Enhance Your Listening Experience With These Expert Rated Ceiling Speakers

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Take that 15th century proverb regarding children—they should be seen, not heard—and reverse it. Now you understand the appeal of ceiling-mounted speakers—they should be heard, not seen.

While the era of showing off massive “hi-fi” loudspeakers by heavy-hitter brands like Cerwin-Vega and Magnepan in a dedicated listening room isn’t quite as outdated as the above proverb, it’s not far off. Today’s audiophiles and home-theater enthusiasts desire maximum sonic impact with minimum visual presence. And that’s where the new generation of ceiling-mounted speakers comes in—they have a stealth design to make that happen.

It’s really a no-brainer to use ceiling-mounted speakers for fill-in duties in 7.1 and 7. 2 surround-sound systems. It saves you a lot of hassle with wall-mount or (worse yet) floor-mount surround speakers, with little to no penalty in staging and sound quality. More adventurous users might even want to go ceiling-mount for the whole system. This has a negative impact on staging but it frees up a lot of space on shelves and walls.

The most interesting new use of ceiling-mounted speakers, however, is in “man caves” and recreational rooms. Pair ceiling-mounted speakers with a Bluetooth-capable receiver and you can control what amounts to high-quality invisible sound from your phone. Stealth, indeed.

Best Ceiling Speakers

• Best Overall Ceiling Speakers: Focal Littora 1000 ICW10

• Best Affordable Whole-Home Option: Klipsch CDT-5800-C-II
  

• Best Low-Cost, Full-Range Ceiling Speakers: Definitive Technology Ueua/Di 6.5R

• Best Value: Pyle Pair 6.5-Inch Flush Mount

• Best Multi-Functional Speaker: Focal 100ICW8

What to Look for in Ceiling Speakers

Size and Depth

Forget what you read in the advertisements: A larger speaker is pretty much always better, as long as you have an amplifier or receiver capable of pushing it. Why? It’s simple. The purpose of a speaker is to move air, which is how the vibrations get to your ears. A smaller speaker needs to have a longer “excursion"—that’s the length of travel it covers as it vibrates—to create the same volume as a larger one. A longer excursion leads to distortion and reduces the sharpness of sound effects in movies.

That said, a larger speaker needs more space in your ceiling, and that can potentially be a problem. Not only are you cutting a bigger hole, you’ll also need more total depth for the enclosure and for the magnet that drives the speaker. So, make sure your eyes aren’t bigger than your available space.

More Speakers to Consider: Best Waterproof Bluetooth Speakers, Best Subwoofers, Best Surround Sound Systems, Best Soundbars, Best Car Speakers

Atmos and Everything Else

The Dolby Atmos and DTS-X audio systems require ceiling-mounted speakers as part of their standard installations. If you’re planning on using ceiling speakers for one of those systems, you might want to get some qualified advice about exactly where to place the speakers, and what size they should be in relation to the rest of your speakers.

Almost everyone else can follow this rough guide: Don’t go bigger than half. That is: If the largest driver in your front speakers is 12 inches, you probably don’t want more than a 6-inch ceiling speaker. For systems that use multiple small drivers, like a Bose 901 or Paradigm tower speaker, you can break this rule.

Stereo Inputs and Whole-Home Systems

Not everyone buys ceiling-mounted speakers for a dedicated home theater. Some are looking for whole-home sound systems. There are specific products for this, and we’ve noted the best application (or applications) for each of these picks. Most whole-home speakers are what’s called stereo-input, meaning they take both the left and right parts of a stereo input and mix them into a single signal that is then played through your ceiling. There are also speakers that can be “aimed” to produce the sensation that the sound is coming from somewhere other than directly overhead.

For whole-home systems, you’ll want the largest, most power-capable speakers your amplifier or receiver can handle. Don’t expect a single 4-inch speaker to fill a whole kitchen with sound; what you get will be a lot closer to an elementary-school PA system than a concert hall.

How We Evaluated Ceiling Speakers

When determining the best ceiling speakers to recommend, I looked for a wide variety of performance, price, and size options, relying on manufacturers with an established reputation for excellence in speaker construction. Here are the best options to add sound and depth to your home-audio installation.

Littora 1000 ICW10

Alright, we’re cheating a bit here—because the “ceiling” for which the Focal Littora is meant is the ceiling of a high-end yacht. That’s why these speakers are IP65 waterproof. But there’s no reason you couldn’t use them as cost-no-object ceiling speakers in a serious-business home theater installation.

If you do, then you’ll quickly realize why Focal’s made-in-France high-end offerings have such a brilliant reputation. And if anyone asks why you chose them, just explain that you’re a fan of “yacht rock”!

Klipsch CDT-5800-C-II

Klipsch makes a few whole-home speakers, but this is its most capable and configurable effort. This two-way (treble and bass) speaker can be pointed at a specific area in your room using a unique gimbal-style mount.

The tweeter and woofer cones are metal, meaning they’ll last longer and degrade less over time. A set of attenuation switches can help you prevent an overload of high frequencies.

Ueua/Di 6.5R

Definitive Technology (“DefTech” to the aficionados out there) has a well-earned reputation for maximum volume and maximum impact. The 6.5R upholds that rep and then some. It’s capable of handling 200 watts—and when DefTech makes a statement like that, they are always conservative—yet it installs in a relatively compact enclosure.

Expect to get a lot of sonic coverage from these, but make sure you bring enough amplifier to the party.

Pair 6.5-Inch Flush Mount

Pyle is well-known for speakers that can handle a bit of power and a bit of abuse without falling apart—and these flush-mounts continue that tradition.

If you’ve been using the one-inch micro-cube speakers that were originally sold with a lot of surround systems, these will be an absolute revelation in terms of punch and presence. Classical-music listeners may want to go elsewhere, but these are more than good enough for the average mid-level home theater.

100ICW8

Focal’s high-end speakers are rightly praised, but the French company has mid-range offerings as well. The 100ICW8 blurs the line between home-theater and audiophile sound in a package that is sizable, yet can still fit in a 5-inch space above your ceiling. Frameless grille? That’s the icing on the cake.

SD-6S-ALU

Soundavo’s low-profile (3.77 inches tall) speaker is a good choice for affordably adding ceiling sound to existing integrated systems. It’s meant to thrive with the low power supplied to rear channels by most all-in-one setups.

Replacing your old “cube” or “corner” speakers with ceiling-mounted Soundavos is almost certain to be an improvement.

VCA8

Looking for a quick installation in a dropped ceiling? The Pure Resonance is just the ticket. The ABS plastic panel is the same dimensions as a traditional ceiling panel, and the three directional full-range drivers project sound to fill the room.

For a basement home-theater installation, these are a great choice for spacious-sounding 7.2 surround. Whole-home systems can also benefit from the angled drivers and easy installation.

DT61

The ELAC speaker is designed from the ground up—or the ceiling down—for home theater use. With angled drivers to aim the sound where you want it and an internal crossover to prevent muddied sound from unplayable low frequencies, this is a dedicated speaker to enhance the effect of surround-sound films and DVD-Audio soundtracks.

It’s not particularly compact, and it isn’t designed for fuss-free installation, but the results should justify the effort.

C67HC/T

These are ceiling speakers, but not as we usually know them. The JBL pendant speakers hang from the ceiling and cover 75 degrees below. You can hang them as low as 15 feet off the ceiling, making them a brilliant choice for all those two-story great rooms out there.

Available in two colors and two sizes, these are both conversation pieces and hi-fidelity devices that will make movie night at the house just a bit more exciting.

Note: A larger speaker requires more space in your ceiling so keep in mind that more total depth will be needed.

Expert Jack Baruth Sounds Off on Ceiling Speakers. Here’s What You Need to Know Before You Buy.

Do I also need an amplifier and receiver when I buy speakers?

As a general rule, you need an audio source and an amplification source. The audio source can be a CD player, a record player, a digital media player, or even a Bluetooth receiver that works with your phone.

That source then has to be amplified before it can be played through your speakers. Stand-alone amplifiers are generally reserved for high-end applications. So what you want is an “integrated receiver” which connects to your CD player, record player, and other sources.

Want to go simple? Try one of the new “Bluetooth amplifiers." They take whatever’s playing on your phone or tablet and boost it.

Should I buy ceiling speakers individually or as a set?

The best sound will always come from having an expert evaluate your room and choose individual speakers, but most of us don’t have that kind of expertise and funding available. So don’t be ashamed to just buy a whole set from a particular manufacturer.

How can I make sure I have future-proofed my purchase?

Traditional two-wire speaker systems aren’t going away any time soon, so the best way to make sure you won’t fall afoul of future developments is to physically wire your system.

Wireless systems, on the other hand, come and go. If you want the convenience of wireless, be aware that you probably won’t be able to replace individual pieces 10 years from now.

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