I recently installed a pair of bookshelf speakers in the basement ceiling as the Front Heights for my conversion to Atmos. I would like to share what I did as a number of members probably have some old bookshelf speakers available to handle the height speaker application. Also, if I messed anything up, it can be posted in this thread so that others can learn from my mistakes. I used a pair of circa 1989 Boston Acoustics A60 acoustic suspension speakers. I doubt that I would have done this installation with new speakers.
My criteria for the chosen speaker:
1. Larger than what is normally used for ceiling speakers so that they are not overwhelmed by my huge mains, center and surround speakers.
2. Acoustic suspension speaker. A ported speaker won't work in this application.
3. Close in timbre to my circa 1980 Acoustic Research vertical series speakers. These Boston Acoustic speakers are well matched to the AR's. I've been using them with the AR's since 1989.
3. The basement ceiling is under 8 feet high, so the speaker can't be on the ceiling. Part of it must be in the ceiling.
4. Speaker angled towards the listening area given that it has no adjustable tweeter like certain ceiling speakers.
Step 1:
I made sure that there were no interferences with ductwork in the basement ceiling before I started cutting holes. That limited the locations where the A60's could be placed in the ceiling. I also checked for electrical wiring to make sure I didn't cut through them.
Step 2:
I prepared a full size drawing of the speaker, support and dimensions of the cutout in the sheetrock ceiling.
Step 2:
I located and cut the hole and then did a test fit of the speaker.
Step 3:
I installed the support for the speaker. This is a 2x4's between the floor joists.
I put Sonic Barrier on the support to help decouple the back of the speaker from the support. It also acts as a gasket to further maintain the acoustic seal when I screw (gasp!) the speaker into the support.
I pulled the speaker wires from the speaker location to the amplifier location. Note that I cut the holes for both speakers first, as doing so greatly helped with snaking the speaker wires through the ceiling.
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Step 4:
I added insulation behind the speaker mainly as a placebo for Mrs. Surround who was concerned about hearing the speakers through the above floor.
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Step 5:
I removed the drivers and polyfill from the speakers. (During this step, I also replaced the old NPE capacitor in the crossover with a new NPE and F&F bypass capacitor.)
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Step 6:
I moved the speaker to the installation location and I connected the wires from the amplifier to the terminals on the back of the speaker.
I used three 1-5/8" long screws to attach the speaker to the support. Note the O-ring used as a gasket for each screw. Again, this is a precaution to ensure the integrity of the acoustic seal. (Once you put screws through the speaker forget about selling them to anyone in the future!)
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Step 7:
I carefully reinstalled the polyfill making sure that it filled the entire interior of the speaker as it was before removal. Performing this step properly is critical to maintaining the characteristics of an acoustic suspension speaker.
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Step 7:
I reinstalled the drivers making sure that the gaskets were replaced properly thereby maintaining the acoustic seal.
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And here is the view of the room with the new Front Heights installed along with my under-construction model railroad circling my surround sound system:
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