FXI A4 placement in 5.1

gollumis

hello all,
i am currently in the process of building my HT. I just got the FXI A4's and was wondering the best place to put them. the only option i have is on the side walls, because there is no back wall just the kitchen. From experience which is better dipole or bipole? to me it seems that you want the sound pointed directly at you, but i am new to this so i am open to suggestions. I also just got the Pioneer Elite 92, does anybody know were i put my backs since i am in a 5.1 setup and not a 7.1. is the backs the surrounds? thanks for the replies in advance.

gollumis

anyone?

powers20

They should say in the description and the manual which one. Just look at Crutchfield. They say which is for which.

shimey013

I have mine beside the couch against the back wall. They are about ear level and it works great...atleast IMO but then I cant put them up on the wall...also I have them set on Bipole, which i found as a prefered sound to my ears...but then this is just my opinion.

powers20

I don't think you want rear speakers pointed directly at your ears. But since these speakers point off axis I take it that you meant the cabinet pointed at you, thus non-direct sound. If that's what you mean, I would agree with you. You guys think Atrium 45s would be a good rear back speaker for 7.1 in this type of setup? I have RTI4 front, CSI5 middle, and I'm getting FXIA6 for Rear left/right.

Mr Glide

gollumis wrote: »

hello all,
i am currently in the process of building my HT. I just got the FXI A4's and was wondering the best place to put them. the only option i have is on the side walls, because there is no back wall just the kitchen. From experience which is better dipole or bipole? to me it seems that you want the sound pointed directly at you, but i am new to this so i am open to suggestions. I also just got the Pioneer Elite 92, does anybody know were i put my backs since i am in a 5.1 setup and not a 7.1. is the backs the surrounds? thanks for the replies in advance.

My A4s are on its way as well and will be used as 6th and 7th speakers (Side surrounds). For movies, dipole is better, for music, bipole is more suited. After reading some sites on net (talked to Polk support as well),it seems them you hang them higher (upto 3-5 feet) than your ear level.

The most annoying part (I think) on this speaker is the flip switch (bipole/dipole) which is located in the back of the speaker. How in the world Polk designers never thought about putting it on the side or in front? It would be huge inconvenient to get up, unhang the speaker from wall every time and flip the switch depending on whether you're listening to music or movie (which I do both).

Topper

the FXi A4 and A6 have their bipole/dipole switch in the front (behind one of the grills). No need to remove the speaker from the wall to make any adjustments.


Also as for bipole or dipole, i highly recommend you try them both ways and then decide. I blindly followed whatever all the sites were saying without trying for months and then just on a whim tried em the other way and liked them sooo much better. So much more diffused that the speakers really disappeared during movie time.

jbooker82

I thought the dipole bipole was determined by where the speaker is?

If it is directly beside you u use di pole. If they are behind you then you use bipole.

Topper

exactly my thinking as well but I guess there are exceptions to the rule

Mr Glide

Topper wrote: »

the FXi A4 and A6 have their bipole/dipole switch in the front (behind one of the grills). No need to remove the speaker from the wall to make any adjustments.


Also as for bipole or dipole, i highly recommend you try them both ways and then decide. I blindly followed whatever all the sites were saying without trying for months and then just on a whim tried em the other way and liked them sooo much better. So much more diffused that the speakers really disappeared during movie time.

Oh, that's the best news of the day for me, Topper. Good advise too. Thanks! I'll play around w/ settings.

btw, Mine will be hung about 5' above ear level and 3' in front of ear level. I have to push them to the front, otherwise they come too close (3') to my rear surrounds. Do you guys see any problem with it?

mdaudioguy

Mr Glide wrote: »

Oh, that's the best news of the day for me, Topper. Good advise too. Thanks! I'll play around w/ settings.

btw, Mine will be hung about 5' above ear level and 3' in front of ear level. I have to push them to the front, otherwise they come too close (3') to my rear surrounds. Do you guys see any problem with it?

Well, if it sounds ok to you, I guess it's ok, but I'm thinking that perhaps a 5.1 solution might actually be better in your room, if that's the case.

Mr Glide

mdaudioguy wrote: »

Well, if it sounds ok to you, I guess it's ok, but I'm thinking that perhaps a 5.1 solution might actually be better in your room, if that's the case.

Alright, I'll give both a try.

mdaudioguy

Mr Glide wrote: »

Alright, I'll give both a try.

Report back on your results. A lot of folks like to squeeze a 7-channel setup into any room, simply because they have a 7.1 AVR (thinking more is better). I've got two different HT rigs - a 7.1 in a large room, and a 5.1 in a smaller room. There is just no way (and no benefit that I can see) to fit 2 more speakers in the smaller room - and I'm working with much smaller satellite speakers in that room. I enjoy them both. 5.1 can be just as immersive, especially with the FXi speakers that you're getting. Enjoy!

Mr Glide

mdaudioguy wrote: »

Report back on your results. A lot of folks like to squeeze a 7-channel setup into any room, simply because they have a 7.1 AVR (thinking more is better). I've got two different HT rigs - a 7.1 in a large room, and a 5.1 in a smaller room. There is just no way (and no benefit that I can see) to fit 2 more speakers in the smaller room - and I'm working with much smaller satellite speakers in that room. I enjoy them both. 5.1 can be just as immersive, especially with the FXi speakers that you're getting. Enjoy!

Sure, I will report back. It might take few months for the dust to settle down , however I will report back at some point.

What's your definition of smaller/larger room? My rectangular room size is 18 x 13. I am hoping that by adding 6 and 7th channels would let me immerse more into sound (while playing music) and would help me blend surround sounds better in HT mode. For this, I feel that dipole/bipole is better choice. Again, I don't have extensive experience in such matters, so it will be trial and error as I learn more it. Thanks.

Topper

Topper wrote: »

the FXi A4 and A6 have their bipole/dipole switch in the front (behind one of the grills). No need to remove the speaker from the wall to make any adjustments.

oops i need to correct myself here - my FXi A6 had the switches in the front behind the grills but apparently my bro's FXi A4 has them in the back.

ScudDawg

I have my A4's directly to the sides and they work great, and I did not hang them, got them on 36 inch stands.

Nerd

ScudDawg
I have my A4's directly to the sides and they work great, and I did not hang them, got them on 36 inch stands.

So the woofer of the FxiA4 is facing the screen or opposite.

pdxfj

In dipole mode the front facing drivers are in-phase with your front speakers and the rear facing tweeter is out of phase with everything. In Bipole everything is in-phase.

There is left and right speaker. If the sticker is missing, the single tweeter faces behind you. Usually place 2-3 feet or so above your head and slightly behind your listening position.

Nerd

Thanks a lot, pdxfj

I have been wanting a direct simple answer for this since yesterday. I bought these second hand, and there is no arrow or L/R or anything that could tell me which one is what

flyfisher

Nerd wrote: »

So the woofer of the FxiA4 is facing the screen or opposite.

Facing the screen.I just popped the grill real quick to see.

mdaudioguy

Nerd wrote: »

Thanks a lot, pdxfj

I have been wanting a direct simple answer for this since yesterday. I bought these second hand, and there is no arrow or L/R or anything that could tell me which one is what

This might be helpful: http://www.polkaudio.com/downloads/manuals/home/RTi_CSiA6_A4_FXiA6_A4_MN.pdf

Nerd

flyfisher
Originally Posted by Nerd
So the woofer of the FxiA4 is facing the screen or opposite.
Facing the screen.I just popped the grill real quick to see.

Thanks for the confirmation !

I was confused because Polk customer service told me to face the woofer to the back wall, I don't think she understood or maybe I couldn't explain properly the entire thing.