Revel C783 In-Ceiling Speaker Review

[phoenixsong]

I wonder if the dip in FR has something to do with compensation based on how FR gets affected when listening to sounds coming from directly above our heads instead of from in front of our faces

 

[Haskil]

I'd pick a speaker with a front port, not a rear port like the M106. You'd lose the benefit of the port in the listening room AND catch a whole lot of spiders, bugs and maybe a rat or two would make a nice nest in the speaker. It'd be a perfect nesting box for creatures.

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It is true that in Australia, you have worrying and even dangerous critters that enter homes... In France, house spiders are small and harmless and they bring good luck and people are starting to understand that they should not not kill them or put them outside when they are trapped in the empty bathtub, but take them by hand and place them on the floor or on a wall. This is the season when they come into the house to spend the winter... I have one who comes out of his hiding place every evening and crosses the living room, always taking the same path to get his food. But no rats or mice... Do you really think she could take up residence in an enclosure? I'm going to prepare a rental lease for him and ask for a three-month deposit: times are tough.

 

[Stokdoof]

Thank for the review..

Since I have a concrete sealing it will be difficult to instal..

 

[ocinn]

Seems like there is no right way to do these things.

Kef CI-250RRM seems to be textbook perfection based on their data sheets, however… unbelievably expensive.

 

[dogmamann]

I have a question about wall and ceiling mounted speakers, since there is no cabinet, wouldn't it sound different depending how it's installed?

And wouldn't it measure differently depending if they are free standing and how they are installed?

Won’t all speakers sound different depending on how they are placed in a room?

 

[DSJR]

I suspect that if the woofer was tamed for lower kHz resonances, it could be crossed over a little higher to meet the tweeter better. Just a guess though but I'm sure it 'sounds' just fine in its intended non critical? role.

 

[René - Acculution.com]

They should consider pushing the tweeter lower down into the geometry, and then optimize an acoustic lens in front of the whole setup. They clearly have enough room where a lot of interesting work could be done as I show below for a quick example.

 

[Toni Mas]

Awfull midwoofer resonances making impossible a decent crossover. If It were not Revel, comments would show no mercy at all. Especially at this price.

 

[Deleted member 48726]

I just don’t understand how they can’t build and design a half way decent ceiling speaker? Where a minor Train Wreck is considered not bad. Thanks for the Review and work Amir. Someday you are going to give one of these speakers your approval. I just hope to live long enough to be here for it!

I don't find it difficult to imagine why it is a struggle to get good results in what result to both mounted in an infinite baffle, small bookshelf and huge tower.

You must choose one.

 

[CleanSound]

Won’t all speakers sound different depending on how they are placed in a room?

That's true. I guess, I'm trying to figure out how does one design a "good" in-wall and/or in ceiling speaker. If you take a free standing speaker, it's a finished product, you know consistently how it performs if you were to take the room out of the equation, and the manufacturer has much more control on how it performs.

Whereas, in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, you are dependent on the installation, there's so much more variables resulting in inconsistencies. As such, if these speakers naked does measures well, there's probably very little science that goes into the installation, even with professional installers, certainly not Revel R&D level science.

I have serious doubts about in-wall and in-ceiling speakers in general. But I'm hoping to get more science on how good/bad in-wall and in-ceiling speakers are.

 

[CleanSound]

an infinite baffle

But here is the thing, with most homes, at least in North America, you won't get infinite baffle, there are studs and beams.

And the resonance control is probably terrible with dry wall, maybe in some other regions of the world where the wall are concrete you have better resonance control, but I suspect not many would want to drill a hole through concrete to install in-wall/in-ceiling speakers.

My feeling is that the whole idea of in-wall and in-ceiling speakers is more catered to professional settings or if in private settings, the architecture and space is prioritized before sound quality.

 

[Deleted member 48726]

But here is the thing, with most homes, at least in North America, you won't get infinite baffle, there are studs and beams.

And the resonance control is probably terrible with dry wall, maybe in some other regions of the world where the wall are concrete you have better resonance control, but I suspect not many would want to drill a hole through concrete to install in-wall/in-ceiling speakers.

My feeling is that the whole idea of in-wall and in-ceiling speakers is more catered to professional settings or if in private settings, the architecture and space is prioritized before sound quality.

Yeah. That was indirectly my point. Why bother doing "regular" tests of a driver which is going into an "irregular" montage..

 

[CleanSound]

Yeah. That was indirectly my point. Why bother doing "regular" tests of a driver which is going into an "irregular" montage..

Agree. Sorry, I totally missed your point. But I suspect the measurements naked probably is useful to help with design, to rule out some obvious design flaws.

But in any case, I get the feeling most who prioritizes sound, probably would not get in-wall nor in-ceiling speakers.

 

[jhaider]

Kef CI-250RRM seems to be textbook perfection based on their data sheets, however… unbelievably expensive.

Except for the angle.

IMO the best ceiling speaker configuration is what Andrew Jones did with the Pioneer EX line that came out before the Great Recession: 3-way in V-shaped baffle with angled coax on one side and woofer on the other. I wish someone would bring that back with similarly top notch parts.

 

[Timcognito]

I have serious doubts about in-wall and in-ceiling speakers in general. But I'm hoping to get more science on how good/bad in-wall and in-ceiling speakers are.

This is all true, but if one is able to control the back-box geometry on an in wall, you have the ideal infinite baffle, no front wall cancellations and zero baffle step, in-walls should perform better than boxes. I too, want more testing and knowledge on in-wall speakers.

 

[amirm]

It is tough to sell high quality speakers into this market. The custom installation requirements are high sales margin (as much as 60%!) and shallow depth/ease of installation. Sound quality is hard to sell to most customers who buy these finished systems.

 

[Dal1as]

I know Triad has some interesting in wall/ceiling speakers with angled baffles.

Atmos relies on angles and even phantom signals between every adjoining pair of speakers. Especially going from bed layer speakers to top fronts/rears.

Moving my front/rear tops closer to the MLP made a distinct difference.

A lot of people use outdoor speakers which works very well but you do have a speaker hanging from the ceiling.

I currently use the Klipsch aw650s and they work great. May move them outside and get the Revel outdoor speakers that Amir measured well one of these days.

 

[CleanSound]

It is tough to sell high quality speakers into this market. The custom installation requirements are high sales margin (as much as 60%!) and shallow depth/ease of installation. Sound quality is hard to sell to most customers who buy these finished systems.

Good info. Not that I was interested in in-wall nor in-ceiling to begin with, but this information is important for consumers to know. Thanks!

 

[Blamb512]

Interesting that the 8" has a dip at 700hz, yet the spin of the 6" looks to have a peak there:

 

[pseudoid]

Birds, bugs, howling winds, lightning, thunder, caves, aerial vehicles, missiles.
I can't think of many other sound-effects in movies that would require down-firing speakers... even if perfectly executed!
Yeah, I know! I must be an outlier.