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Porches & Decks

Music speakers in porch ceiling .... sizing and spacing????

16 years ago

I would like to install speakers in the ceiling of my wrap around porch so that I can listen to music when I sit out there. The porch is 8' wide and is 35' long in the front of the house and 45' long on the side of the house.

How many speakers would be needed in your opinion?

What size speakers should I use 6.5" or 8"?

Should I use combo stereo single unit speakers to have better sound?

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Comments (4)

nhb22
16 years ago
I don't know if this will help you, but we have two 8 inch hanging square speakers on our 20 x 14 foot screened porch.

Just remember that if you have neighbors, you need to keep the sound down and also make sure that the speakers are turned off to the outside when you are not outside. I turned my inside speakers up one day and didn't realize that the outdoor speakers were still on. I am sure that my neighbors did not appreciate all the music.
allan44035
Original Author
16 years ago
That seems to be the spacing I am looking for, and my neighbors are far enough away they probably won't hear me... but I'll keep that in mind. Thanks.
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First off, thank you. It's refreshing to hear when somebody knows that television surround sound does not go into the ceiling - however music is right at home there. I'm guessing this is somewhere around 20' x 30' split down the middle. To decide on the number of speakers you'll need to think about where you'll be in each area, and if the stereo sound and image will be correctly presented in that space. I think it will be 4 speakers, though. Don't know if this is raised ceilings or not but plays a major factor in layout as well. Speakercraft has been a good middle of the road installers brand and I'm surprised they now sell through retail online. Martin Logan of course has a very good reputation with their electrostatic speakers but does that mean the standard in-walls are worth the price? I don't know. What I do know is that the ceiling/wall, the acoustics of the room, and the placement, are now part of the equation. I've done speaker calibrations on high end speaker installations, average, and low end speaker installations and it's a toss up - there are just too many variables. Going the Sonos route and Zigbee is fine but may create complexities you may just not want to deal with. What about a second zone from your main receiver? If not, another receiver may be a simple setup for this area - many have auto calibrate modes. Bose can be great for a plug and play setup but tends to be a little too proprietary for my tastes. Look around a little and see what else is out there.
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While you don't say if these are for music or home theater use, they do appear a little large for either use - it's not that big of a room. While 9 inches sounds good, they're better suited over a dance floor. Generally, 6 inch coaxial speakers, backed up by a sub-woofer, are fine for music in the ceiling and home theater in the walls. Usually, you can just use the grills that come with the speakers and paint them to match the surface.
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The way most people listen to music, the convenience and reliability of the Sonos ecosystem products are far more important factors than the quality of the speakers and sound systems. Which, everything else considered, are average at best. When it comes to the quality of the sound produced, remember most users use their Sonos systems to listen to low quality streamed lossy sound sources or, less frequently, equally mediocre and equally compressed lossy MP3 files. All very much sub-CD quality, which itself is a compromised sound source. When the sound source itself has limited bandwidth to provide, what it plays through doesn't matter that much. And most people don't know the difference. It doesn't mean there isn't a huge difference, there is. It's just that most people's ears aren't accustomed to discerning the difference.
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Actually, most ceiling fans (not huggers) are made to be installed on 8 foot high ceilings. It's only when a ceiling is lower than 8 feet that you need a hugger fan. As long as the blades are 12" or less from the ceiling it will be up to code. Here are some other important considerations: 1) Outdoor areas require more airflow than indoor areas because they are not confined spaces and the open air takes away from the intensity of the breeze since there are no walls for the air to bounce off. 2) When the blades of a fan are less than 12" from the ceiling, the amount of airflow it produces is reduced dramatically. Hugger fans may move as much as 30% to 50% less air than a fan that is hanging from a short rod where the blades are 12" from the ceiling. 3) It is better to use 2 smaller fans than one bigger fan, particularly outdoors. Smaller fans spin at a higher RPM and typically will produce a stronger breeze, but they produce that breeze in a smaller area, hence the need for two of them. So, two 52" to 60" fans is better than one 72" to 84" fan. 4) Don't just pick a fan by it's looks. Be sure to check out how much air it moves (CFM) and how fast it moves the air (Windspeed in MPH). The most important consideration is the wind speed because ceiling fans cool you off by creating a wind chill effect that is directly related to how fast the air flows, not how much air is moved. Larger fans move a larger volume of air, but at a lower speed. Even the best typical size fans (52" to 60") can only produce wind speeds close to 4 MPH. Lower end models may only produce 1 to 2 MPH. So look for fans as close to 4 MPH as possible. 5) Ceiling fans with the newer DC motors use about 75% less electricity and are typically better quality than the common AC motor fans. Here's a link that filters: DC outdoor ceiling fans with Wind Speed Close to 4 MPH Greg Tillotson Ceiling Fan Expert Hansen Wholesale https://www.hansenwholesale.com
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stonemeel
16 years ago
For outdoors on a covered porch, you can use "true" outdoor speakers which come in a wall mount or you could use indoor ceiling mount speakers rated for the temperatures you experience there. The issue with really long porches is if you want the entire porch on one zone (all controlled from one keypad so it plays the same source on all speakers), then you might consider going with 4 stereo point speakers on the 1/3 lines of each porch length (about 12ft apart on the 35' and 15' apart on the 45').

Depending on the volume and use, you usually need more amplification for outdoor speakers than indoors since sound is not reflected in the room. If you want to just have sound while you're on the porch and not in the yard, then you can get by with smaller amplification and/or speakers.

Most basic volume controls with built-in amps are for a pair of speakers (right and left channels) so each stereo point speaker needs its own amp (4 speaker wires from amp to the R&L input on the speaker). Russound makes an Outback Solo outdoor speaker and they have indoor ceiling mount speakers too with plenty of amplifier options.

Other options are rock speaker and even hanging flower pots that double as speakers for a totally invisible look.
allan44035
Original Author
16 years ago
I am new to speaker audio so please excuse my lack of knowledge on it.

If I use impedance matching volume controls with multiple outputs on them, can I tie 4 pairs of speakers to one control?

Thanks.

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