uscpsycho

I've never had in-ceiling speakers before and I'm in the process of picking some that will be used for music. Demoing ceiling speakers is pretty frustrating because they aren't like regular speakers. The two speakers I'm comparing are the Klipsch Pro-6800-C and Yamaha NS-IC800. I selected the Yamaha because of the overwhelming positivity of the reviews and I selected the 6800-C because of an amazing deal I got on them. Based on how high up the Klipsh line the Pro 6000 speakers are I was expecting them to blow the Yamaha away. But they didn't. Is the 6800-C a speaker that is better suited/designed for HT use than music? The Yamaha speakers had a fuller sound. Not as crisp in the highs as Klipsch but satisfying for music (if you ignore the lack of bass). The Klipsch was better in the highs but felt a little airy compared to the Yamaha. Almost too crisp/clear for rock-based music which is why I think this speaker might be better suited to HT than music. Or maybe better for other kinds of music. Or maybe if paired with a sub they'd shine (they won't be). Or maybe I need to have my ears checked! I noticed riffs with the Klipsch speakers that made me think "wow" which never happened with the Yamaha. But the Yamaha just felt a little more satisfying, had a little more substance. Am I getting this all wrong? I will say I am listening to these in open-air fashion and they should both sound better when they're installed. I'm using these Klipsch for my two surround setups because I know they will be better there but I feel torn about what to use for my whole home audio speakers. Because I know the pedigree of the 6800-C, I want to like them better than the budget oriented Yamaha. But if the Yamaha are better for listening to music I know I should get them. There's some serious cognitive dissonance happening. tldr - Is the 6800-C a great speaker for listening to music or is HT its strong suit?

Ah, yes. I missed that nuance. I must be one of those dumb people among us

I totally get what you mean but you're still generalizing. You're implying that the James are the only in-wall that can hang with any tower. I'm sure you're thinking "audiophile grade towers" but there are some pretty crappy towers out there too. And there are some pretty good in-walls. I'm sure there are plenty of good in-walls that are better than plenty of crappy towers. It is semantics, but we're on the Internet here and there might be a lot of dumb people among us. You don't want someone reading your post in the future and thinking that some $100/pair towers are automatically better than $500/each in-wall speakers.

OK, so let me send my own thread off topic for a minute rather than start a new-but-related thread. I think I've made up my mind to use 6800-C for the Atmos height speakers in my theater but I have another room that I'm putting a surround system in which requires in-ceiling surrounds. This is my main TV watching room. Will I notice a difference between 6803 and 6800 ceiling speakers in surround duty? Ceiling is 10 feet high in this room. Are 6803 worth the splurge?

You're over generalizing a bit here. I am sure the 6602 are better than lots of bookshelf speaker options. And when you find a bookshelf that is a little better than the 6602 there is probably a higher end in-wall that is better than this bookshelf, and so on. I have no room to put speakers behind my screen unless they go in-wall. So I also have a decision to make between ideally-positioned in-wall speakers behind an acoustically transparent screen or towers/bookshelves that are way off to the sides or down low under the screen, neither of which is ideal for HT soundstage. I don't have the luxury of doing everything the best way so I have to balance between speaker sound quality and price and location. I think when you're immersed in a movie you're going to appreciate a correct soundstage more than you are going to notice acoustic performance. And it will help that I will have an in-room sub. No in-wall subs for me.

OK, so the 6800 is capable of producing better bass, that goes without question. And according to your formulas the dispersion of the 6602 is no better than the 6800. But is there no benefit to the 6602 of having a twitter + mid instead of just a tweeter on the 6800? And in a HT situation where you're leaning on the sub(s) for bass, will the 6800 have a discernable bass advantage? Here's my situation. I cannot use the 6800 as surrounds because they are too wide to fit in one or two spots, so I have to use the 6602. For LCR I have enough room to use either 6800 or 6602. Taking price out of the equation should I use the 6602 for LCR so that all seven speakers match? Or should I use the 6800? For two channel music the 6800 is clearly superior but in my situation which do you think is best option for LCR?

I should clarify this statement. I mean the two center speakers on each speaker -- the mid and the tweeter -- can be rotated so that they are properly oriented whether you mount the speaker horizontally or vertically. If you look at a photo of the speaker, the center disk rotates 90 degrees based on the physical orientation of the speaker. Well the two 6.5's are a lot farther apart than the one 8. So it seems logical that the dispersion pattern for two speakers would be greater than for one speaker. Or maybe I'm oversimplifying it. It's also not just two 6.5's vs one 8. It's also a midrange + tweeter vs just a tweeter. Just to play devil's advocate, if you had to have 6602's for all your surround speakers would you still be in the 8" camp for LCR or would you use the 6602?

So I screwed up. The killer deal I found is on all Pro 6000 series speakers but doesn't include the 6803-C. I'm looking for a comparable deal on the 6803 but if I can't I'll go with the 6800. I really had my mind set on the 6803 but it probably doesn't make a huge difference if I have to step down since they're being used for Atmos height speakers. And I don't think the demand placed on height speakers is all that great. Unless someone has a reason why the 5800-C is better for Atmos than the 6800-C.

I can probably test the 6800 and 6803 side by side, but not installed side by side. And it isn't fair to judge wall/ceiling speakers if they haven't been installed.

Per Klipsch and per one of their dealers the 6602 can be used as LCR or surround. The center speakers can actually be rotated so that they are always in the optimal position whether mounted horizontally or vertically. Per Klipsh and per this same dealer the 6602 is the better speaker for home theater because the dual woofer design provides much better dispersion. Neither one could explain why the 6800 has a higher MSRP. The Klipsch dealer speculated that perhaps Klipsch pays less for the smaller woofers since they buy more of them. I asked why would anyone buy the 6800 over the 6602 and he again could only speculate that the 6800 might have a higher WAF or it might be better for critical music listening. I should mention that when I say "per Klispch" I am talking about the dude that answers the phone who sounded unsure so I'm not totally convinced really knows his stuff. I started a thread about this over as avsforum and everyone agreed the 6602 is better for home theater; one of the major reasons was the superior dispersion. I am convinced the 6602 is superior for home theater but the pricing still seems so weird to me so I thought I'd ask over here. No idea if any Klispch representatives ever participate on this forum but it would be great to hear their thoughts. WRT the 6800 struggling less with lower frequencies, this really shouldn't be an issue if you are crossed over properly and are using a subwoofer(s).

This thread has gotten a bit convoluted. Let me boil this down to what I'm really trying to figure out. Isn't the 6602 better than the 6800? If so why is the 6800 more expensive? If not, what makes the 6800 better?

Yes, there are some insane deals on the Pros. I went from going with the top of the line Reference series series to top of the line Pro 6000 components for considerably less.

I was referring to street price not MSRP. Street price on the current Pro 6000 line is below Reference. Believe it or not. In any case, I'm not talking about price. As you said the 6800 MSRP is more than 6602. But isn't the 6602 a better speaker? If not, why would the 6800 be more expensive?

My question isn't about pricing. My question is about performance. Right now the Pro 6602 is the cheapest of the three. Search around and you'll see. But if you were to rank the three speakers in order of PERFORMANCE wouldn't it be 1) 6602 2) 6800 3) 5800? If not, how would you rank them?

I need some advice choosing between Klipsch in-ceilings for Atmos. On their FAQ page, Klipsch states "The Klipsch CDT-5650-C II and CDT-5800-C II in-ceiling speakers are two particularly great speakers for Dolby Atmos because of their Controlled Dispersion Technology". The CDT speakers are from the Reference line but I am putting their Pro 6000 line in my walls and think it would be better to put their Pro 6000 speakers in my ceiling as well. I'm choosing between the CDT-5800-C II and the Pro-6803-C. Anything about the 6803 speaker that makes it unsuitable for Atmos? Or anything about the 5800 that makes it better than the 6803? Both have components that can be aimed which I know is beneficial for Atmos ceiling speakers and both have "controlled dispersion technology". (If for some reason it is a better choice for Atmos I could go with the Pro 6800-C.) TIA!