Surround Speaker Choice/location Solved !!!

mufsoman

I have seen several posts over the last several months regarding surround speaker choice and placement in rooms that are open in the back and/or a side(s). These rooms present a challenge for hanging bipole/dipole or bookshelf speakers when there is little wall space available and towers in the back may not be an option either.

Over the last 1.5 years I've been struggling to find the right surrounds in my man cave which has little wall space. Due to the traffic pattern of the room and the position of the bar behind the listening area, floor standers weren't an option either. Listed below are all the speakers I have purchased/sold/demo'ed/etc to find the right solution:

Polk Fxi3
Polk Fxi A6
Polk Rti8
Mirage Omnisat
Mirage OMD3
Polk Rti6
Polk OWM-5

The Polk OWM-5's were almost a solution. I demo'ed these and mounted them to the ceiling even though this is not one of the nine mounting options listed in the manual. The ceiling mounting work well, but just wasn't satisfied with the sound quality and directional sound.

Finally, I found that the Mirage OMD5 were being discontinued and are being offered for reduced prices. These are the largest of the omnipolar speakers that are still wall mountable. They have a 5.5" driver and 1" tweeter. These sound great with a good range of frequency response. Any bass they may lack is picked up by my SVS. They also blend well with the Polk front sound stage. I highly recommend these speakers. My searching and testing is done. I finally have the sound I've been trying to achieve and can sit back and enjoy it.......for now.......until upgraditis hits.......amps, bigger TV?

I've attached a couple pics below, but my listing in the "System Showcase" is also updated with more pics.

leroyjr1

Nice setup!!! Sitting in the middle of the room do you find the bass lacking?

messiah

Damn, that's some serious rear demo work! Glad you found something that works in your room Scott. I'm still waiting to try out the OWM's (for computer speakers, with a sub), but if they don't work out I'll look into the Mirages. Thanks for the info

mufsoman

Leroy - The SVS PB/+2 puts out a lot of bass, but with +5000 cu ft in this room, its still doesn't get pressurized like other set ups. However, the I think the bass is crisp. If I crank up the SVS too much it becomes boomy. Probably still need some accoustical treatments to tame that (I had Auralux do a free accoustic evaluation on the room, so I have a plan when I have the extra time/cash for a DIY accoustic panel project. I'm going to build the panels myself).

Also, I know the SVS isn't in the perfect location, but I have limited spots to put it and it's strategically located for several reasons for now. A second sub would definatley help. But, when there's hard crashing bass, the single PB/+2 still thumps in your chest and moves the couch.

I have the Rti 12's set to small and crossed over at 80hz. I tried setting them to large and the bass impact dissappeared. Even after playng with SVS phase, I couldn't get the bass right, so I went back to my original settings. If I had a separate amp to power the 12's with some serious wattage so I could get more bass response out of all those 7" woofers, the opportunity may be different.

Lietuvis91

Nice work! I like the way that looks.

I had a similar problem in my living room and tried to make floorstanders work for the surrounds, but it just wasn't practical, so i went with atrium 5's(they came free with my receiver) and it actually sounds GOOD! They match the monitors well IMO, and definitely eliminate the clutter in the room. I'm happy!

PrazVT

Wow - awesome man cave. Those surround speakers are well designed - love how they naturally point downwards.

I would agree a fat amp for the 12s would fix the bass issue. But you'd need what.. 500w monoblocks or something?