If you like your speakers heard but not seen, you may not like what you hear. Few speakers are less visible than ceiling speakers … but none are loved less by their creators or derided more by audio enthusiasts.

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The CI-7.3’s sophisticated components hide inconspicuously behind a standard ceiling-speaker grille. (Click image to enlarge)

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I understand—most people who are devoutly into audio rely on conventional speaker systems and rarely rouse themselves from the recliner when the music is playing. However, I disagree that ceiling speakers are inherently unworthy of attention. I love to fire up my six-zone multiroom audio system on a Sunday afternoon, listening to the great music shows on Los Angeles National Public Radio affiliate KCRW as I wander the house, prepare a pot of chili or work on my bicycles. Sadly, I must confess that the sound in some rooms in my house is not quite up to snuff. This situation is changing, however, thanks in part to Jacksonville, Fla.–based Phase Technology.

Although Phase Tech enjoys no more name recognition than the conductor of a Midwestern orchestra, the company has won the respect of the electronics industry with its rare combination of innovation and no-nonsense engineering. More importantly, especially to forward-thinking audio buffs (all half-dozen of them), Phase Tech is one of the first manufacturers to take in-wall speakers seriously. Years ago, in the Paleozoic era of multiroom audio, Phase Tech was building in-wall speakers from dense fiberboard when most competitors were using materials better suited to packaging Big Macs.
Recently, the company surprised the electronics installation industry with a new—and predictably radical—line of ceiling speakers. Practically every other ceiling speaker positions its tweeter (high-frequency driver) in the middle of its woofer (bass driver). The problem with this, according to Phase Tech, is that the tweeter blocks the sound coming from the center speaker of the woofer. Also, sound emanating from a ceiling speaker’s tweeter tends to reflect off the rim of the woofer, which can add un-natural sonic colorations. Instead, Phase Tech places the tweeter off-axis, both to clear a path for sounds coming from the woofer’s center and to make reflections from the woofer rim more random and less troublesome.

What is even more interesting (or less uninteresting, depending on your enthusiasm for the technical arcana of acoustics) is that one of the company’s new speakers—the CI-7.3—is a three-way design with a midrange driver in addition to the woofer and tweeter. A midrange driver is an uncommon find in a ceiling speaker, largely because there is seldom a convenient place for the extra driver. But with Phase Tech’s off-center tweeter placement, sliding in an extra driver is relatively easy.

Why a midrange driver? Simply put, spreading the human voice across a tweeter and a woofer often demands compromise—usually an unnatural emphasis in certain parts of the sonic spectrum that makes voices sound nasal, chesty and bloated, to use but three in my extensive repertoire of unpleasant adjectives. Confining most of the human vocal range to a single driver, though, can result in a more natural sound.

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The CI-7.3 is one of the few three-way ceiling speakers, with a separate woofer, midrange and tweeter. The tweeter swivels 15 degrees in any direction. (Click image to enlarge)

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I begin my experience with the CI-7.3 by mounting a pair in my lounge, a room where nearly every surface is wood. A pair of CI-7.3s replaces a pair of older ceiling speakers, and as one might expect, the improvement is immediate and dramatic. My guests express surprise that a ceiling speaker can sound so smooth and detailed.

The CI-7.3’s next challenge proves more daunting, though—I mount the pair in my lab, which abuts two rooms that feature modern, competent ceiling speakers. As I walk between the rooms, with the same CD emanating from every pair of ceiling speakers, the CI-7.3 clearly sounds better than its neighbors. In fact, it sounds remarkably different.

Of course, the sound still emerges from above my head, but the character of that sound is dramatically better than I am used to hearing from my multiroom audio system. Everything is clearer, crisper, more present. Details in acoustic stringed instruments ring out. Voices—thanks, probably, to that midrange driver—are even clearer than those coming through many conventional speakers. The bass plays deep, much lower than can most small bookshelf speakers. At the same time, the CI-7.3 defines low notes precisely, never rendering them boomy or sloppy. I find the speaker compulsively listenable, and unlike any other ceiling speaker I have heard it gets my feet tapping. I hesitate to call this a high-end listening experience, but it is certainly engaging. The only superior ceiling speaker I have heard is the Triad Silver/6 Monitor, but that speaker is designed for use in a home theater system, not as a means of spreading music throughout a home.

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For easy installation, Phase Tech separates the grille and its frame from the CI-7.3’s inner workings, so your installer can put the frames in and paint them, and add the actual speakers later. (Click image to enlarge)

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I would not, however, recommend the CI-7.3 for everyone. I note one negative—when I crank up rock CDs to party level, the speaker compresses the bass somewhat. As a result, the sound becomes a bit thin. I compensate by attenuating the treble by three decibels via the speaker’s tweeter-level switch, but this setting sucks the life out of the sound. If you want to rock the house, choose a ceiling speaker with a larger, 8-inch woofer to get more bass (although you will probably sacrifice some mid-range and treble quality). Or better yet, pair the CI-7.3 with a subwoofer.

Will the CI-7.3 elevate the ceiling speaker’s shoddy reputation? Perhaps. But more important, it has elevated my day-to-day music listening to a new level.

DESCRIPTION
Three-way in-ceiling speaker; separate main assembly screws into frame/grille.

COMPONENTS
7-inch polypropylene-cone woofer, 1.5-inch soft-dome midrange, 1-inch soft-dome tweeter in +/-15˚ pivoting mount, with +/-3 dB tweeter-level switch.

CONNECTIONS
Five-way plastic binding posts.

DIMENSIONS
9.5 inches diameter, 4.3 inches mounting depth.

PRICE/CONTACT
PRICE: $850/pair
CONTACT: 904.777.0700
www.phasetech.com” http:>www.phasetech.com