got my f/x500i's - positioning advice

ncstatesman

woo-hoooo! I just got my black F/X500i's from crutch - these were returned units - when I got them they had a slight tear on the grill fabric and a lightly dented corner - nothing really noticeable or worth returning them . . . . anyway, I'm going ot be playing with these units for the next few days as I complete my 7.1 set-up.

Anywhoooo, and I wanted to mount them as follows:

Directly to the sides of my listening position, wall mounted about 3 feet above ear level - each spkr will be about 5 ft to either side of my listening position. Also, my 2 rear-surround 35i's will be wall mounted approx 3' above ear level and about 3 1/2 ft behind my listening position.

Given the above I have several questions before I start drilling holes in the wall:

1. should I use di-pole or bi-pole setting - yes, I can listen and judge for myself, but what is generally recommended with the above set up?

2. which way should the dual driver side of the f/x500i point to? Should it point towards the TV or towars the rear surr 35i's?

3. is 3' above ear level ok for the fx500i given that the rear surr 35i's are also 3' above ear level (physical limitations force me to place the 35i's at this level)?


Thanks again!

juice21

first of all, congrats on getting your new speaks!

1. dipole when used on sidewalls
2. i would suggest really experiementing with this one, should cause any additional holes once drilled, eassy to just switch back and forth between configurations.
3. i think this will be a great configuration.

ENJOY!!!:D

ncstatesman

Thanks Juice,

whne you mentioned configuration, were you referring as to which way the dual driver side of the f/x500i should point to, ie , should it point towards the TV or towards the rear surr 35i's?

Thanks for the help . . . by the way, when are you expecting your f/x1000?

Larry Chanin

Originally posted by ncstatesman

2. which way should the dual driver side of the f/x500i point to? Should it point towards the TV or towars the rear surr 35i's?

These speakers are labeled Right and Left.

Here's an excerpt from the manual:

ONE FX SERIES SPEAKER IS A “LEFT” CHANNEL SPEAKER AND THE OTHER IS A “RIGHT”
The serial number label identifies which is which (Figure 2). The “Left” speaker should be placed on the left side of the room as you face the front of the room. There are 2 grilles on each speaker, however, there is one logo on one of the grilles. This can be used to confirm speaker orientation since the grille with the logo should be placed so that it faces the rear wall.

Larry

scottvamp

(1)no question DIPOLE
(2)no question driver towards TV
(3)your 500's sound about right and I am suggesting maybe a little higher on the 35's, very direct sound but you can always adjust levels on the DD setup also.

ncstatesman

ok, I did set them up correctly, and, they sound GREAT, I'm really pleased with this pair - they're a good looking set of spkrs too . I haven't set up the 35i's in the rear yet as I'm having some paint work done next week - but when that's completed, I'll have my 7.1 setup complete

By the way, can somone recommend some good demo for the f/x500i's ?

The Old Gaffer

Congrats on snaring a pair of fx500i's

I have had mine set up for about 2 weeks now. (5.1 set-up)
I have them on top of 5' bookshelfs one of which is on the right side wall and the other is free standing to my left side which is open to the dining room kitchen area. they sound great set at dipole even for music. I bought the remastered DVD "Willow" and the thunder storm sounds were really cool coming from the fx 5oo's, I did have them set a little strong so they were a little too located but it really had a great surround effect.

Gaffer (being an audiophile is not a hobby, it is a disease.)

begbie

Sides for sure. Gotta create that "null" area so positioning the speakers is critical.
Enjoy!

juice21

Originally posted by ncstatesman
By the way, can somone recommend some good demo for the f/x500i's ?

THX rain trailer
Toy story 2, opening sequence
Rules of Engagement, battle of ??? , chapeter 2 i think
Saving Private Ryan, opening battle
Crimson Tide, lecture before boarding the sub, can't remember chapter.

these are all great sequences with alot of ambient surround sound. should send alot of information to your fx500i's to show them off...ENJOY:D

juice21

Originally posted by ncstatesman
[B

. . . by the way, when are you expecting your f/x1000? [/B]

they are on their way now, UPS says 'in transit to willow grove', they still have another day of travel after that, and then to me. hopefully they are here before the weekend [crossing fingers]...

ncstatesman

Thanks for the input fellas . . I really like the sound they put out. I was worried about how they would sound with music, so I put on the Lord of the Rings soundtrack and I'm really pleased - to me, they sound great for music and movies. Man, these speakers look cool , , I find myself looking at/admiring them often. Except for willow and crimson tide, I have all of those DVD's

Gaffer, I calibrated my F/x500i to 85db - same as all my other spkrs. Did you feel you had to set them lower than you other spkrs? Juice, I hope you get them by Friday so you can have fun with them this weekend - this is a disease allright :-), I hope your girlforend isn't nagging you about this obsession. My fiance was a little concerned about all the $$ I spent on HT and upgrade fever, but she's really impressed with the sound.

Let me know of other good DVD demos for the f/x500i

juice21

my girlfriend is actaully pretty cool with it. of course she probably sees every purchase as money that could have been spent on a ring...;) she's happy that we are getting the fx1000's, she's always thought that the 500's i've wanted had the 2 driver and 2 tweeters. we demoed all the polk dipoles awhile ago at our local hifi store and she really like the fx1000's, she just thought they were the 500's. anyway, when i told her i was getting the 1000's instead, she was like, how big are those(already thinking that the 500's were the 1000's)??? i told her those were the ones with the larger cabinets with 4 speakers total. she was like, i thought those were the 500's, and i explained to her the the 500's are similar to the 3 driver 300's, but with different components. once she got it all straight, she was like, why would you have even gotten the ones with 3, the 4 speaker ones are way better!!! i think the 'bug' is starting to bite her too! she even prefers when the grilles are off. man, do i love this girl...:D

juice21

another great surround demo is Dragonheart. The DTS soundtrack is amazing in this DVD as Draco flies around your room!

ncstatesman

Juice, oh, noooooo! don't tell me the 1000i's are so much better than the 500i's - I feel the upgrade fever all over again - just kidding, the 500i's sound great, I can't imagine the 1000i's ! It's great your girlfriend gets into this, if she didn't like it would sorta ruin your enjoyment of the system

juice21

well, one of thes reasons that the 1000's sounded better, is that we were in a room with 3000's up front. the guy swapped back and forth between cs400/1000 up front, and 500/1000 in the rears. he didn't want to get into moving the 3000's around, and i was mostly trying to listen to the differences between the polk centers and rears. i'm just hoping the 1000's aren't TOO much for my room, if that is even possible... no need to upgrade man, i think your 500's will do you well!!! sit back and enjoy them, don't let me ruin it for ya...:D

The Old Gaffer

Hey Juice your a lucky man, my wife thinks I am insane, you see and this may crack you guys up but I am hearing impaired (moderate to severe) I wear two high end digital hearing aids (cost more than my HT) since I got my HT I have been in and out of audiologists office about once a week having him play music while I shut my eyes and have him adjust the lows, mids and highs. (he thinks I am insane as well) I refuse to give in to deafness and I will enjoy music and sound as long as possible! The results are that music sounds more natural than it has in a long time. Home theatre has made watching movies a lot more fun. before I cot my polk setup I would use a headset while everyone else watched with normal tv sound on which was pretty isolating. My wife now grudgingly admits it was worth it but she still thinks I am having a midlife crisis, I told her that if I am its still cheaper than a sports car or a girlfriend!

Gaffer

juice21

LOL, pulling out the girlfriend,eh? how can she argue ANYTHING against that? the HT looks wonderful next to the thought of you going out and getting a girlfriend...:p

hamzahsh

Congratulations ncstatesman!

I'm glad that you're really enjoying your F/X 500i's. These are the speakers you wanted and now you own them. Lot of people might have told you go for this, go for that but you made the wise decision and listened to yourself because you're the one who has to decide.

In the begining I wanted F/X 500i's too but when I read and compared the specifications of F/X 1000's to my RT 800i's and CS 400i my heart went to F/X 1000's and I start loving them.

The real goal is to enjoy the sound no matter what speakers one should have and right now I'm out of the technical junk of speakers and moved to the enjoyment department. I really love my RT 800i's, CS 400i and F/X 1000s. These are the speakers I wanted, I got them and I love them.

Happy Polking!

ncstatesman

hey hamzahsh, thanks - I'm glad I was able to get these, black 500i's are scarce. What's interesting is that I like the f/x500i's just as well whether it's movies or music. And as I said, they a good looking set of speakers. I think the f/x500i is plenty enough for me. I've finally aquired all the speakers I need for 7.1 sound:

onkyo 898
cs400i = center
800i's = l/r front
f/x500i's = side surr
rt35i's = rear surr

I have yet to hook up my new 35i's - should do so next week after I get some wall painting done. Juice got himself a pair of 1000i's as well, look forward to hearing his review