Using the Dayton Audio DAEX32EP-4 as height speakers - Home Theater #37

***TIMESTAMPS BELOW***
In this video, I go over using the Dayton Audio DAEX32EP-4 Thruster 32mm Exciter 40W 4 Ohm for my height speakers and converting my 5.2 setup to a 5.2.4 setup.
00:05 Intro
00:30 Dayton Audio exciter
01:11 Exciter demo
01:51 Why audio exciters?
02:26 Could I use these?
03:17 Ordering the parts
03:24 Unboxing from Amazon
03:51 Unboxing from Parts Express
04:11 How much was it?
04:34 From .6 to .4
05:11 Installation prep
05:56 Time for installation
07:08 Installation thoughts
08:16 ARC Genesis problem
09:26 Super tight crimps
09:48 Problem solved
10:05 Volume levels
10:22 Calibration completed
10:55 Demo clip: The Batman
11:41 Demo clip: John Wick
12:26 Demo clip (height & subs): John Wick
13:06 Watching with friends
14:23 Are these better?
14:45 Are these cool?
15:04 Next step
15:46 It is still loud
16:46 Help with wiring
17:26 Unconventional but immersive
18:05 Thanks for watching
Music by Vegetable Police at:
vegetablepolic...
About Random Distractions
I'm a busy husband and father of two that not only works full time but I'm also building up a photography business. However, I have distractions that take me away from that and this channel is all about that. Join me to see if you enjoy games, technology, and other random things.
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[@RandomDistractionsYT]

While unconvential, so far I've been surprised at how the immersion of my home theater has improved. Are there any other movies I should check out that do a good job with height speakers?

[@truckinlow1]

I wouldn’t know because I don’t have any high channel’s lol. But I would think some movies with helicopters probably

[@truckinlow1]

Being that it uses the drywall as one large speaker how well do you think sound separation would be when adding additional high channels?

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Ha, ha, yeah gonna have to watch all the helicopter movies now.

[@nonametofame]

@@RandomDistractionsYT The House with Clocks in its Walls

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

@@nonametofame I haven't seen that one and have been meaning to so another good reason to check it out. Thanks!

[@Mike-ly7ev]

I just recently installed 14 of these speakers in my basement family room. 2 front left, 4 center, 2 front right, 2 back left in the ceiling and 2 back right in the ceiling. Then I put two in my office. The basement wasn’t complete so I installed these before the dry wall was completed. I made sure they worked with my receiver and sub. Sounds good but I have to wait for the dry wall mud, texture and other finishing completed in the basement before I can really enjoy the new sound system. Hopefully it’s awesome.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Wow, would be interested to hear how it sounds for you after everything is all set. That would be a cool way to have an "invisible" sound system for sure.

[@TheAceTroubleshooter]

You should have hung acoustic ceiling tiles on the OUTside of the drywall... Suspended so as to free float.. I'm sure it would have been soooo much better sounding

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

To your point, it probably would have but unfortunately, I don't have a dedicated space so this would have been in our living room which only has 8 ft ceilings but more importantly I would have been killed by my wife. 🔪😵

[@TheAceTroubleshooter]

@@RandomDistractionsYT They could have been done tastefully, say by putting LED strips on the ceiling then hanging the suspended panels. I think there is a name for that kind of lighting I'm not sure of the name though. Tray lighting maybe?

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Personally I think that would be cool (I like the idea of the LEDs) but my wife already doesn't like the fact that I have speakers in the living room in the first place so by being able to keep them hidden I was able to get away with it. I will say though I don't feel too much of a loss in the sound and everyone that has come to my house and they hear them are impressed. It's also kind of cool to just have the sound coming from the ceiling.

[@Reldvs1]

If I understand what you said correctly, yes that sounds correct on the series parallel. I would love to see a new video when you add those. Great video! I'm looking to add height speakers in my setup in my bedroom. For a .4 I might look into these myself.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Thanks for checking out the video, unfortunately, someone else pointed out that the way I was thinking actually brings them down to 4ohms but I did end up getting some more and posted the video if you want to check it out (kzbin.info/www/bejne/foiTnISarb9lp80). It's working out well so far but I do touch on this in the other video despite the additional speakers it still has a lower output which if I'm being honest isn't really that bad, I can still turn everything up to extreme levels but if I can get permission to add holes to our ceiling from the wife that will probably be the next version. Not anytime soon though. I think that they may be a bit more of a gamble than traditional methods, not to discourage you but just something to consider.

[@Reldvs1]

@@RandomDistractionsYT I must have not understood correctly lol but glad you got it sorted out. I was wondering if maybe the output is so low could be attributed to not having the "speaker" pointed at mlp. I know with "normal" ceiling speakers, they say for best results to aim them at listener. Just a thought I had. Don't know if it would make a difference or not.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

@@Reldvs1 No worries, speaker wiring is so new to me, I had no clue. That could be part of it since it's just radiating from the position that the speaker is in and also the thickness and rigidity of drywall unfortunately doesn't help either. When you place them on something that is thinner they definitely get louder. Although certain frequencies are much louder than others too but had to make adjustments to that too because then it made them too localized. Like I said I will work on convincing the "boss" to see if I can eventually switch to more traditional speakers and see how that goes, however, it was fun to try and gets the job done for the most part. Will be interesting to see what the difference is like if I do make the switch.

[@Reldvs1]

@@RandomDistractionsYT are you planning to maybe sell the exciters you have in the future? If the "boss" approves your more traditional speaker plan that is. If so I might be interested. I don't care if they have been used. Just putting that out there in case 🤣 🤣 🤣 I have a system I'm working on and your and others videos on here have inspired me. I have some ideas I'd like to try maybe, which is why I'm putting my interest out there, if you decide to move away from using these. But if you plan to try more experiments with these and want any input maybe you can try my ideas, if you have any interest. I don't want to push my ideas on you lol. I felt my first draft of this message might have been that way, so I edited it 😆 🤣 Sometime I get a bit too excited and need to reel it in 🤣

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Sorry for the late reply, I think I might have missed your original message but in regards to your question I'll keep you in mind if that happens. At this point I'm good with them until I can convince the "boss" otherwise. I was able to watch Ant Man Quantumania the other day at reference level and they worked well.

[@k-0neinteractive496]

Exactly what I was looking for. Do you think it is possible to have stereo on a single panel by connecting two exciters to a stereo amplifier module? one more subscriber super channel

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Hmm, well you can have two of them on the same panel with one being left and the other right. I'm just not sure how distinctive the sound would be. It would probably depend on how far apart the exciters are from each other and how loud they are being played at. Thanks for checking out the video and subscribing!

[@ainguyen-hk9gx]

I don't know if using a 30W class A amplifier would be okay?

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

You would probably be ok, the Emotiva A5 that is powering them now is at least 95w per channel and it does a good job.

[@truckinlow1]

I like the idea of adding sound with cutting the ceiling. Might have to give it a go. Nice idea

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Yes, that is another good point. Can't believe I forgot to mention that. It really helps with the wife acceptance since it doesn't make any changes to the ceiling. Appreciate you checking out the video.

[@scivirus3563]

human ears are bad at hearing on the vertical axes . that's why our ears are on the sides of your head for horizontal or Left and right and not on top and one under the chin ..Hight speakers basically are just reinforcement for distance from the front speakers ..your brain is tricking you because it knows the sound from the top is out of phase .same way it knows if sound come from the back ..

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Thanks for checking out the video and the interesting info.

[@truckinlow1]

How is the separation of sound from left to right and how do you think it would be if you added another pair? Just curious do to the fact it’s sound is from a larger point source than a typical speaker.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

The separation is actually pretty good. It helps to reinforce panning from the surrounds but even by themselves you can definitely hear the separation. Even though the point source is larger it fades pretty quickly from origin. I actually went ahead and bought an extra pair for each channel today (they have a president's day sale) so will see how that affects the overall sound. Stay tuned!

[@slow_climber]

There is a low constant hiss in your video. Check it out, its really annoying.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

I do hear and somehow missed that. Unfortunately, I delete my files after a bit so don't have a way to fix it, which stinks. Sorry about that!

[@robcoastalga8279]

It's pretty darn bad with ANC off.

[@malsmith2012]

Just discovered your channel and I have to say this is very interesting.. Out of curiosity where do exciters usually get used? Or what were they originally designed for? Cheers..

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Thanks for checking out the video! To be honest I don't know for sure but per some of the literature they say that they can "be placed on surfaces not conducive to traditional speakers or in locations where hidden speakers are desired". They actually do mention the use in a home theater but some others are kiosks or outdoor displays. Here is the link to the PDF if you want to take a look: tinyurl.com/28mfkpcd

[@malsmith2012]

@@RandomDistractionsYT thanks mate I'll check that link out.. 👍😁

[@karenlewis4228]

So I actually have some (very very limited)insight to this. Exciters actually came before bass shakers, and were originally concepted for outdoor bad condition use. Think military hardware where a speaker cone might not be the best idea etc. Being able to reproduce sound from places there isn't room for full speaker cones, and in places where speakers are highly likely to get destroyed. The current generation of exciters are specifically for diy/hobby/simple application use, as the ones I've seen in some mall walls and in theaters side channels from the early 2000s are absolutely massive. Think a bass shaker bolted to the concrete wall behind( this was in a Hollister that was built in my childhood)

[@OffTheWallreviews]

I like out of the box thinking. I use the boxes my subs came in as bass traps.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Thanks and if something seems like it might work and you can try it out I figure why not give it a chance. I used the foam my speakers came in for the subwoofers at our church to help reduce excessive vibrations and it actually worked!

[@DISOPtv]

Guy just talking entire video and no demo of the exciters. Fail.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Thanks for checking out the video I did some sound demos starting at 10:55 of The Batman, then John Wick and then John Wick but with the bed layer off. I also have another video where I added more exciters that has a demo song with just the exciters if you want to check that out as well. Thanks! kzbin.info/www/bejne/foiTnISarb9lp80si=JIg1xk4YJFQ9Gl8e

[@PunxsutawneyPhill]

@@RandomDistractionsYT You never showed the speakers though. That's what most people are looking for in these DML videos, the finished product!

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

@@PunxsutawneyPhill Ahh, I see what you mean. I quickly showed them at the 7:06 mark but could have probably showed them a little longer. Sorry about that. Unfortunately, I'm going to be looking at replacing them if I can convince the wife for in-ceiling ones. On a side note, since you didn't see them does that mean I have another 6 weeks of winter? 😅

[@nahimastay71]

why wouldn't you show the placement of these bad boys? show off the speakers in their environment?

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Thanks for checking out the video and I do show them although not for a very long time but it's at the 7:06 mark. Then around 7:53 I show the attic. I do have a second video when I added some more and show them in the attic as well.

[@nahimastay71]

@@RandomDistractionsYT have you considered acoustic ceiling tile? saw some sick videos about them and how they resonate much better... also, im considering building some wall speakers but instead of string or hooks... have you thought about magnets? pos/neg to give off a floating effect that, in theory, should offer a string-less effect that should be allowed constant resonation... just a few thoughts.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

@@nahimastay71 Unfortunately, because we only have 8ft ceilings having something hanging from it doesn't work for me or for the wife for that matter. I do know though that because drywall is so much denser it is defeating some of the potential. The magnet idea is a good one though which would help decrease the depth. I decided that I may eventually move to a traditional in-ceiling speaker at some point but for now, these provide enough to satisfy me until that day comes.

[@nahimastay71]

@@RandomDistractionsYT NO NO NO, i mean use it instead of using the pink panther stuff. its the same type of material but it is apparently a much better resonator than the pink stuff and price point around the same. you can cut them the same and use them the same but with better results for you and your viewers... like me!

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

@@nahimastay71 No, I know what you mean, but it's more of an aesthetic issue of having acoustic tile speakers on the ceiling. What I initially liked about the exciters is that you can't see the speakers, the sound just comes from the ceiling. As I said I will eventually switch to traditional in-ceiling speakers but these will do for now. Appreciate the suggestions though!