Helos for whole house audio?

[chris]

Hi all-

I'm new to the forums, but a long time ML fan/owner. I was intrigued when I heard that ML had introduces in-ceiling/wall speakers. So now I am considering using a few of the Helos speakers for rooms in my house that are wired for speakers, but don't have any

I don't have a good ML dealer nearby where I can demo or get good advice, so I'm going to have to rely on "virtual" advice. To start, I am looking at 3 rooms:

1) Master Bath - 9x12 (slanted ceiling 10'-8')
2) Kitchen - 14x20 but open to a sitting area/fireplace which makes the room 14x31 (slanted ceiling 10'-8')
3) Billiards Room - 14x18 (8' ceiling) and one non-existent wall

What room sizes are appropriate for the various speakers? And how many should I be looking at? My original thought was 1) 2 speakers for the bathroom, 2)??? for the kitchen (thoughts below), 3) 4 speakers for the billiards room.

An option that I was considering for the kitchen was using the in-wall instead of the in-ceiling speakers. Possibly inserting them horizontally above the doorways facing into the kitchen, but I don't know that this would be advisable.

Any input/suggestions are very welcome. I am still amidst my remodel so I can still change wiring locations and amounts (but not for long)

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Brian_74]

Hi all-

I'm new to the forums, but a long time ML fan/owner. I was intrigued when I heard that ML had introduces in-ceiling/wall speakers. So now I am considering using a few of the Helos speakers for rooms in my house that are wired for speakers, but don't have any

I don't have a good ML dealer nearby where I can demo or get good advice, so I'm going to have to rely on "virtual" advice. To start, I am looking at 3 rooms:

1) Master Bath - 9x12 (slanted ceiling 10'-8')
2) Kitchen - 14x20 but open to a sitting area/fireplace which makes the room 14x31 (slanted ceiling 10'-8')
3) Billiards Room - 14x18 (8' ceiling) and one non-existent wall

What room sizes are appropriate for the various speakers? And how many should I be looking at? My original thought was 1) 2 speakers for the bathroom, 2)??? for the kitchen (thoughts below), 3) 4 speakers for the billiards room.

An option that I was considering for the kitchen was using the in-wall instead of the in-ceiling speakers. Possibly inserting them horizontally above the doorways facing into the kitchen, but I don't know that this would be advisable.

Any input/suggestions are very welcome. I am still amidst my remodel so I can still change wiring locations and amounts (but not for long)

Thanks,
Chris

Chris,
I don't have any of the ML products for my in-ceiling speakers but I have a 6 zone home audio speaker system and I can suggest that you should go in-ceiling all around. I'm not sure you would get real good dispersion in the kitchen with the in-walls installed as you suggested. 4 speakers for the billiards room at only 14x18 seems a little much. I have 2 6.5 in ceiling speakers in my 16x14 kitchen and 16x12 loft and it's just fine. I would think the Helos 20's for all your rooms would be sufficient. 1 pair for the master bath and billiards room would be enough I would think. What kind of multichannel amp are you planning to use? You may want to use 2 pair for the kitchen/sitting room area. Try to spread your speakers along the long dimensions of the rooms to maximize the dispersion. Good luck! I think you will be pleased with the sound quality of the Helios series.

 

[chris]

Brian-

Thanks for your input. I had the same concerns with regard to the in-wall speakers for the kitchen. If you could see my kitchen, you would understand why I considered it, but ultimately I agree that it would not be ideal.

Is the reason that you recommended the Helos 20 (instead of the 10) that they are capable of producing stereo sound?

One of the reasons I was thinking about 4 speakers in the billiards room, was that I was unsure of how to evenly distribute the audio... picture a rectangular room with a pool table right in the middle. Most of the time spent there will be on the outer edges of the room. That said, I think that the Helos 20 in stereo could work well in this situation.

I am attaching pictures of my kitchen. As I look at it again, two options come to mind. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
1) Use 3 Helos 20 (operating in stereo); placing 1 above each skylight.
2) Use 4 Helos 20 (mono or stereo); placed in a 2x2 grid with 2 speakers between skylights.
3) I suppose a third option would be to use 2 Helos 20 (in stereo) between the skylights as in option 2.

Thanks!
Chris

 

[chris]

I just wanted to add that the kitchen table/chairs and TV that are sitting by the fireplace in the "sitting area" are temporary fixtures. There will be two oversized chairs and a coffee table for sitting by the fire

 

[avhomedesigns]

Chris,

Beautiful kitchen.

I am an installer and have a few recommendations but remember it really comes down to what you think looks best and how much sound you are wanting.

A few questions I would ask a customer.

What is the purpose of the speakers in each room?
Background sound? Main Listening Area? Just to have it available? Future surround sound option?

Another thing is ceiling layout.
How many recessed lights, ceiling fans, a/c vents, ect...
Too much can really chop up the ceiling.

You can put as many speakers in one room as you want but typically I put two except for large rooms where people want the option to really jam out.:rocker:

I would recommend putting two of the Helo 100s in your kitchen between the skylights (pic)
I would recommend putting two of the Helo 50's in your bathroom or just one Helo 20 positioned in a central location(at least 2-3 ft from any wall).
I would either put two of the Helo 100's or four of the Helo 50's in the billard room depending on the ceiling layout (I think both will give your room a balance sound)

I have a surround sound setup on one end of my game room (28 x 14) and I get plenty of sound throughout the room.(pic)

Just some personal recommendations.
**** Luck!

Adam

 

[Brian_74]

I would recommend putting two of the Helo 100s in your kitchen between the skylights (pic)
I would recommend putting two of the Helo 50's in your bathroom or just one Helo 20 positioned in a central location(at least 2-3 ft from any wall).
I would either put two of the Helo 100's or four of the Helo 50's in the billard room depending on the ceiling layout (I think both will give your room a balance sound)

Adam

Adam, I've never heard of the Helos 50? It's not on Martin Logan's site. Is this a new model?

Chris, the reason I was suggesting the Helos 20 is because it will give you greater flexibility being able to be stereo or mono so that you could use a single speaker in the bathroom, for example. In addition, if in mono, the two tweeters should give you more dispersion for your larger rooms, again maybe allowing you to use fewer speakers and save some $$

What kind of amplifier are you going to use? Can it handle 4ohm load because that's what the Helos 20 will be if wired in mono mode. Maybe that makes your decision easier.

You mentioned putting the speakers in a 2x2 grid in the kitchen. In general, you want to put them much farther apart than that. This article gives some very helpful guidelines on placement http://www.hometech.com/learn/audio2.html

If you are considering the Helos 20, don't forget that you need to run 4 conductor speaker wire to each location.

Like Adam said, if you can tell us the purpose for the speakers (background, main listening, etc) and more about the amplifier(s) you are going to use, we can help more