Confused about back surround speakers

ModBoyzz
ModBoyzz Posts: 5
edited February 2005 in Speakers
Hey guys,

I recently purchased some Polk FXi3's.I originally bought these because I want to upgrade to 7.1 from my existing 5.1 setup and I thought the price was a steal at $200.00. Heres my main question, would it make sense to use these speakers as a back surround? Im currently using Polk R50's for mains and surrounds and a Csi3 for the center. My sofa is against the rear wall. Which is one of the reasons that I purchased the Fxi3's. But now that I think about it, being set at Bipolar, wouldnt the sound seem as if theyre coming from my surround speakers? (R50's). I was thinking about ordering some R15's instead to use as back surrounds, and sell the fxi3's, would this be my best option?

Thanks in advance.
Post edited by ModBoyzz on
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Comments

  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,775
    edited February 2005
    Stick with the FXi30 (or whatever u bought) for surrounds...

    They have a switch, u can switch it to bipole or dipole...
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited February 2005
    Return the Fxi3's or sell a pair of your R50's. If your sofa is against the rear wall, stick with a 5.1 setup.
    HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

    "God grooves with tubes."
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  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited February 2005
    You've got them so try them in different combinations and locations. Just don't commit any to permanent mounting until you are happy.... use ladders, chairs, whatever during the test period.
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
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  • malikarshad
    malikarshad Posts: 527
    edited February 2005
    Originally posted by Early B.
    Return the Fxi3's or sell a pair of your R50's. If your sofa is against the rear wall, stick with a 5.1 setup.
    I agree. I had the same situation with my setup. I ended up with 5.1 setup and i like it that way. I spend endless day experimenting with various setups with 7.1 but in the end 5.1 is the way to go for me.
    BTW I have Fxi50's set in dipole mode if that helps. Experiment it. That's the best way you'll know what sounds good in your environment.

    Speakers=>Salk Soundscape 8, Soundscape Center,Surrounds-Dali Rubicon LCR, Lsi7
    PreAmp, Amp => Marantz AV8801, ATI 6007 amp, Oppo HA-1 DAC
    Source => Sonore MicroRendu, Oppo BDP-103, Mede8er 600XD, Dune HD Smart D1, Synology DS1813+(16TB)
    Sub - JTR Captivator S2 (Dual 18")
    Power - Furman IT-Ref20i on dedicated 30Amp circuit with Furutech GTX-R outlet
    Screen=> JVC RS-45 projector Da-Lite HP 133" 2.35
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  • ModBoyzz
    ModBoyzz Posts: 5
    edited February 2005
    If I am able to move the sofa up about 2-3 feet away from the rear wall, will that be enough to go 7.1?
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited February 2005
    What are your room dimensions?

    I used to have a 7.1 setup with my sofa on the back wall. I thought it sounded good for a while, but once I reverted to 5.1, it sounded better. A 7.1 setup is not really designed for the "typical" consumer. You gotta have a rather large room (ideally one that's a dedicated HT room) and a wonderful WAF to take advantage of 7.1. Space is the critical issue here. That's why it's called "surround sound."
    HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

    "God grooves with tubes."
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  • ModBoyzz
    ModBoyzz Posts: 5
    edited February 2005
    approximately 15x12x8
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  • ModBoyzz
    ModBoyzz Posts: 5
    edited February 2005
    bump..
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  • Dennis Gardner
    Dennis Gardner Posts: 4,861
    edited February 2005
    A nice rule is to use 7.1 if you can set the sides even or behind your seating and still have roughy the same amount of distance back to the rears. If you can't be equidistant, to all speakers in your system, then 5.1 would be better. 7.1 was ideally made for long rooms with your seating in the center. I run 7.1 in my 30 ft. room as as I sit around 14 feet back. I run 5.1 in the living room since the rears are beside the sofa.

    (I know that you can set speaker distances in your receiver, but this still doesn't beat a good setup to begin with.)
    HT Optoma HD25 LV on 80" DIY Screen, Anthem MRX 300 Receiver, Pioneer Elite BDP 51FD Polk CS350LS, Polk SDA1C, Polk FX300, Polk RT55, Dual EBS Adire Shiva 320watt tuned to 17hz, ICs-DIY Twisted Prs, Speaker-Raymond Cable

    2 Channel Thorens TD 318 Grado ZF1, SACD/CD Marantz 8260, Soundstream/Krell DAC1, Audio Mirror PP1, Odyssey Stratos, ADS L-1290, ICs-DIY Twisted , Speaker-Raymond Cable
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  • ModBoyzz
    ModBoyzz Posts: 5
    edited February 2005
    Excellent, Thanks again for all the replies, guys.

    I'm gonna go ahead and sell the fxi3's and stick to 5.1

    :)
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