What surrounds and rears to pair with B&W 803d for 7.1 setup?

[familiar1985]

Ok, so I have decided to go with B&W 803d as my mains. Trying to decide what center and surround speakers to pair with them for 7.1. For the back speakers i can only do In ceilings. For the surrounds i can only do in walls with limited space (also they would be not in optimal position either 5' above ears or pointing 3' in front of seating position). What would be better?

Also, It is hard for me to use the B&W surround line. The in ceiling speakers ccm816 work fine for my situation because I can angle. But B&W does not have in wall speakers which are similar. The closest that dealers have recommended would be the cwm 7.4 and it is hard for me to fit it because it needs a reservoir box (really needs 3' of vertical space in wall). Also if i did go with the cwm 7.4 and somehow got it to fit would it be better to use ccm 816 or ccm 7.4? ccm 7.4 cant be angled toward listening position but ccm 816 can be.

Also, I can use paradigm surround speakers which fit my situation much better. Paradigm Signature SIG-1.5R-30 for ceiling and SIG-1.5R which require less space to mount and would all be the same speaker on wall and ceiling. This would be the easiest for me. Cheaper and easier to install. But would it make sense sound wise?


Lastly, I can just toss the idea of 7.1 and just setup 5.1 with B&W ccm 816 for surrounds.

I really need some help with this as i only have a day or 2 to make my decision because I'm running conduit so my walls can be dry walled.

What do you think?

[ninja12]

Ok, so I have decided to go with B&W 803d as my mains. Trying to decide what center and surround speakers to pair with them for 7.1. For the back speakers i can only do In ceilings. For the surrounds i can only do in walls with limited space (also they would be not in optimal position either 5' above ears or pointing 3' in front of seating position). What would be better?

Also, It is hard for me to use the B&W surround line. The in ceiling speakers ccm816 work fine for my situation because I can angle. But B&W does not have in wall speakers which are similar. The closest that dealers have recommended would be the cwm 7.4 and it is hard for me to fit it because it needs a reservoir box (really needs 3' of vertical space in wall). Also if i did go with the cwm 7.4 and somehow got it to fit would it be better to use ccm 816 or ccm 7.4? ccm 7.4 cant be angled toward listening position but ccm 816 can be.

Also, I can use paradigm surround speakers which fit my situation much better. Paradigm Signature SIG-1.5R-30 for ceiling and SIG-1.5R which require less space to mount and would all be the same speaker on wall and ceiling. This would be the easiest for me. Cheaper and easier to install. But would it make sense sound wise?


Lastly, I can just toss the idea of 7.1 and just setup 5.1 with B&W ccm 816 for surrounds.

I really need some help with this as i only have a day or 2 to make my decision because I'm running conduit so my walls can be dry walled.

What do you think?

Congrats on the 803Ds. As for the 7.1 setup, if you have to make comprises to setup the 7.1 properly, then it's best to avoid the 7.1 and just go with a 5.1. It's best to have a good 5.1 setup then to have a comprised 7.1 setup. As for the 7.4s and the 816s, I would go with the 816s because they can be angled towards the listening positions instead of just firing directly down into the floor. I have CCM 817s for surrounds, and they sound very good, and they angle towards the listening position. I am very happy with them. The matching center channel for the 803d is the HTM2D. Also, I think it's best to stick with the same speaker manufacturer instead of mismatching when it comes to your mains, center, surrounds, and rears. However, it's not a problem to deviate from the speaker manufacturer when you are trying to decide on which subwoofer would be best for your setup.

Once again, congrats, I hope this helped, and good luck to you.