If you’re considering in-ceiling speakers, two things are probably true: You want high-quality audio, and you don’t want to sacrifice the aesthetics of your home to get it.

In-ceiling speakers offer an elegant architectural alternative to traditional floor or bookshelf speakers. Pair them with a home theater setup for a more immersive sound experience, or use them on their own to create an ambient vibe that’s perfect for entertaining.

While in-ceiling speakers offer impressive advantages, they aren’t for everyone. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about in-ceiling speakers and help you decide whether to add them to your home audio system.

Are in-ceiling speakers worth it?

The question of whether to install in-ceiling speakers boils down to three key considerations: sound, aesthetics, and budget.

If your budget allows, in-ceiling speakers offer an attractive combination of sound quality and discreet installation. Let’s break down these considerations to help you determine whether it’s a worthwhile investment.

In-ceiling speakers distribute high-quality audio throughout your home

For sound that fills the rooms throughout your home, in-ceiling speakers can be a great choice. They blend in seamlessly with the physical contours of your space while offering natural, high-quality audio for an impressive range of applications.

When you use Sonos In-Ceiling speakers with Sonos Amp, you can activate the “Detect Sonos Architectural” function in the Sonos app to create a custom sound experience. This enables two features that take advantage of your space’s unique acoustics:

• Digital signal processing (DSP) optimizes the EQ to provide a more robust sound.
• Trueplay measures how sound reflects off walls, furnishings, and other objects or surfaces in a room, then fine tunes your in-ceiling speakers to account for these physical surroundings.

For the most immersive experience, consider pairing in-ceiling speakers with in-wall speakers or another set of ear-level speakers. But even if you use in-ceiling speakers on their own, they can be great standalone speakers for playing music. In-Ceiling Speakers by Sonos and Sonance offer natural, room-filling sound throughout your home to help you achieve a premium ambient sound experience.

In-ceiling speakers blend in with your home’s design and decor

It’s a quandary many people face when building a home sound system: How do I achieve great sound without cluttering my home with speaker hardware? While Sonos wireless speakers were designed to look great on counters or credenzas, our in-ceiling speakers are meant to seamlessly blend in with your home — because, sometimes, “nothing” is exactly what your home decor needs.

So, if discreet installation is what you’re after, in-ceiling speakers are likely your best bet. You can even pair them with other architectural speakers — such as in-wall speakers — for a sound system that blends seamlessly into your space and allows your decor to take center stage.

In-ceiling speakers require special installation

Architectural speakers often require a professional installer. It can be worth it to find someone with design and installation expertise, as different space configurations and ceiling materials may require a different approach.

It’s also worth thinking about what your situation and needs might look like a few years down the road, as in-ceiling speakers can be a relatively inflexible solution. Once installed, they’re not easy to move to a different room or a new home. If you decide to take them with you, you’ll need to factor in the cost of a professional installer (again) as well as any repair costs associated with the removal.

On the plus side, if you own your home, installing in-ceiling speakers is a one-time event and can be well worth the investment. You won’t need to think about it again once it’s done, and you’ll enjoy your in-ceiling speakers for years to come. Even if you do decide to move or sell your home down the line, architectural speakers can be an attractive selling point that adds value for potential buyers.

How do you power in-ceiling speakers?

You will almost certainly need to power your in-ceiling speakers with an external speaker amplifier or AV receiver.

This is because most architectural speakers are passive speakers. In other words, they lack a built-in amplifier that provides power. This is in contrast to wireless speakers such as Sonos Era 100 and Era 300, which are actively powered by a built-in amp.

Why no built-in amp? Passive speakers tend to be larger in size, which translates to better performance but also requires a larger and more powerful amp. Integrating such an amp into the speaker itself would dramatically increase the speaker’s size and weight, creating installation difficulties. This is why in-ceiling speakers (and other architectural speakers) are typically passive.

The good news is that you can easily power Sonos Architectural speakers with Sonos Amp. Amp provides more than enough juice to reliably power up to three pairs of Sonos Architectural speakers (six total) when wired in parallel. Amp also gives you access to the entire Sonos ecosystem, including the Sonos app and its “Detect Architectural Speaker” function that helps your speakers truly shine.

How many in-ceiling speakers do I need?

The exact number of in-ceiling speakers you need depends on a few things, starting with the size and layout of your room. You can adequately cover most small rooms (up to 150 square feet) with only a pair of speakers. For larger rooms (up to 500 square feet), you may need six or more speakers.

But it isn’t just square footage that matters.

Speakers project sound outward in a V shape, which means that the further away they are, the more space they cover. So, in-ceiling speakers can cover more area in a space with 14-foot ceilings than they would in a space with 8-foot ceilings, because the sound waves have more room to travel outward before they reach the height of the listener’s ears.

Other considerations may factor in, too. For example, if you only want in-ceiling speakers to cover the section of a room in which your home theater is installed, you can likely get away with only a pair of in-ceiling speakers installed on either side of your seated location. And if you want a multi-room audio setup, consulting a professional is probably your best bet. They’ll be able to advise on the type, number, and size of speakers that would be optimal for your space.

Where should I place my in-ceiling speakers?

In a typical two-channel system, the left and right in-ceiling speakers should be placed anywhere from six to 10 feet (1.8m to 3m) apart.

For a balanced sound experience, the main listening position should be as close to midway between the speakers as possible. Think about where you listen to music the most — your sofa, for example — and make sure that this location is centered between your speakers.

In a home theater setup, the in-ceiling speakers should also be positioned two to six feet (0.6m to 1.8m) behind your main listening position. This maximizes the soundstage and contributes to a more immersive sound experience. You can find a diagram of this configuration in the Sonos In-Ceiling By Sonance installation manual. We’ve reproduced it below:

Remember that ceiling height is an important factor here, too. In the installation manual, you’ll find detailed instructions on how to space your in-ceiling speakers based on the height of your ceilings and the position of the listener.

What size in-ceiling speakers do I need?

Another factor that determines how many speakers you need? The size of the speakers themselves. Most ceiling speakers come in a 6” or 8” size, with the larger size usually offering a wider coverage angle, deeper bass, and a louder maximum volume.

It’s also possible to mix speaker sizes within the same configuration. Sonos In-Ceiling speakers come in pairs, but a single Amp can reliably power up to three pairs of speakers when wired in parallel. Just note that, in order to activate DSP and Trueplay, all of the speakers connected to Amp must be exactly the same size (e.g. all 6” or all 8” speakers). So if you are mixing speaker sizes and still want the best possible performance, you’ll need to dedicate one Amp for each speaker size.

Can in-ceiling speakers be painted?

Blending in is one of the major benefits of in-ceiling speakers. And painting your speaker grilles the same color as your ceiling can help them blend in even more.

Sonos by Sonance In-Ceiling Speakers include bezel-less grilles that completely cover the exposed speaker frame, so only the grilles themselves require painting. We recommend using only water-based latex paint on the grilles, and waiting until the paint is thoroughly dry before mounting the grille back on the speaker.

You find detailed grille painting instructions in the Sonos In-Ceiling By Sonance installation manual.

How do I control my in-ceiling speakers?

If your speakers are connected to Amp, you can control your Sonos In-Ceiling speakers directly via the Sonos app — no other equipment required.

Of course, you might prefer to use a home controller that isn’t on your smartphone or that also controls other features in your home, such as lighting. In this case, you still have plenty of options. Simply look for the “Works with Sonos” badge to ensure that any third-party controller or hardware components you buy will seamlessly connect with your Sonos home sound system.

What about in-wall speakers?

In-wall speakers are in some ways similar to in-ceiling speakers, though they’re installed at head-level and are thus in a better position to be directly picked up by your ears.

Generally speaking, in-wall speakers are more of a specialized option than in-ceiling speakers. They’re often used in literal home theater setups, offering the kind of focused and immersive listening experience you’d expect from a trip to the cinema. There’s a good reason for this. Because they project sound at ear-level, in-wall speakers are well-suited to deliver crisp, clear dialogue — a must for movie watching.

In-ceiling speakers actually tend to be much more popular than in-wall speakers. Why? For one, people are generally more hesitant to drill holes in their walls than in their ceilings. And in-ceiling speakers can be more practical to install, as most homes have an attic or crawl space that lends itself to easier installation.

This isn’t to say it’s an “either-or” proposition. For a truly immersive sound experience, in-wall speakers can be a great complement to in-ceiling speakers.

Bring ceiling speakers into your home with a Sonos installer

While not the easiest option, in-ceiling speakers are worth considering if you want premium sound that seamlessly blends in with your home.

They also pair well with other architectural speakers from Sonos, including in-wall speakers and our weatherproof outdoor speakers. Combine all of them to create a whole-home audio system that amplifies every experience, from watching movies on the couch to hosting guests in the dining room and back patio.

For help installing and designing your Sonos architectural system, find an installer near you.