I'm wondering if anybody has thoughts or experience with adapting the VBS-6.2 as a budget-minded Atmos speaker? For my theater I'll be using HTM-12's for LCR and HT-8s for surrounds and rears, plus subs. I've considered Volt 8s for on-ceiling Atmos boxes. There is lots of hype about the questionable sound quality of the Volts, but I suspect this is less noticeable in normal listening, and probably not a big deal for Atmos. I would likely build angled boxes to ceiling mount Volts if I go that route. I started thinking, however, that the VBS-6.2 could make for a really cool, low budget ceiling wedge. By slightly changing the sealed box to a semi-wedge shape of the same internal volume I think they might make for really nice angled Atmos units that could further be recessed into the drywall between joists if necessary. At less than $100/each they would be a bargain and I'm guessing have similar tonal characteristics to the bed layer CD/waveguides. Plus it appears the components are still available which is iffy these days. SVS makes a similar wedge concept with their Prime Elevation speakers that are often ceiling mounted on brackets. It might be better to invert the VBS-6.2 woofer and tweeter so that the deeper CD/waveguide are mounted in the thicker part of the wedge and the shallower woofer mounts at the narrow end. Any thoughts or advice on this concept - or just take the easy route and do Volts or other commercial Atmos speakers? I'm also thinking seriously about the RSL C34E MKII which are only $150/each and recess cleanly into the ceiling with no build time required. Thanks! Andy
Hi Andy, The VBS-6.2 would work in a design like that, I'd even go so far as to say it would match the HTM-12's and HT-8's better then the Volts. If you are going to build an angled box just make sure ahead of time that there is clearance for the compression driver so that it does not interfere with the cabinet wall. I'll also note that the HT-6's will be available soon which could be another option.
I recently finished a pair of Volt-10's for my shop, these things sound fantastic. I also have a set of Volt-8's to build, just no rush to do anything with them yet. I would go with Matts advice, he wouldn't steer you wrong. If you have the Volts build them and try them, I do not think you will be disappointed. But if you don't have them, you know how hard it is to buy them, stick with something that is available,
Great! Another speaker that I don't currently have an actual need for that I will probably buy because ...........well, who even needs a reason other than they are in stock?
I'm revisiting this old question since I still haven't put together an Atmos setup yet due to other priorities. I ordered the woofer and horn+CD for the VBS 6.2 to do some mockup and play with an enclosure. I've realized, however, that it may be really difficult with an 8ft ceiling to build a surface mount box of acceptable dimensions unless I recess between the joists. The depth of the horn+CD is quite deep overall (nearly 5.5"). I'm wondering about the viability of simply flipping the as-designed rectangular enclosure horizontally? Presumably this would also require rotating the horn 90deg to keep the flare in the same horizontal plane. I believe a horizontal enclosure with side by side drivers typically results in bad comb filtering, but I don't know how the horn impacts this vs. a traditional dome tweeter. Would this sound noticeably different and bad in a horizontal driver arrangement, surface mounted on ceiling brackets and angled toward MLP? Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks! P.S. I've looked regularly and I've never seen the HT-6 available. I know things often sell out in hours, but I'm not sure if these will ever really be available again. Even if they are, I think I would have very similar mounting issues to the above.
You can rotate the design sideways but you are correct this now means if you move horizontally you may end up in cancellation nulls between the two drivers. It's not exactly comb filtering as that occurs when two or more drivers are playing the same same set of frequencies over a wide range like say two tweeters rather then two drivers where the only overlap is around the crossover. The horn itself has little impact on this behavior as it's the relationship of the physical offset of two or more drivers along one axis that allow you to move output of time alignment between them. For the VBS-6.2 in a horizontal configuration the you would want to stay within +-15 degrees to maintain the best response and sound quality. The point of maximum nulls occurs around +-30 degrees, and the impacted range occurs only in one octave around the crossover so for atmos use when mainly used for sound effects and ambiance it may not be readily noticeable even when you are sitting within the null.