FXI Bi-pole or Di-pole?

Thesithempire

Hi,

Just got a pair of FXI-30's and have two questions regarding placement and the di-pole/bi-pole issue.

1) I've placed them at about 1 and 1/2 feet to the either side of the coach and 1 and 1/2 feet behind the coach, at about 4 feet off the floor.

Now there's a good 6 feet to the back wall which is made up of brick (brick is diffusive, right??) and a Polk center channel in between the two rears (an old CS 245i).

So, do you guys (and gals) recommend that I go bi-pole or di-pole with these? I've tried out both, with no successful resolution. One way sounds better in a certain scene and the other way for another scene...

2) Should the rear channels (the surrounds and center) mimic the front speaker arrangement (which is an arc with the center speaker further back than the two fronts)? Or is it preferable to keep them all in a straight line (I do have it at least at the same height) or even with the two surrounds further back than the center?

That's it. Any help would be very much appreciated. I've got a number of friends coming over in the next few days to watch The Two Towers and would like the sound to be as fully-immersible as possible.

jmasterj

Hi Thesithempire,

Welcome to the forum, You will get all the help you need here at club polk. Now for the question bi or di, I too have bi & di's in my set up. Currently mine are located to the sides of my listening position and are set to diploe. It is a mater of preference. Do you want direct sound or diffused. I use my system for music and movies, and I enjoy listening to Multi-Channel SACD's and DVD-Audio disc. I choose to hear the distinct sounds from each speaker so I actually have the main side drivers facing my seating position. The main thing here is to enjoy your system the way you, and your's like it. My advise" Experiment with them." Try not to be like me, I have everything going to my sweet spot. I will let someone sit in it every now and then, just so they know. Have fun, and keep posting. We have some real sharp people here! God Luck

Thesithempire

Thanks for the advice! I worry about getting true diffusive sound because of the six feet of space before the back brick wall (which houses a fireplace)! I fear the sound may be getting lost back there and never reaching the ears of the audience. But you're right, I should experiment for a few hours and see what results. My goal is to get fully immersive sound for movies. I want to hear crickets and rain and wind and crowds and all the other great surround effects as if they're truly behind me (and not emanating from 2 surrounds and a center channel!)