Are there limitations in using bipole/dipole surrounds?

BeRad

I just bought a house and have a 19 x 18 foot room to build into a home theatre.

My question is: With a 19' wide room and the surround speaker placement appox 3' away from the rear wall, would I be better off with a more directional surround like an RTi6, or would you expect that the FXi A4's I have would still work well?

One other concern is that the back wall only runs 2/3's the lenght of the room. The remainder is open space going into the dining room. I am worried that perhaps that opening might screw up the reflected sounds coming from the FXi's.

Any info/similar situation experience would help. Thanks.

P.S. Can't wait to move in and start building this thing!!!

Bernal

BeRad wrote: »

I just bought a house and have a 19 x 18 foot room to build into a home theatre.

My question is: With a 19' wide room and the surround speaker placement appox 3' away from the rear wall, would I be better off with a more directional surround like an RTi6, or would you expect that the FXi A4's I have would still work well?

One other concern is that the back wall only runs 2/3's the lenght of the room. The remainder is open space going into the dining room. I am worried that perhaps that opening might screw up the reflected sounds coming from the FXi's.

Any info/similar situation experience would help. Thanks.

P.S. Can't wait to move in and start building this thing!!!

Hi, I have the LSif/x and I work very well.
My room is 24 feet long - 26 feet wide - 10 feet high.



01) DENON AVR-4308CI: Advanced 7.1 CH/5.1+2 CH/ 3.1+2+2 CH A/V Home Theater /MultiMedia Multi-Source/Zone Receiver with Networking and WiFi/170 watts x 7 channels
02) SUNFIRE Grand Signature - Bob Carver's
03) OPPO DV-980H 1080p Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI and 7.1CH Audio
04) OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player w/SACD & DVD-Audio / DENON DVD-2500BTCI: Blu-ray Disc™ DVD/CD Digital Player/Transport
05) HITACHI P55T501. 55" HD1080 Plasma HDTV
06) POLKAUDIO LSiC (Center speaker)
07) POLKAUDIO LSi15 LEFT (Front speaker)
08) POLKAUDIO LSi15 RIGHT (Front speaker)
09) POLKAUDIO LSif/x LEFT (Surround speaker)
10) POLKAUDIO LSif/x RIGHT (Surround speaker)
11) VELODYNE 12" OPTIMUN SERIES (High Output Digital EQ SubWoofer 2400W/1200WRMS

jimmydep

I have a similar situation to yours having an open floor plan, but tte LSIF/X's work very well, even though some of the reflected sound is lost, I think they're better than a standard speaker for the surrounds.

Jimmy

Barefoot

From what I gather they tend to work the best approx. 6-7 ft. up along the side walls with no entrance/exitways mucking up their dipolar radiation pattern. So positioning is finicky, at best. But if done properly they are imo superior to monopoles for surround and pretty much eliminate the need for 7.1 unless you're in a (much) larger sized room. Judging by your description of your setup, I would probably just go with monopoles, or even better just scrap the idea of surround and go with a straight up hi-fi 2channel setup.

When it comes to bipole vs dipole, I prefer dipoles -- regardless of side/rear wall positioning. ymmv.

jimmydep

I have mine set for Dipole

Mark2020

I have a similiar problem although my room is a little smaller. One side is open through two arch ways with a bookshelf at the back which would take away from the effect of the bipole/dipole speakers. I also have wall scounce lights that would block the other side of the speaker (poor planning on my part). I decided to go with the RTiA1 in the back (RTiA3's were still a touch to big to fit in the corner).

Mark

mdk5068

I have my fxia4's set to dipole in a room opening up to the dining room as well. I prefer the fxi's to the rti's simply for the softer sound they seem t put out compared to the direct rti's. Let your ears decide but that is what mine told me.