Results 1 to 12 of 12
  1. #1
    Silence of the spam Site Moderator Geoffcin's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    NY
    Posts
    3,326

    New theater room project

    Well, I went and did it;

    In wall speakers!

    Usually I have no problem with the size and placement of my speakers, but my new HT room posed a bit of a problem with the rear surround placement. I had intended to mount a pair of Cambridge Soundworks S300's on the rear wall, but my better half pointed out that since there's going to be a pass through behind my furniture now, it would be very easy to bump, or damage the speakers. After some serious thought on the matter (and some single malt) I decided to go with the CSW IW300MC in wall speakers. I was interested to see how they would perform, and they came yesterday so I hooked them up in place of my mains. I was very pleased upon opening up the boxes, the build appears of a very high quality, and the drivers and crossovers are first rate. The sound quality was even better than the build quality! They sound a lot like my CSW T500 mains without the woofers powered up. Maybe a bit brighter, but they were in free air. I'm sure once I mount them in the wall there's going to be a bit more warmth, and bass enhancement.

    I'll post more updates and PICS as the project moves toward completion.
    Audio;
    Ming Da MC34-AB 75wpc
    PS Audio Classic 250. 500wpc into 4 ohms.
    PS Audio 4.5 preamp,
    Marantz 6170 TT Shure M97e cart.
    Arcam Alpha 9 CD.- 24 bit dCS Ring DAC.
    Magnepan 3.6r speakers Oak/black,

  2. #2
    Silence of the spam Site Moderator Geoffcin's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    NY
    Posts
    3,326
    Quote Originally Posted by Geoffcin
    Well, I went and did it;

    In wall speakers!

    I'm sure once I mount them in the wall there's going to be a bit more warmth, and bass enhancement.

    I'll post more updates and PICS as the project moves toward completion.
    Here's some pics of the progress of the room. Finally moved the maggies in, and the surrounds are hooked up.

    Audio;
    Ming Da MC34-AB 75wpc
    PS Audio Classic 250. 500wpc into 4 ohms.
    PS Audio 4.5 preamp,
    Marantz 6170 TT Shure M97e cart.
    Arcam Alpha 9 CD.- 24 bit dCS Ring DAC.
    Magnepan 3.6r speakers Oak/black,

  3. #3
    Silence of the spam Site Moderator Geoffcin's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    NY
    Posts
    3,326

    Rear surrounds before installing

    Audio;
    Ming Da MC34-AB 75wpc
    PS Audio Classic 250. 500wpc into 4 ohms.
    PS Audio 4.5 preamp,
    Marantz 6170 TT Shure M97e cart.
    Arcam Alpha 9 CD.- 24 bit dCS Ring DAC.
    Magnepan 3.6r speakers Oak/black,

  4. #4
    Silence of the spam Site Moderator Geoffcin's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    NY
    Posts
    3,326

    Rear Surrounds in wall

    Audio;
    Ming Da MC34-AB 75wpc
    PS Audio Classic 250. 500wpc into 4 ohms.
    PS Audio 4.5 preamp,
    Marantz 6170 TT Shure M97e cart.
    Arcam Alpha 9 CD.- 24 bit dCS Ring DAC.
    Magnepan 3.6r speakers Oak/black,

  5. #5
    Silence of the spam Site Moderator Geoffcin's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    NY
    Posts
    3,326

    Multipole Surrounds

    Audio;
    Ming Da MC34-AB 75wpc
    PS Audio Classic 250. 500wpc into 4 ohms.
    PS Audio 4.5 preamp,
    Marantz 6170 TT Shure M97e cart.
    Arcam Alpha 9 CD.- 24 bit dCS Ring DAC.
    Magnepan 3.6r speakers Oak/black,

  6. #6
    Silence of the spam Site Moderator Geoffcin's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    NY
    Posts
    3,326

    In wall binding posts

    Audio;
    Ming Da MC34-AB 75wpc
    PS Audio Classic 250. 500wpc into 4 ohms.
    PS Audio 4.5 preamp,
    Marantz 6170 TT Shure M97e cart.
    Arcam Alpha 9 CD.- 24 bit dCS Ring DAC.
    Magnepan 3.6r speakers Oak/black,

  7. #7
    Forum Regular
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    387
    that looks really good, great job.

    arent you going to have to take the plates, and speakers out of the wall when you paint though? or just paint around them carefully?

  8. #8
    Silence of the spam Site Moderator Geoffcin's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    NY
    Posts
    3,326
    Quote Originally Posted by uncooked
    that looks really good, great job.

    arent you going to have to take the plates, and speakers out of the wall when you paint though? or just paint around them carefully?
    Thanks!

    Yes, you can do it either way. Th speakers came with a cardboard mask so you can paint the bezel the same color as the walls. I think that's what I'll do, and then re-install them. The binding post plates I'm just going to mask and paint around.
    Audio;
    Ming Da MC34-AB 75wpc
    PS Audio Classic 250. 500wpc into 4 ohms.
    PS Audio 4.5 preamp,
    Marantz 6170 TT Shure M97e cart.
    Arcam Alpha 9 CD.- 24 bit dCS Ring DAC.
    Magnepan 3.6r speakers Oak/black,

  9. #9
    Forum Regular
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    387
    o thats cool you can paint it. that will work great then.

    thoughs wall speaker conectors are awsome. i was looking for some like that when i finished my basement but couldnt find any that nice, and had to get some spring style ones. they handle thick gauge so it worked out ok, but i think yours look better, all metal like that. mines just cheap plastic.

    and thoughs handle 150 watts? thats alot.

  10. #10
    Silence of the spam Site Moderator Geoffcin's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    NY
    Posts
    3,326
    Quote Originally Posted by uncooked
    o thats cool you can paint it. that will work great then.

    thoughs wall speaker conectors are awsome. i was looking for some like that when i finished my basement but couldnt find any that nice, and had to get some spring style ones. they handle thick gauge so it worked out ok, but i think yours look better, all metal like that. mines just cheap plastic.

    and thoughs handle 150 watts? thats alot.
    Yes, the rear surrounds are really great, much better than I ever expected, and can easily take 150 watts, With an 89Db watt efficiency that's pretty darn loud! Here's a clip of a post of mine about them;

    They are the top-of-the-line Cambridge Soundworks IW300's with dual 4" woofers and a silk soft dome tweeter. These are set in the back wall 36" up from the floor. I have them set about 6' apart.

    First impression when hooking them up to the front amps on my receiver was "WTF?!" where's all this sound coming from! These are little in wall speakers, the're not supposed to have bass output, the're not supposed to sound like mains! It was really astonishing. I put on a CD with really powerful bass, the RH Chili Peppers BSSM, and Flea bass sounded hard, fast, and tight. Honest output from these little speakers way into the 30's! My wife started laughing when she saw my face, and said "you can get rid of all your speakers now!". Well, that just ain't going to happen, but I will say that I would now definitely recommend in wall speakers for HT applications, especially where space is at a premium.

    The sad part is that these speakers will probably never do more than whisper in my HT application, as they would work excellent as mains. Oh well, at least the're "timber matched" to my system.
    Audio;
    Ming Da MC34-AB 75wpc
    PS Audio Classic 250. 500wpc into 4 ohms.
    PS Audio 4.5 preamp,
    Marantz 6170 TT Shure M97e cart.
    Arcam Alpha 9 CD.- 24 bit dCS Ring DAC.
    Magnepan 3.6r speakers Oak/black,

  11. #11
    Suspended topspeed's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    California
    Posts
    3,717

    Nice room Geoff

    Looks like it'll be a great retreat when you're done. The plates look like the same Niles plates that I use and they are very clean. You might want to put some banana plugs or spades on those bare wires to ease any switching and slow corrosion of the wire.

    I've got the CSW table radio in my kitchen and bought my dad a CSW HT rig a while back. Great bang for the buck and as you noted, very good quality of both sound and construction. You think ol' Henry knew a thing or two about speakers ?

    Enjoy the new room!

  12. #12
    Silence of the spam Site Moderator Geoffcin's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    NY
    Posts
    3,326
    Quote Originally Posted by topspeed
    Looks like it'll be a great retreat when you're done. The plates look like the same Niles plates that I use and they are very clean. You might want to put some banana plugs or spades on those bare wires to ease any switching and slow corrosion of the wire.

    I've got the CSW table radio in my kitchen and bought my dad a CSW HT rig a while back. Great bang for the buck and as you noted, very good quality of both sound and construction. You think ol' Henry knew a thing or two about speakers ?

    Enjoy the new room!
    Thanks Topspeed!

    Had another WTF!? moment yesterday. Am using the Musical Fidelity amp on the 3.6's, so I decided to hook up the PS Audio amp to the CSW T500's. Talk about a change of amps making a difference! You'ld swear it was a different speaker altogether!

    Audio;
    Ming Da MC34-AB 75wpc
    PS Audio Classic 250. 500wpc into 4 ohms.
    PS Audio 4.5 preamp,
    Marantz 6170 TT Shure M97e cart.
    Arcam Alpha 9 CD.- 24 bit dCS Ring DAC.
    Magnepan 3.6r speakers Oak/black,

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Subwoofer placement vs. room modes (standing waves)
    By Richard Greene in forum Speakers
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 02-27-2004, 05:40 PM
  2. Here's a sub project... if you got the room!
    By karl k in forum The Audio Lab, Tweaks, Mods, DIY
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 02-14-2004, 10:26 PM
  3. Setting up a Home Theater - any help is appreciated n-n"
    By yucheng in forum Home Theater/Video
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 01-14-2004, 06:59 AM
  4. Surround sound without waking the neighbors?
    By Juardis in forum Home Theater/Video
    Replies: 14
    Last Post: 12-16-2003, 02:02 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •