We're redoing a client's home theater due to a flood event; foot+ of water in the room resulted in the room being completely stripped bare for water remediation, so basically we're starting from scratch. (Thankfully for the client, insurance should cover all the costs!)

The front stage was originally a RBH 641-SE L/R and 661-SE C combo, but the client would like to now bury the speakers to reclaim the floor space, and wall limitations are such that this means ceiling speakers. Now, I'm not a fan of ceiling speakers for a dedicated theater, but that may just show my lack of experience with them.

My first thought was Triad's ceiling LCRs, saw them at a show (but didn't hear them) and was impressed by the 30deg orientation and build quality. But we don't carry Triad, so I'm considering alternatives like SnapAV's [b]Episode 700 HT700[/b] [Link: snapav.com] or [b]DefTech's UIW Reference RCS II[/b] [Link: definitivetech.com] ... fwiw, speakers will likely be driven by Parasound 5250 amp or similar.

Has anyone used either of these LCRs, particularly the SnapAV? I've read some pretty intriguing things about their 700 series on RC, so would love to hear first-hand feedback from folks who've done rooms with the HT700.

i too have heard some pretty incredible things out of the HT700 series. were adding a room to act as a demo room with ceiling speakers, plans have changed and im thinking i want to rip out the 500 series and install those puppies. its a "design" room so im trying to integrate all the technology with minimum impact on ascetics. there is a drop down screen and a small projector to show that a room can be a multi purpose theater.

BTW: snaps in wall sub sound pretty good too, installed that in another home and was actually impressed for what it is. Were doing it here too. i would love to do triads or sonance but were on a ramon noodle budget :) the cultered stone cost a fortune LOL!

I've never tried those speakers, but I've done a lot of dedicated home theater with in-ceiling speakers, most of the time with Proficient C-1030

[Link: proficientaudio.com]

Those speakers are real beasts for the money. Bass is crazy, they can handle a sh!t load of power and the 3" kevlar midrange makes them a must for HT.

What is your clients budget? I think you need to look into on-wall options to get the proper sound stage. In-ceilings are a solution but their are much better options out there.

Triad is available through distribution in some areas. I like their logic because every speaker can be made in any format.

What are the room dimensions? You can still do a of cool stuff and protect him from flood damage in the future.

I can only vouch for the Triads and they are seriously excellent. I assume you are referring to these:

Bronze/8 LCR


OR

Silver/6 monitor

Just for fun (and I know the engineers will say no moving parts) but the drop down speakers from speakercraft- time series

Isn't it discontinued? So bad, because it was really cool and sounded great. I had some for a couple of years at home and i liked it very much...

Look into the KEF Ci200.3QT motorized if you have the joist space. I was amazed at the results I got with a pair of these w/a small Velodyne sub for <80Hz for a stereo listening setup in a client's "impossible room."

I haven't bothered to get a new catalog from speakercraft in a few years- I sold many time speakers, but then I discovered other great brands, but their hooded sweatshirts aren't as cool

Space is tight on-wall too (static projection screen flanked by a couple of built-in cabinets w/doors), but mounting below the 100" screen may be viable; I'm concerned that the front soundstage with L/R <90" apart may be too narrow, though. Still, what other kind of "cool stuff" are you referring to?

Budget for the front LCRs is ~$3k, overall speaker budget w/sub is ~5.5k. That part is easy&exact, because it comes straight off the invoice from our original setup :)

Room dimensions are 15' wide x 18' long; seating area is approx 16' from screen.

The motorized dropdown speakers are cool, but I'm not a fan of introducing another mechanical subsystem for the speakers ... soon as that motor fails once, I'm on the hook. I'd feel more comfortable with a static system which directs the tweets/midrange to the listening area, like the Triad Bronze/etc.

What about really nice in-walls behind a static mounted audiophile projection screen- solves a couple of issues in one solution.

(and I know the engineers will say no moving parts) lol

also check out the sonance Cinema Series LCR.5S or squeeze the budget a bit more for the LCR1s [Link: sonance.com] the .5s are in budget and sound AWESOME! at that price point.

I love sonance and am having a hard time choosing between the LCR.5s in our system or snaps ht700s.

Consider in-walls behind an acoustically transparent fixed screen.

Many clients are perfectly happy with decent in ceiling speakers. For a theater, The triads or snaps are the way to go. My concern word be specific to your project, going from floor standing RBH speakers to in ceilings could be a let down.

Any chance you could augment the l.c.r. In ceilings with some small speakers in / on the wall (even below the screen) that could help "steer" the sound to the listening position? It really can be amazing what "steering channels speakers" (even small ones) can do for a system like this..... 90% of the sound comes from the ceiling speakers, but that little extra from the lower speakers makes it sound like everything is coming from the center of the screen.