Ceiling Speaker Buying Guide

Welcome to the SHS Ceiling Speakers buying guide. Start here to learn all about ceiling speakers...

In this guide:

Are ceiling speakers right for me?
How do ceiling speakers work?
How much will a ceiling speaker project cost?
Finding the right speakers for you
Free ceiling speaker design service
Ceiling Speaker FAQs

Why ceiling speakers & are they right for me?

Ceiling speakers help retain a clean and aesthetic finish in your home with the music blended into the environment. All the magic is happening behind the ceiling itself.

Ceiling Speaker Pros	Ceiling Speaker Cons
✅ Discreet audio - Virtually unnoticeable in your room	❌ It's possible to get a better sound performance from a dedicated system
✅ Space saver - No dedicated space in your room required & child friendly - space	❌ Less technology inside due to a more compact size
✅ Choice of products	❌ Can be expensive

How do ceiling speakers work?

💡There are 2 main types of ceiling speakers: active and passive.

Passive is the most common, meaning that the speaker needs to be powered by separate amplifiers via speaker cable behind the ceiling. The amplifier you choose will then dictate what methods of control you have e.g. via an app or Bluetooth etc. These are perfect for home extensions, renovations and new builds.

A popular option is to opt for a smart amplifier such as the Sonos Amp or Bluesound Powernode so that you can benefit from great features like multi-room control (where you can have the same music playing in all rooms or different music in different rooms all from one point of control). This is ideal if you intend to install speakers in multiple rooms of your home.

Active speakers on the other hand are speakers which are already self-powered and simply require mains power. These are perfect for single zones where you want the most straightforward installation.

Help me decide between active and passive ceiling speakers

How are ceiling speakers wired?

Passive ceiling speakers are wired in parallel to the amplifier. That means each ceiling speaker is wired to the amplifier and not to each other as per the example below.

For rooms where you are installing one speaker in a room, this would require a single stereo ceiling speaker and requires 2 runs of cable to the speaker position as per the below. Alternatively, you can run a single 4 core cable.

Please check on your amplifier, how many speakers you are able to wire to it. The Sonos Amp can power up to 3 pairs of Sonos in-ceiling speakers or 2 pairs of any other brand.

More ceiling speaker wiring guides >>

We recommend using 16 gauge 2 core speaker cable for most projects. This provides adequate thickness to be ran up to distances of 35 metres per cable run. If you are running cable longer than this, you’ll need to upgrade to 14 gauge or 12 gauge which are thicker cables.

How much will a ceiling speaker project cost me?

Ceiling speaker projects vary greatly in cost and are completely tailored to you. However we’ve compiled a list of equipment you will need in your installation vs equipment that can be added.

Ceiling speaker kit list

Below is a list of all the equipment that all wired ceiling speaker installations require.

Product	Function	Price
Ceiling speakers	To output sound	£250 - £1000 a pair
Amplifier	To power the ceiling speakers	£400 - £700
Speaker cable	To create the link between ceiling speaker and amplifier	£1 per metre
Fire hoods	To preserve the integrity of your ceiling in the event of a fire	£49 per hood

And here is a list of optional equipment that you may wish to add to improve your experience.

Product	Function	Price
Subwoofers	To improve bass output	£400 - £700
Speaker switch	To turn on/off multiple pairs of speakers on the same amp at any one time	£100 - £200
Back box	To improve sound quality by creating a rear enclosure on the back of the ceiling speaker	£90 - £150

Sonos ceiling speaker project example

If you would like to take advantage of multi-room control with your ceiling speakers, we’ve designed an example layout below complete with a quote to help you understand what a project of this size might cost.

Zone 1 - Kitchen diner

1 x Sonos Amp

2 x Sonos in-ceiling speaker (pair)

2 x Blucube Acoustic Fire Hood

Zone 2 - Bedroom 1

1 x Sonos Amp

1 x Sonos in-ceiling speaker (pair)

Zone 3 - Master Bedroom / Ensuite

1 x Sonos Amp

1 x Sonos in-ceiling speaker (pair)

1 x Sonance C6R SST Single Stereo ceiling speaker

1 x Audioflow 2-way speaker switch

RRP: £4827

Please note, cost-savings can be made where necessary and as every project is different, this will be completely tailored to you and your budget.

This project would give the listener fully independent control between all zones. The same music can play everywhere or different music can be played in different areas at the same time.

The addition of the speaker switch in the master bedroom / ensuite will allow for the bedroom speakers to be turned off, leaving the ensuite on and vice versa.

Finding the right ceiling speaker for you

It’s so important to get the ceiling speaker right the first time as once they’re installed, they can sometimes be a bit difficult to uninstall!

Here’s a table of some important attributes to ceiling speakers that you might hear mentioned.

Mono - To be used as a stereo pair	Slim/Super Slim - A slimmer driver to fit in smaller ceiling voids
Single Stereo - To be used on its own in a room	Waterproof - Can be used in bathrooms/wetrooms/outdoors
6-Inch - The most popular driver size	8-Inch - A larger size driver for more bass
Active - Powered speakers that don't require separate amplifiers	Pivotable - Tweeters/drivers that you can angle
Surround - Ideal as surround sound speakers	3-way - 3 separate drivers for a more detailed response

Help me find some ceiling speaker models

Our free ceiling speaker design service

If you’d like to make your budget go as far as possible and you’ve got a ceiling speaker project underway, send us your floor plans and we’ll annotate them for free, recommend some models as well as put together a quotation.

Show me how your free speaker design service works