitor Audio would give me anything above the competition, other than lighter wallet?

Re the install, its going into a false ceiling in my new bathroom. There is nothing above the bathroom (top floor) so I'm not concerned about sound travelling upwards, and it should be fairly debris free as the current ceiling will be staying untouched. So would a fire hood still be required in this situation, as obviously that would reduce my available space?
 
The Monitor Audio is an All Weather (outdoor) speaker. You don't really need that just for a bathroom. It's never going to get down to freezing temperatures, you hope :D

If the BCK65-SS will fit then that's the one to buy. It's a cracking speaker. Everyone that has bought them from me have been delighted.

Re: your install. If the current ceiling is intact then that should act as a firebreak for any living space above. While you have the chance, have a chat with your builder about fitting a frame in ceiling to help with the acoustic mass loading of the speaker.

It's nothing too fancy or complicated. Just a rectangle of MDF or rough sawn timber; 100mm high, and with an internal dimension of say 477x313. You're aiming for something with an internal volume of 14~15 litres, so the length and width dimensions can be altered to suit. Just avoid anything where one dimension is an even multiple even multiple of another. e.g, the height is 10cm, so you wouldn't have a length or width equally divisible by 10. Same goes for the length and width. 477/313 gives us a horribly complicated number - 1.523962 - and that's good for acoustics! :D

Put the frame up on the ceiling before the boarding happens. Seal the upper edges with intumescent sealant. Drill a hole for the two speaker wires. Pull a good metre to metre and a half through, then seal the hole with the sealant too and coil the speaker wire ready for the fit.

Once the boarding is finished you (or they) will cut the fitting hole - 210mm diameter - and at that point the lower edge of the frame can be sealed against the new boarding. Chuck in a couple of bits of insulation - doesn't need to be filled to the brim, just stuff the far ends to help break up any sound waves internally. Then fit the speaker. You'll have tigher bass than if the speaker were installed in the open void, plus it stops spiders etc crawling over the back of the speaker.
 
Do speakers exist where they are designed to be used in highly reflective areas so the are EQ'd in such a way to compensate for the room?

Also I'd probably want to use moisture proof speakers also.
1pudding1 said:
I'd like to add my thanks, never heard of the BluCube range before now. Think I'm going to go for a 650-S for the bathroom in my new build, and 3 of the LCR and 2 of the normal 650 for our lounge. Hope they live up to expectations! Wish I didnt have to wait 4/5months until our house is finished to find out!
Click to expand...

Don't use inceling for your main system speakers, it'll be crap.

Use them for atmos only.
 
@hornetstinger thats " Do speakers exist where they are designed to be used in highly reflective areas so the are EQ'd in such a way to compensate for the room?" good question.

I wanted in ceiling for a bathroom while taking bath. Thats why i was thinking about q acoustic 65sw which is ipx4 protection.
 
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