Placing In-Ceiling Speakers vs Ceiling Mounted Era 300s for Surrounds

I think a picture will better explain/illustrate my thoughts 😂.

Using the TV/Arc Ultra as the apex below are my thoughts on speaker arrangement. I’m inclined to move the in-ceiling further out and place the Era 300’s inside. Especially so if you intended to keep both. If not I’d still place the Era 300’s as shown. I’m thinking no more than a 6.5 ft separation between the Era 300’s and 7ft between the in-ceilings.  JMHO.
 

On second thought I’m inclined to agree with ​@Stanley_4 that regardless you’ll be better off with the Era 300’s as surrounds. Especially given that there is an approved ceiling mount as discovered ​@Airgetlam. Flexson is a brand that I trust as I have used their stands/mounts in the past.

That said (if budget allows) you might consider placing the in-celing speakers as shown in the diagram below for music. Just a thought 🤔

​@AjTrek1 lovely diagram! Sadly that was my original idea. However, the ceiling joists directly where you have the left in ceiling speakers (which is also what the original version of the electrical drawings called for) do not have enough space between them (due to past joist repairs) to fit the 6” speakers.

Also just to give you a sense of scale - where you marked in your diagram (which also matches the original drawings) the two in-ceilings speakers is actually just under 11’ apart. Given the joists though, the left hand in ceiling speaker would have to be pulled to the right about 2-3’. So I could either leave the right speaker where it is or pull it to the left equally to match.

​@harperpeck 

Understood. Take a look at my second suggestion above. That will allow you to position the Era 300’s as suggested and re-purpose the in-celinig speakers. They can still be grouped with the Arc Ultra for music until your neighbors call the police 😂

You can always try the 300s with no construction, making temporary ugly but sturdy, stands for them won't be expensive and gives you the ability to try multiple locations before drilling holes and pulling wires.

Wood, plywood or strand-board or even PVC pipe are all options.

Doing that here saved a lot of mess and expense with my 300 placement and spousal approval trial.

Good idea by ​@Stanley_4 . However, to get a real sense of sound you need to be able to elevate the Era 300’s above normal stand height which is approximately 32 - 36 inches. IMO as the Era 300’s  will be ceiling mounted you need approximately 8 ft in elevation from the floor to get a real sense of sound. 

To save time you might consider a temporary purchase of something shown in the picture from Walmart. They are inter-lockable and can achieve slightly over 8 feet with 9 using the 10.75 measurement. The regular cost is $7.37 each in my area. Therefore your expenditure would be $132.66 plus tax for 20. Just stay within the return window to get your refund when done.

However, if you are good at DiY construction then by all means build your own. However, the cost to do so may be a wash versus the suggested purchase item. 

Plywood and strand-board came in 8 and 12 root lengths. Lumber in 8 and 12 lengths are also usually stocked. PVC is usually sold in 20 foot lengths.

Most lumber stores will be happy to do basic cutting to size, usually free for the first few cuts per sheet or tube. 

The boxes look interesting but getting the 300s inverted on them might be a problem.

Can’t see why inverting the speakers would be an issue. You’re just turning them over on a relatively flat surface. As the crates have openings all around the sound will travel through with minimal interference. Not perfect but should yield enough audio to evaluate. Although, IMO testing is probably not necessary as I said earlier I’m inclined to agree that the Era 300’s will provide a better experience than the in-ceiling speakers.

​@AjTrek1 ​@Stanley_4 you guys are both awesome thank you so much. Love the idea in that second diagram. We are actually mid construction right now so floor and walls are already open along with some holes in the ceiling (it’s basically a full renovation) which actually makes it a bit tricky to test sound right now. My only concern is once all is said and done the Era 300s might just look too out of place on the ceiling. I am totally fine with it but sadly other people also have say in the aesthetics 😂. And once the renovation is done we won’t be able to open up anything else or run wires so this is kind of the one shot I have to get everything where things could potentially go.

As tempted as I am to just commit to the 300s, I think what I’m going to have to do is do is put both speaker cutouts where ​@AjTrek1 places the Era 300s in his second diagram and then also put power just outside of the cutouts for the 300s to give me both options.

I’m so tempted to put additional speakers in the nook and kitchen - noise complaints be damned! It might be total overkill but would be so nice 

If you decide to use in-ceiling speakers for surrounds you’ ll need a second amp for speakers in the Kitchen and Nook. To get around the noise level (for that other person 😂) you can place a wall mount volume control on each speaker.

Just a thought 😊

Forum ate my longer post 

Maybe white 300s to blend in better

Maybe SoundSkins for more color options