Bathroom Ceiling Speakers Setup

[LukeWalker]

I'd like to set up some ceiling speakers in my bathroom. I'm thinking two speakers, since it's kind of a long, narrow bathroom, with the shower at one end. This way in the shower there could be music, as well as in the rest of the room.

Ideally I'd like to just have a 3.5mm wall jack (like an aux input), so I can hook up an iPod and just set it on the counter to play the music through the speakers.

One question I had was if with that setup I would need an amp in the wall as well. I found this old thread that seems to imply 'yes'. But is that accurate - do I definitely need an amp?

Also, looking at speaker options, there are a lot (obviously). I'm a complete n00b when it comes to speaker selection, so I'd appreciate any advice as to which models I need. Having been doing some research, I think I want a pair of 2-way speakers, ideally ones that are at least moisture-resistant. Also, I'm in a townhouse, so I don't want/need speakers that are so powerful that they will bother the neighbors.

Thanks in advance for the guidance!

 

[vi edit]

Ok...lots of things going on here.

1) Budget. What kind of money are you able to spend. This can get very pricy.
2) Do you even have access to your ceiling and know what is up there?
3) Even smaller speakers mounted in the ceiling are going to pass sound to the floor above. Is anyone above you?

The most difficult part will be accessing, and installing. If you don't have attic access it could be a massive pain in the ass, if not downright impossible. To get wire up through there you'll have to punch up through the fireblock at the top of the wall and then depending on which way the studs go you'll have limited choices on where to place them. If the studs run opposite the wall you want to put the control/connection then you are really screwed.

As far as how to control things, if you have $$, the Sonos ZP120 is pretty sweet.
http://www.sonos.com/products/zoneplayers/zp120/default.aspx?rdr=true&LangType=1033

With that you can just stick it some place (not even in the same room) and dump the wires to it and you can control it with you iPod touch to play your iTunes or rhapsody library. No need to even have it in the bathroom.

You will need some sort of amplification though to power the speakers. The ZP will do it, a T-amp will do it, a receiver will do it, or could go an A-bus route too if you want other rooms hooked up too.

Honestly though, for the trouble I'd just put a radio on the sink or a shelf and call it a day. It's a massive amount of work & money for one room. And doing this stuff after the fact is a messy, expensive, and frustrating process.

 

[LukeWalker]

1) Budget. What kind of money are you able to spend. This can get very pricy.

I was thinking of spending $100-200. I was thinking that could get me a pair of "good enough" speakers (that would be worth the trouble/effort of installing) that still wouldn't break the bank. Also its in the bathroom, so I'm not too worried...

Any recommendations on specific speakers?

2) Do you even have access to your ceiling and know what is up there?

3) Even smaller speakers mounted in the ceiling are going to pass sound to the floor above. Is anyone above you?

The most difficult part will be accessing, and installing. If you don't have attic access it could be a massive pain in the ass, if not downright impossible. To get wire up through there you'll have to punch up through the fireblock at the top of the wall and then depending on which way the studs go you'll have limited choices on where to place them. If the studs run opposite the wall you want to put the control/connection then you are really screwed.

I have attic access, and the bathroom is on the top floor. The attic access hole is actually in the closet attached to that bathroom, so it will actually be pretty easy. I'm pretty sure the walls just have vertical studs 16" apart, so besides drilling into the top of the wall, there shouldn't be any other issue with running wire.

You will need some sort of amplification though to power the speakers. The ZP will do it, a T-amp will do it, a receiver will do it, or could go an A-bus route too if you want other rooms hooked up too.

So this one was linked in that other thread, and it looks like it would do the job pretty well. One thought I had was it would be nice to have the volume knob on the outside - could I adapt/connect this to a keystone wall plate connection? The alternative would be to just turn it up all the way and control volume with the source (the iPod).

 

[vi edit]

The problem you'll run into with your speakers is that with the layout you describe, they might be pretty far apart. If you go with a basic speaker they are going to be running in stereo and your imaging is going to be jacked up if one is pretty far away. You'll be wiser to go with a "stereo" speaker with two VC's/tweaters that you run both sets of speaker wire to. This way it plays both channels of sound at the same time and won't sound weird if the one down the hallway isn't easily heard from the other one.

Not sure how that would play with the impedence levels on something like a t-amp though. And I also don't know how a T-Amp would play with an impedence matching volume control that you'd mount in a low voltage box in the wall either.

 

[AlienCraft]

Put a box behind the speaker to keep the humid air out of the attic space.
Won't hurt the sound , either.