Floorstanding Towers
A tower speaker may be the
least conservative design
choice, but in a large room or
dedicated space—or if the
customer is really interested in
performance—it’s always the
best option. Depending on the
decorating style, some tower
speakers can complement a
room’s look. One example: I
had a friend in California whose
music listening room contained
a leather couch facing a single
(original) Warhol painting on
the wall flanked by MartinLogan
electrostatic towers and two
large McIntosh monoblock
amplifiers. The whole design
was so modern and cool, it
completely defined the space.
Speakers with gloss-white
finishes can also be a visually
striking design option in certain
environments. Such models
are available from companies
including KEF, Monitor Audio,
and Paradigm.Bookshelf Monitors
Many of the installs done by my
company are in family rooms
with a central fireplace flanked
by cabinetry with bookshelves.
These shelves can be the
perfect location for main le/
right speakers, which can be
ideally positioned and blended
with the décor. There are
various design, style, perfor-
mance, and budget options
available from every manu-
facturer. Triad, for example,
makes bookshelf speakers
with a vast array of woodgrains
and finishes, including custom
paint-matched ones.On-Wall Speakers
When working with an open
wall, or if bookshelf speakers
are simply out of the question,
on-wall speakers are another
go-to option. These thin-profile
designs are barely thicker than
a mounted flat-panel set and
can be installed around it. My
company normally likes to offset
the le and right speakers from
the screen for beer stereo
separation, but they can also be
bued up next to it if space is
an issue. For most installations,
we will recommend a matching
on-wall center speaker with a
wall-mounted TV regardless of
the le/right speaker style.
Another great solution when
space is at a premium is a
passive on-wall LCR soundbar.
Passive bars differ from active
soundbars that provide built-in
processing and amplification in
that they pack three speakers
into a single chassis and use
standard speaker wiring from
an A/V receiver (one wire runfor each channel). Two good
examples of passive LCR
soundbars: Definitive Technol-
ogy’s Mythos XTR-SSA3 and
Origin Acoustics’ SB3.In-Wall/In-Ceiling Speakers
The most décor-friendly
speakers by far are recessed,
in-wall and in-ceiling designs
that install flush with the room’s
drywall and can be painted
to match the wall or ceiling
color. When using an acousti-
cally transparent screen with a
projector, in-wall models are a
particularly good choice since
they let you install the speaker
channels behind the screen as
they do in a commercial theater.
There are some practical
reasons that make in-wall
speakers a less-than-optimal
choice, however. In a retrofit
install, for example, wall stud
locations can make it difficult
to install the le and right
speakers symmetrically. (This is
especially true with the center-
channel speaker, where geing
it centered below the display is
a total crapshoot at best.) And
when cabinetry is already in
place, many homeowners don’t
want to abandon that space for
an in-wall speaker.
While in-ceiling speaker
installations are oen an option,
depending on the ceiling
height and listening position,
performance can be notably
less impressive than what you
get with tower, bookshelf, or
on-wall/in-wall speakers. That’s
because the driver arrays in
most in-ceiling speakers point
straight down as opposed to
firing sound at the listener.
Fortunately, there are specialty
high-performance models like
SpeakerCra’s AIM Series 2
and GoldenEar Technology's
Invisa HTR 7000 that allow you
to point their drivers toward the
listening position.In my last column, I discussed the many clients I meet with who
have no idea how to begin the design process when planning a new
home theater or media room installation. Instead of focusing on
specific technologies and performance, I have found it best in these
cases to work the design process back from how they would like the
room to look aer the installation is completed.The two biggest variables
in a home theater/media room
design are the video display
and speakers. My previous
column (February/March and
soundandvision.com) focused
on selecting displays. As screen
size oen dictates speaker
selection, these video/audio
discussions go hand-in-hand.
This time out I’m going to
tackle the audio portion and
the options I like to walk the
customer through before
suggesting one design
approach over another.Front Speaker Style
Along with the TV or projector/
screen combination, the
system’s front speakers are
likely to be a visual focal point in
the room, so there's no point in
discussing other audio param-
eters until you sele on the front
speakers. Fortunately, there
are options that can appeal to
nearly any design taste.For the past 20 years, John
Sciacca has worked as a custom
installer in South Carolina. In his
free time, he enjoys drinking
craft beer and watching movies
on his 7.2.6 surround system.THE AUTHORThe Connected Life
wide
angle
Walk Back the
Design, Part Two
BY JOHN SCIACCA(^26) [ April May 2019 [soundandvision.com