# Need small LCR speakers



## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

Hi guys,
My wife threw me a curve ball and I'm considering my options here on how to proceed.

We have a family room mini-theater. In ceiling surrounds. Pre-wired for LCR across the front for on-wall mounting.

I was going to DIY a single driver 3" speaker from Zaph audio (the B3S design), but I prototyped the box last night and the wife didn't like the look. Too big and boxy. Keep in mind, this is a 5" wide by about 7" deep speaker, so not large by speaker standards. I admit, though, it did overwhelm the space we can fit. There's a small section of wall between the fireplace and doorway that is only about 8" wide and the 5" wide box speaker looked like a massive head-trauma jutting from the wall.


So I'm looking at options.

I have always liked the Gallo Acoustics ball speakers from an aesthetics point of view. Anyone have experience with these?

Any other small speaker recommendations that pack a punch?

Please do not mention Bose or I will have to get punchy  :boxer:

Thanks all!
Anthony


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## informel (Jun 21, 2011)

Axiom makes some nice looking onwall/inwall speakers with different wood finish


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## informel (Jun 21, 2011)

You can also look at Definitive Technology, the UIW series are interesting, they are not cheap, but the spec are pretty good


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

Forgot about Axiom. Those are usually pretty nice. I've listened to some of their big speakers and was impressed.

Heard of DT, but havn't actually heard them in person.

Thanks.


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Didn't Dale do a review recently on the Axiom on-wall speakers? I am pretty certain I recall reading a review on those........


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

You might be thinking of this one:
http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...-2-home-theater-system-discussion-thread.html

It's the bigger home theater package. He did a review of the M3 a couple years back that I just found in the search. Going to read it now.


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

ALMFamily said:


> Didn't Dale do a review recently on the Axiom on-wall speakers? I am pretty certain I recall reading a review on those........


Yay - the mind is not completely gone! :bigsmile:

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/speaker-reviews/35847-axiom-m3-v3-wall-speaker-review.html

And, the Grand Master!

http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...nd-master-5-2-home-theater-system-review.html


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

Sounds like we may have a winner. I'm going to run the Axiom, Gallo, and Orb by the wife and see what she says. The Axiom has my vote and should be in budget.

Thanks,
Anthony


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

Hsu has combo deals on their smaller bookshelf speakers and subs:

http://www.hsuresearch.com/packages.html

I have never heard their bookshelf speakers but have read good reviews on them. As for their subs - I have 5 ULS-15s and they perform very, very well


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

A buddy of mine had the mini Hsus but I seem to remember that the crossover was either in the sub or the center channel for all the speakers. They sounded great, but it limited how they were wired up.

Measured for the Axiom and I didn't have enough room on one side. Wife likes the hammered finish Orbs, so I may be getting three with mounts in the near future. Just trying to figure out if I should go with the singles or doubles. From what I know about dispersion patterns, a double might not be so good at the high frequencies with the interference patterns and such. But I may need the extra output. Hmm, got some thinking to do. 

Still trying one last time to redesign the B3N DIY speaker to fit, but it's nice to know we have other options.

Thanks again for all the input guys.

Anthony


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## informel (Jun 21, 2011)

Anthony said:


> ... I admit, though, it did overwhelm the space we can fit. There's a small section of wall between the fireplace and doorway that is only about 8" wide and the 5" wide box speaker looked like a massive head-trauma jutting from the wall.


Because of that contraint (I hope it is an english word),every thing you put btw the fireplace and doorway may look funny. 
You may reconsider Definite technology
the DI-6.5 goes in wall in such a way that the grill is flush mount with the wall so once it is painted, it is almost invible.

OOOPS, I had a look at the spec just before sending this post and it may not fit inside your wall as the outer flange is 8 5/16"


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## informel (Jun 21, 2011)

Since this is not your main home theater system, have you considered a single speaker surround, in your case, that could be the best solution, small and elegant. I do not have any model to suggest but I was looking at DT Mytos SSA-50 and the spec are pretty impressive (do not know if it live up to the claim)

it says freq: response is: 50hz - 30Khz, but suggest a crossover at 100hz, so I assume that at 50 hz it will be more than 3DB down. Pretty sure your wife will like this


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## informel (Jun 21, 2011)

I am really on this case, sorry I am out of town and I have lots of free time

Most audio bar or single surround speaker (they all have different name) comes with a wireless sub and the bar is frequently amplified (powered), the Pold SurroundBar 500 CHT is not powered and no sub comes with it so it could be another alternative, this will never beat your floorstanding speaker, but when there is no space and you want to keep the wife happy (happy wife, happy life); this is the route to go


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## caper26 (Sep 10, 2010)

what about something like this? :


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

Anthony said:


> Wife likes the hammered finish Orbs, so I may be getting three with mounts in the near future. Just trying to figure out if I should go with the singles or doubles. From what I know about dispersion patterns, a double might not be so good at the high frequencies with the interference patterns and such. But I may need the extra output. Hmm, got some thinking to do.


You might want to look into the Orb's and Gallo's pretty carefully before taking out your credit card. I owned the Orbs -- and have listened to the Gallo's -- and they both suffer from the same rather glaring shortcoming; no midrange depth.

The upper mid's and high's aren't all that bad, especially with the Gallo A'Diva TI's, but the lower mid's are a bit shallow. At first that might not seem like much of a problem, but use them for a while and your opinion will probably change (especially if you enjoy music). The overall sense is that the sound is somewhat weak and thin, which grows tiring rather quickly.

If you can find an articulate sub that crosses high enough -- around 150Hz -- you can mitigate the problem to a certain extent, but that creates it's own issues I'm afraid. For a casual setup you might be OK, but for your main system you'll probably find them a little underwhelming.


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## Appletree11 (Jul 9, 2012)

Check these out Polk Audio Blackstone TL350. I know Polk Audio isnt what you might first think about but I also was looking for small speakers for a room in my house and after alot of searching gave these a try and wow with a good sub they are amazing. Check out the review at sound and vision. 

soundandvisionmag.com/article/review-polk-audio-blackstone-tl350


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## ambesolman (Apr 25, 2011)

hjones4841 said:


> Hsu has combo deals on their smaller bookshelf speakers and subs:
> 
> http://www.hsuresearch.com/packages.html
> 
> I have never heard their bookshelf speakers but have read good reviews on them. As for their subs - I have 5 ULS-15s and they perform very, very well


I have the hsu bookshelves, HB-1s. They're phenomenal speakers, but if your old lady didn't like the ones you built then she won't like these as they are bigger. Their ventriloquist speakers could work, though haven't heard them. Call or email hsu, they'll help you out. Great customer service.


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## ambesolman (Apr 25, 2011)

Sorry about the double post. First one didn't go through earlier and just showed up on my end.

The Hsu HB-1s are fantastic speakers, especially for the price. But they are bigger than the ones you built so she probably won't go for them. Their ventriloquist speakers are supposed to be very good as well, but would probably need a higher crossover point. Their subs go high enough to fill the gap but the bass becomes more localizable the higher the crossover is set. You can remedy this by putting the sub up front between the mains so the mid/bass frequencies are coming from in front of you instead of the corner, etc. I'd give them a call, they have great products and customer service.


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