I just got a pair of B&W 602.5 S3's and will getting the matching center soon.
I had a few questions about what to choose for the surrounds. 1) Should I go with a B&W in ceiling speaker such as the CCM 80 or CCM65 or should I & can I mount the CDS6 S3 as an in ceiling?
2) Are ther cheaper speakers that will blend in pretty well with the B&W sound?
This is gonna go into an urban loft styled great room that is around 25 by 25 feet with 11 foot tall ceilings which is still being built.
Also the room is already prewired for in ceiling surrounds that is gonna be positioned just above and a little behind where the couch is gonna be.
If it's just for movies - another brand (similar) may work okay. If you are into surround music it's best to stick to the same brand/range to get the optimum timbre match.
I think the CCM 80 or CCM65 would be better as they are designed for your application. The others are dipoles which would work best on the vertical wall I'd think. Good luck.
I looked at the B&W in walls and in ceiling speakers about 18 months ago, and listened carefully, but could not discern that they had any special advantage in matching B&W fronts. This is largely because the sound from an in-wall is less dependent upon the driver array than the actual installation itself, that is, placement on the wall and whether or not there is insulation in the wall where they are installed. So, I really wouldn't worry about "voice-matching."
Thsi is particularly true with the surround channels. The two or three back channels are providing secondary info, so it is not at all necessary for them to be "voice-matched" like the front three channels. This is why so many manufacturers are comfortable offering bi-pole or di-pole surrounds.
You simply need to get close with a speaker that isn't going to stand out producing secondary sound information. I would recommend either Elan or Jamo in-walls. Both are very high quality and sound quite good, and are reasonably priced (available for considerably less than the B&Ws). I eventually bought the Jamos (because they were switchable between 4 and 8 ohm impedence and I have 4 ohm impedence fronts) and I have enjoyed my system immensely since they were installed. The Elans sounded just as good, IMO. The Jamos are paired with Dynaudio fronts speakers which costs considerably more, yet they blend quite well.