Opinions on CCM65 vs. CCM80 as rears

[Skip]

Hi all. I'm trying to determine which in-ceiling would make the most sense for my system. Does anyone out there have experience with B&W in-ceilings? Is there a significant enough difference between teh CCM65s and the CCM80s to justify the price difference?

Here's my current setup
Mains: CDM9NT (I love these speakers)
Center: LCR600S3 (By no means my first choice, but this is the largest B&W center that would fit in an armoire that my wife loves. Hope to upgrade someday soon, but unfortunately not this go round :cry
Rears: A pair of in-ceiling Sonance speakers, which I am looking to replace.

Other info: I am currently powering the setup with a Rotel 1055. I am about to purchase a 1080 for the CDM9NTs and keep the 1055 for the center and mains). I use the system mostly for 2ch, but like the occasional DVD/DVD-A/SACD.

[Aussie Geoff]

Skip,

I changed the title as "Looking to Tweak my System" was not very specific and your question was hidden in a lot of text - making it (from experience) not likely that many people would get to it...

PS - I'd go the 80s - they sound so much nicer in the mid bass area...

Geoff

[Skip]

Thanks for the help Geoff. I was a little long winded there.

[greggz]

I've got the ccm65's for my 6th and 7th channel speakers. In general, I really dislike in-ceiling speakers for HT, but I had no other option given the layout of my room. I chose the 65's so that the driver would "match" the 6.5" drivers that are in my N805/HTM2/SCM1's.

I've found that in my application (8 foot ceiling), the ccm65's throw a 12 foot diameter circle of sound. Once you step out of this circle, you experience suckout to the sound. Unfortunately my primary seating position is outside this circle.

If I ever have any spare money lying around, I would consider replacing the ccm65's with the new 817 in-ceilings ($700 each – ouch!) which are angled. I could then better aim the drivers toward my primary seating position.

[dpolmann]

I have N804s and HTM-2 in front (constrained by size limit, too), and I use four CCM-80s in the ceiling for surround and back. I had no choice but to use the ceiling. When I auditioned the ccm series at my HT dealer, I liked the somewhat fuller sound of the 80's. In normal use for movies, they work really fine. In 7-channel "stereo" the full set adds nice ambience to the room at normal and low volumes. When I crank up the volume, the room really rocks. My daughter got carried away one day, indiscriminantly turning up the volume with kids' dance music; I thought the paint was going to peel off of the wall but the speakers never broke their stride. All sounded very strong without a bit of pain in any of them (the pain was in my wife's ears). I have Speakercraft sound enclosures (insulated metal back boxes) in the ceiling for each speaker (speakercraft item SEI 410). This seems to add a bit of fullness and warmth, and also keeps the insulation out of the back of your driver! In another room in ceiling for 2-channel, I have Boston Acoustic VRi585's (see http://www.bostonacoustics.com/ds_pr...&CategoryID=30) which seem to be a bit brighter and have a bit more punch then the B&W CCM-80 but at 50% higher cost. For HT, I like the ccm-80's just fine. Hope this helps.