You can connect ceiling speakers to a receiver the same way you would with other home audio speakers. Plug the ceiling speaker wires into the corresponding speaker input on your receiver. You might need to cut, split, and strip speaker wire for this.
I’m Donovan, a lifelong musician and home studio enthusiast. I’ve set up many audio systems over the years, including surround sound systems with ceiling speakers. I know through first-hand experience how to connect these to a receiver.
This post will show you how to connect ceiling speakers to a receiver. I’ll walk you through all the steps to make this happen quickly and provide you with some other related information. My goal is to help you get your audio system set up easily.
Let’s get after it.
Contents
Key Takeaways
- Ceiling speakers can be connected to a receiver like regular home audio speakers.
- Plug the speaker wire running from the ceiling speakers into the corresponding inputs on the receiver.
- You might need to cut the speaker wire to length, split and then strip it to get enough bare wire to connect to the receiver.
- You’ll need a receiver with multiple speaker inputs to use ceiling speakers in addition to regular home audio speakers.
How to Connect Ceiling Speakers to Reciever
Ceiling speakers is a great way to expand your home audio system to get surround sound capabilities. These speakers are also excellent for blending in your audio components into a room without taking up an extra space.
Whether installing new ceiling speakers or using existing ones, the process for connecting them to a receiver is the same. And if you have experience connecting other types of speakers to a receiver, this is essentially the same for ceiling speakers.
Follow these steps to connect ceiling speakers to a receiver:
Step 1 – Power Down and Unplug Everything
Before you work on any components of your home audio system, it’s always a good idea to turn everything off and unplug your receiver from the wall outlets it’s connected to. This is a safety feature that helps prevent shocks and surges that can cause you or your system harm.
Make sure you unplug other pieces of equipment that are connected to your receiver as well, like a TV or amp. Even if you unplug the receiver, you might still get a shock from another connected electrical source.
Your ceiling speakers aren’t likely to be connected to power but double-check that everything is unplugged before you start this installation.
Step 2 – Prep Speaker Wires
The next step is getting your speaker wires ready to connect. If you are using an existing in-ceiling setup, you might not need to do this step because the wires are likely already prepped because they have been connected before.
But if this is your first time connecting the speakers, you’ll need to run wires in the correct locations and strip and split the ends to expose bare wire that can be connected to the back of the receiver.
Cutting the wires to the proper length is the first step here. And you always want to leave yourself at least a few feet of extra speaker wire to work with in case you run short or need to make a new adjustment.
In-ceiling speaker wires will likely run through, behind, or along a wall. Measure how much wire you’ll need, then cut the length with wire cutters. Then run the wire into position and affix or secure it as necessary.
Once you have the speaker wire set up and in position, you can strip the ends. Speaker wire consits of two lengths of wire in a plastic covering connecting them to one another. You can easily pull the two wires apart to get both stereo channels.
After pulling the wire apart, strip about a half-inch of the plastic covering away to expose bare wire. Wire cutters will be your tool of choice for this. Be careful not to cut the actual wire, just the sheath on the outside.
Do this for every speaker wire you have. You’ll need to make two strips on each end of a single speaker wire. This translates to four exposed wires for each length. If you have two ceiling speakers, this will be eight total exposed speaker wires.
Step 3 – Plug Speaker Wire In
Now you are ready to plug the exposed speaker wire in. You need to plug the wires into the speakers themselves and also into the receiver. And you’ll need to repeat the steps here for each ceiling speaker you want to use.
Plug the wire into the speakers themselves first, if necessary. Standard ceiling speakers will have tabs that hold the speaker wire in place. Insert enough bare wire into these tabs and ensure they are secure in each channel.
Now plug the other end of the speaker wire into the corresponding input channel on the receiver. This step is important because if you want the in-ceiling speaker to be a surround sound speaker, you need to plug it into that input on the receiver.
If you don’t have surround sound inputs on your receiver, you can plug the speaker wire into the corresponding left or right channel, and it will put out the same sound as the regular speakers you might already have set up.
The speaker inputs on the receiver should be easy to find and well-marked. And connecting the speaker wire here usually involves the same sort of push or pull-back tab setup. Make sure to match the channels (left and right) with how you plugged the wires into the speakers.
Repeat this process for every in-ceiling speaker you have. Just change the speaker input location on the receiver to match which speaker you are setting up.
Step 4 – Test Audio
Now you can plug everything back in and turn your audio system on. You always want to check your system after a new install to ensure everything is running correctly and that you made all the right connections.
So turn on your receiver and other stereo components. Connect the system to an audio source like your TV or phone and increase the volume. Walk around your room to make sure you hear audio from all the speakers you just connected.
If you don’t hear anything, you’ll need to troubleshoot the situation and make any necessary adjustments. The most likely issue is that you don’t have the speaker wires connected properly to the receiver or speakers.
Make any adjustments to things as needed here. Remember to turn off and unplug the system if you are pulling out wires or doing anything with electrical components.
Step 5 – Enjoy Your Audio
After a test run, you should be good to go for all your future audio listening. In-ceiling speakers can add a nice element of additional audio to a system, especially for movies and other audio mixed in surround sound.
You can also make further changes down the road if needed. But a properly set up in-ceiling speaker shouldn’t need any adjustments or changes once it’s connected with a receiver.
How to Power Ceiling Speakers
Standard in-ceiling speakers will draw power from the receiver they are plugged into, so you don’t need to plug the speakers into a power source themselves. Nearly all receivers have a built-in amplifier that powers things connected to it.
But you can also connect your ceiling speakers to a stand-alone amp for better audio quality. To do this, you’ll just need to run more speaker wires since you’ll need some running from speakers to amp and then amp to receiver.
You don’t need to use a separate amp, but some people like to. If you already have an amp in your setup, connecting your in-ceiling speakers to it is worth doing.
Also, if you are using Bluetooth in-ceiling speakers, you might need to connect them to a proper power source since they need that power for connectivity.
How to Connect Ceiling Speakers to TV
The main reason that most people use ceiling speakers is as part of a surround sound system for watching movies and TV shows. And if you are using a receiver as part of your audio system, you just need to connect your TV to it to get the speakers to work.
Your receiver will have an output for the TV. Just connect the receiver to the TV with whatever cable or cord is required. This could be an HMDI, RCA, or other standard connection.
Once you have the TV connected to the receiver and your speakers appropriately connected, you just need to choose the TV audio output as the source, and you should get audio out of your speakers when you watch.
FAQs
Here are a few short answers to some of the most commonly asked questions related to connecting ceiling speakers to a receiver.
Do I need a receiver for my in-ceiling speakers?
If your in-ceiling speakers are more traditional speakers that require a hard-wired connection, you will need to use a receiver to power them and get sound from them. Some Bluetooth-style ceiling speakers do not need a receiver.
How do I connect my speakers to my receiver?
You can connect your home audio speakers to your receiver by running speaker wire from the back of the speakers into the corresponding inputs on the receiver. You may need to purchase speaker wire or get wire with different inputs if required.
How do I connect ceiling speakers to my amp?
Connecting ceiling speakers to an amp is easy and is the same as connecting any other type of speaker. You just need to plug the speaker wires running from the speaker into the proper inputs on the amp. You may need to cut and strip the speaker wire to make this happen.
Can you use in-ceiling speakers as surround speakers?
You can use in-ceiling speakers as surround speakers. You just need to connect the in-ceiling speakers to the proper input channels on your surround sound receiver to make this happen. To get surround sound effects, you need multiple speaker inputs.
Can you connect speakers directly to an amplifier?
You can connect speakers directly to an amplifier. Doing this can help you boost the audio signal for better overall sound. But you don’t always need to use a separate amplifier if you have a receiver with a built-in one.
Final Thoughts
Connecting ceiling speakers to a receiver is simple, and if you already know how to connect speakers, the process is the same. Just ensure you have the speaker wires plugged into the proper input on the receiver, or you won’t get the correct playback.
You don’t need to use in-ceiling speakers for every home audio system, but they can add a nice surround sound element that you might want if you watch movies awesome. These speakers are also a great way to save space.
Have you ever used in-ceiling speakers? Did you have any issues connecting them? Let me know in the comments below.
