# Steam room speaker



## Rich Purdum (Mar 23, 2012)

One unfinished part of my new house is a steam room off of the master bath. It's been plumbed and wired and just needs a generator and a door. It also has been wired for a single speaker in the ceiling which cabled from the master bedroom equipment closet via a Russound Altx-2/2D Volume Control into an 8" opening. The room itself is not huge...about 4' x 6' with an 8' ceiling.

I guess I have two questions:

1. What's a reasonable speaker to consider for this installation?
2. Given there is only one speaker, how should it get connected to the AVR in the equipment closet? With such a small

I'm not sure how much use the room will get in the summers, but I can see it getting some time in the winters here in the Sierra foothills. I don't want to break the bank on the speaker but would like something that would last a few years at least.

TIA for any advice.

Rich


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## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

Here are a few ceiling speakers; the best way to connect it would depend on the AVR/amp. You _may_ be able to connect the + speaker lead the to the Right + speaker out and the - to the Left - speaker out to get a mono signal (instead of just 1 channel).


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## Rich Purdum (Mar 23, 2012)

Looks like Parts Express has a ceiling mount 8" weatherproof speaker made by Pyle for not too much money. I did find this product at another supplier. I could possibly install it in the wall where the volume control is located or in some sort of weatherproof enclosure in the ceiling of the steam room. I would be driving this off the "B" left and right "front" speaker connections on my older Yamaha AVR. Since I am already driving the two stereo speakers in the ceiling of the master bath, I'd probably need an "A/B" switch to switch between the bath and the steam room. The equipment closet is located very close by so switching would not be a problem. At least I now have a plan of attack. Wish me luck!


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## DeuceTrinal (May 7, 2012)

Many speaker makers make "DVC/dual voice coil" or "dual stereo" speakers, that have two sets of input terminals, for both left and right channels. This is one from Dayton, I can't speak to it's quality, though many Dayton speakers are quite acceptable. Here's one From a brand I know and own.

If you want to be able to run both the bath and steam room speakers together, consider an impedance matching speaker selector or volume control. That will let you use both simultaneously, without harming the amp. A typical push-button A/B switch would probably yield better audio quality, if you don't need them simultaneous.


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## Rich Purdum (Mar 23, 2012)

Thanks for the tip! I see there is at least one 8" "weather proof" dual coil available. That's probably a more straight forward approach. Both rooms have a Russound impedance matching volume controls installed so that's taken care of. My biggest challenge now is selecting a steam generator and a door.


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## DeuceTrinal (May 7, 2012)

In the high end homes I work in, I see a lot of the "Mr Steam" brand units. No idea how they cost...


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## Rich Purdum (Mar 23, 2012)

Thanks...I'll put Mr Steam on the short list.


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## Rich Purdum (Mar 23, 2012)

Finally got around to getting this project done. After some research I decided on Thermasol...the Pro series. They appear to have in home warranty for the first year. They are also a bit pricey but appear to be well designed. For example, they include a stainless steel pan to catch leaks...obviously built for the long term. Plumber should start the first week of March.

Meantime I'm looking at the sound. There is one 8-1/2" opening in the ceiling with a four wire speaker cable running from the volume control. Looks like Pyle has two "weather resistant" dual cone speakers that might fit...one is a bit smaller (PWRC62) and one (PWRC82) might require enlarging the opening (not trivial since the ceiling is ceramic tile).

Any real world experience with tolerances on ceiling speaker opening sizes would be appreciated.


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## BruceW (Feb 5, 2013)

Yes Thermasol is good..


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