Reddit mentions of Micca Reference Series R-8C 8-Inch Rimless in-Ceiling Speaker (Each, White)

It's less about room size really than the layout. The problem with a small room home theater is most people sit on the back wall with the screen on the other wall, and it you don't have any space behind you it makes having rear speakers (whether back surrounds or rear heights) difficult to implement.

But with a 65" display you should be sitting closer to 7-8 ft away, which means you will have a few feet behind. That's a good thing acoustically in general (sitting against a boundary is crappy for sound quality) and it means you'll have enough space for there to be clear separation between front vs rear overheads.

Also the overhead speakers can be done for much less than $150/each if the budget is tight, many people are very happy with the Micca R-8C for $60 a pop. If you have some extra budget, the RSL C34E for $125/each are very popular because they have an angled baffle which lets you direct the sound across the listening area.

IMO, if you can afford the extra, I would do it. Also strongly recommend you do not ignore room acoustic treatments, as in a small room you'll have some hard early reflections and really bad bass variance in the modal region. Biggest priorities would be some heavy absorb on the rear wall behind your heads, also behind the front speakers on the front wall to control boundary interference (since the speakers will likely be close to the walls, frankly I wouldn't use Klipsch tower speakers in a room that small but you work with what you've got), perhaps ceiling too.

I personally use the micca r-8c which come in at 60$ each and they do their job well for atmos. I absolutely recommend them. Compared to the m-8c they have a better crossover and cone material.

yes, anything in ceiling will be generally better.
i have a denon x2000 series myself and I went for these back when i first started up, havent swapped them out yet but it sounds amazing

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008QQ9SB2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Unless you are gonna be blaring it, 50W is easily enough power.

Also, those are in-ceiling speakers, not in-wall.

I’d suggest check out the Micca Reference 8” speakers, besides Polk’s LSiM models, their stuff usually isn’t the best for the money.

> Micca M-8C

IMO, if you're going to go through the trouble of paying an electrician to run wires, and cut holes in your ceiling, don't skimp on the actual product. Those barely even have a proper crossover. I'd at least step up to the Micca Reference series though I haven't heard those in person. Of the speakers I have demo'd in person, I found Def Tech's speakers to be fairly good, and IMO sounded better than speakers 3x their price.

> 2) [...] Or is there a better solution (like a wooden box or something)?

Officially, you'll want a backer box like this. If your electrician was just suggesting a sheet of plastic, definitely don't do that.

> 4) Since the receiver is on the main floor and the speakers are on the 2nd floor, the electrician also said I can get a volume control switch that he can install on the 2nd floor. Are there any you recommend?

If you just want basic volume control, something like this is fine.

Receiver

Denon X1500H - $300

If you like Klipsch you might also consider a full HSU setup.

HSU VTF3 3.1/5.1 $1260/$1540

HSU VTF2 3.1/5.1 $1020/$1300

For mounted surrounds or ceiling.

Polk OWM3 - $150/pair

In Ceiling

Micca M-8C $40/each

Micca R-8C $60/each

There's only about 5" of vertical clearance between the pipe and the ceiling tiles. I stupidly bought these huge Micca R-8C ceiling speakers. They'd fit, but only barely, and we're worried that the sound is going to reverberate through the whole house thanks to the HVAC ducts.

Photo of the back of Micca R-8C

Do y'all think we could insulate to prevent any issues? Are we making mountains out of mole hills? Should I try smaller speakers?


Thanks.

> I searched Amazon for "bathroom speakers", and all I got was the small, portable-type speakers, or exhaust fans/showerheads with a built-in speaker.

Yeah, I've discovered via this thread that these aren't the easiest things to find and aren't always sold on Amazon. Often these speakers aren't marketed as being bathroom safe, but if you dig into the description, you can find thee detailss You've pretty much got to go to the different companies to find them. Here are a few I was able to find:
https://www.parts-express.com/cat/ceiling-speakers/1934?N=21705+4294967118+4294966191+4294966730+4294966718&Ne=10166&Nrs=collection%28%29%2Frecord%5Bendeca%3Amatches%28.%2C%22P_PortalID%22%2C%221%22%29+and+endeca%3Amatches%28.%2C%22P_Searchable%22%2C%221%22%29%5D&PortalID=1

http://us.kef.com/architectural-speakers/architectural-speakers/in-ceiling?ci_application_multiple_select=170&ci_features_options=257&q=architectural-speakers%2Farchitectural-speakers%2Fin-ceiling

http://www.bostonacoustics.com/US/Product/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?CatId=HomeAudio(BostonAcoustics_US)&SubCatId=InCeiling(BostonAcoustics_US)&Pid=HSiH460T2(BostonAcoustics)

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_107MC60/Polk-Audio-MC60.html?tp=193&awkw=75619605145&awat=pla_with_promotion&awnw=g&awcr=47439148225&awdv=c&awug=9005147

https://www.amazon.com/Micca-Reference-R-8C-Rimless-Ceiling/dp/B008QQ9SB2

I don't have an first hand experience with these, so check reviews. Also just try googling "moisture resistant ceiling speaker" to find discussions and recommendations instead of searching amazon. That will give you hours of reading material.

> Just out of curiosity, do you mind explaining why I wouldn't get proper stereo imaging in my bathroom, and why I'd only hear half the music?
I don't understand why stereo speakers will fail miserably in this space. I mean, how is this much different than speakers in a car, or stereo USB computer speakers in an office, or stereo speakers literally anywhere else?

Do I mind? Ha ha, I love talking this stuff. So here's the deal, bathrooms aren't that unique. Lots of settings are not good for stereo. Bathrooms, decks,pools, patios, ballrooms, restaurants, hotel lobbies, etc are almost always locations where mono sounds better. Pretty much anywhere where you can't place the listener in the stereo sweet spot.
For stereo to work, assuming power to the two speakers is applied evenly,your left ear must be roughly the same distance from the left speaker as your right ear is to the right speaker. Pretty easy when you're at a desk, on your couch, etc. In cars I've heard of more gain being applied on the passenger side to overcome this, but in all honesty I just don't think people notice because cars are noisy, the speakers typically suck, etc.
In your bathroom you'll be standing at different spots depending on what you are are doing. In theory you could maybe have stereo sound while standing in the shower if you pushed the speakers out to be equidistant from where you are standing, but in practice, unless your shower is ginormous, the speakers will end up being too close to the wall which won't sound good either. I think fail miserably is a stretch, but rather I'd say it will be more expensive, twice as hard to to install and not sound as good with two speakers vs. 1.
One thing to think about that may help put the distance to speaker and stereo imaging thing into perspective is how decibels relate to distance and perception of loudness. Acoustics is not specifically my area of expertise, so this may be a bit generalized. There is, under ideal circumstances, a 6db drop for every doubling of distance. If something is 90db at 6 inches, it's 84db at 12 inches, 78 db at 24 inches and so on. Your brain perceives a 10db drop as being half as loud. So that speaker 6" away is more than twice as loud as the one at 24". Loudness is all about relative values. Another way to visualize this is to picture wearing headphones, now pull the left side away by an inch. It's a huge drop, almost down to nothing. Now go to a music festival and walk 10 feet your left, no real difference.
The point being, in a small room like a bathroom and especially with ceiling speakers that can be close or pretty far from your ears, small distances are much bigger deal than in say a living room. It just makes the stereo sweet spot that much smaller.
Make sense? I wish I could upload the roving stick figures and speakers with waves emanating out from them that were running through my brain as I typed that. Might make it easier to visualize.