How Do I Install In-Ceiling Speakers for Dolby Atmos Height Channels?
Adding in-ceiling height channel speakers for your Dolby Atmos system is a great upgrade, but has some install challenges.
Note from the editor: Please welcome John Sciacca, a custom installer from Myrtle Beach, SC. For 21 years, John has written the “Connected Life” column for Sound and Vision magazine. In it, John has offered professional advice for the CI community, DIY audiophiles and home theater hobbyists. We’re pleased to have John join us here at eCoustics to carry on this tradition. John’s experience with all manner of custom installation of audio, video and smart home systems makes him a great resource to those hoping to go beyond the basics of audio and video system building. Got a question for John? Let us know in the comments or via e-mail at feedback@ecoustics.com.
Greetings, eCoustics readers! I was all prepared to write my first post about in-ceiling speakers, where I would address multiple questions such as:
- Are in-ceiling speakers good for Dolby Atmos height channels? Yes!
- Can a ceiling fan affect the performance of in-ceiling speakers? Also Yes!
- Are in-ceiling speakers hard to install? It depends…
The Basics
As I started going through the list of questions, I realized that anyone likely asking these questions doesn’t already have in-ceiling speakers installed, and before you even get to the part where we can talk about the pros and cons of in-ceiling speakers, we need to address what it will take to make that happen in a home.
And, spoiler alert, depending on your home, when and how it was built, where your electronics are located, and the room(s) you want to install these speakers, doing so might not be possible, or may present challenges that are difficult to overcome.
Also, for the sake of this post, in-ceiling speakers typically refer to round, whereas in-wall speakers generally refer to rectangular shaped speakers. However, in almost all cases, you could put a round speaker in a wall and a rectangular speaker in the ceiling. The mounting brackets might vary, but the choice is really up to the owner and the difference is usually one of aesthetics.
Start With Wiring
So, the actual installation of the speakers themselves is pretty simple and straightforward, and requires little more than using the included template, a pencil, a drywall saw, and a cordless drill. But, we’ll cover the particulars of that in a later post.
The trick of the install is getting the wire from your electronics to the speakers.
And, despite all the advancements in wireless technology, every in-ceiling speaker that I’m aware of needs some sort of wiring. And in 99.9% of cases, this is traditional 2-conductor speaker cable, with a few specialty speakers getting their signal via PoE++ (Power over Ethernet) and using Category rated data cabling instead of speaker wire. Even so-called “wireless” speakers need power so there’s that pesky wire requirement again.
For most speaker runs, 16-gauge speaker wire is fine, with 14-gauge being better for longer runs, and 12-gauge being better still. The lower the gauge, the thicker the cable. Thicker speaker cable offers lower resistance, allowing less signal loss over longer distances as well as less heat build-up. But with the low voltages in a speaker signal, heat isn’t normally a problem, even in higher gauge cables.
Because the wire is going to be running inside your walls, you’ll want to use wire that has a CL2 or CL3-rated jacket that is fire-resistant and meant for low voltage applications.
The Challenges of Installing In-Ceiling Speakers
To better understand the challenges you’ll be facing with an installation, I created a drawing of what a typical wall looks like in modern homes if you tore off the sheetrock. The diagram assumes a single story home but the concept applies to multi-story homes as well.
This is essentially what we are working with during new construction or a major remodel of an existing home. The walls are all open and exposed down to the studs, and pretty much anything is possible. This is why it is so important to get the wiring done during construction if at all possible, before the drywall goes up. (Actually, it’s preferable to do it before the insulation is installed as well, as it’s just a horrible itchy mess to work in). But DIYers may not be as eager to completely remove the outer walls. Don’t despair – there is hope!
Find the Studs
Walls are typically framed using 2 x 4 studs – which actually aren’t 2-inches by 4-inches, but rather are 1.5 x 3.5-inches – and they are typically 8-feet long. These studs are generally placed 16-inches on center, which means the center of one stud to the center of the next stud measures 16-inches. This leaves a gap between the studs of 14.5-inches.
Because the studs are 8-feet long, if your wall height is greater than 8-feet tall, then you’ll have more framing where these studs are joined together. Also, depending on local building code – and when your home was built – you might have purlins (or fire blocks) placed horizontally between studs. Purlins, which could be made of metal or wood, not only reduce the spread of fire, but provide additional structural rigidity and support in both walls and roof supports. Where I work in South Carolina, all exterior walls are required to have these post Hurricane Hugo, and many builders install them in interior walls as well.
It’s important to understand that these purlins may exist as these internal obstructions could stop you from being able to run wires inside your wall all the way from the bottom to the top of the wall using fish tape or similar tools.
You’ll also notice that the wall boxes are attached/nailed into a stud. This is useful because these big blocks of metal can help you to locate the studs in your wall, and then once you’ve located one stud, you can measure and determine where other studs are. You can also use a stud finder (which can be finicky) or (and this is a total #ProTip) use a powerful rare earth magnet which will locate the screws the drywall installers used to attach the drywall like a StudPoP Smart Magnetic Stud Finder ($9.95 at Amazon).
Going Into the Attic
So, imagine that your electronics (specifically your surround receiver) are sitting in a cabinet on the floor. Unless you want to run surface-run wiring outside the wall or ceiling and up the wall in a conduit or raceway (yuck!), you’re going to need to go into the wall, up the wall, into the attic, and over to where you want the speakers located before you can worry about installing the speakers themselves.
“But, John, my house doesn’t have an attic, or I want to install the speakers in multi-story house and there is a room above where I want them to go?”
Sadly, in this type of situation, you’re likely out of luck. There are some advanced retrofitting techniques you might be able to do (removing crown molding, pulling out recessed light fixtures, cutting access holes in drywall which are then repaired, etc.), but at that point, unless you’ve got some pretty decent construction chops, you’re probably best bringing in a custom installer for a consultation.
“Sweet! John, I have an attic right above where I want the speakers to go! How do I get started?!”
This is a process that takes a bit of work and requires some special tools, but it is totally doable. And that’s what I’m going to tackle in my next post. So stay tuned for Part II.
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