Ceiling surround speakers (hanging - not flush mount) - use outdoor speakers???

[Koko818]

We have a pre-wire for surrounds in a new house we just moved into. There are 12' ceilings and the prewires are a good 6' behind the seating area - so rather than flush mount I'm going with speakers that can be aimed down and forward towards the audience, and oriented horizontally on it's bracket. This will optimize the effectiveness of the surrounds rather than have them diffused and indirect.

Kind of like these - https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41VlmnpQjWL.jpg

The only ones I can find that are in the right size/form factor are outdoor speakers - which is OK - I think - but wanted to get other's opinions on using outdoor speakers for indoor surrounds.

If it's a good idea - recommendations in the $200/pair range would be appreciated. Obviously high in the middle of a ceiling they can't be huge. And they do have to come in white to at least blend in a little. Klipsch and Polk are a couple that have come up in searches...

Thanks in advance for ideas!

 

[americanaudiophile]

Since surround sound speakers at the movies don't aim at you I think you should be fine with standard in ceiling speakers at that distance behind you. Since you have high ceilings get ones with 8" woofers if you can.
If you have to aim them then there are in ceiling ones that are directional from Martin Logan and Paradigm. A bit more money but much better looking and better sounding since outdoor speakers are often bright when used indoors.

 

[Koko818]

outdoor speakers are often bright when used indoors.

That's something I hadn't heard before. Will have to be careful of that. I'm just going through all my many speakers on hand (from storage) and amp it's all pretty dated and maybe we should also consider looking at a HT package as well? I've always done my own components, but I'm looking at replacing the receiver/amp, mains, surrounds - the only thing I was going to keep was a Velodyne 10" Sub.

 

[sebastjan.meza]

I am faced with exactly the same task.

Koko818, can you please reply what did you buy and how it sounds. I couldn fins Klipsch ceeling speakers that you mentioned. Can you specify the exact model.

 

[Koko818]

I am faced with exactly the same task.

Koko818, can you please reply what did you buy and how it sounds. I couldn fins Klipsch ceeling speakers that you mentioned. Can you specify the exact model.

I got the Klipsch KHO-7 indoor-outdoor speaker and think it does a pretty good job. Not too bright. It comes in off white with a bracket with horizontal ceiling mount orientation which is perfect for this application. There may be better speakers on the market at higher cost, but these were a good fit for us.
http://www.klipsch.com/products/outdoor-speakers?model=kho-7

I ended up buying RBH R5Bi Impressions for the L/C/R - they look great and sound fantastic for the cost... https://rbhsound.com/series_impression.php