Considering 7.1 - NEED ADVICE ON SURROUNDS

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Dr. Spec
Dr. Spec Posts: 3,780
edited January 2003 in Speakers
Guys:

I'm considering an upgrade to 7.1. I will use my direct radiating CS-245i as the rear surrounds. They are in a perfect position for that already.

For the side surrounds, I was considering the following speaks:

F/Xi30
F/X300i
F/Xi50
F/X500i

First, what is the difference between the F/Xi.. and the F/X...i? Is the tweet different? Will either model be an equally good timbre match for my CS400i and my CS245i? Or is one better than the other?

Second, considering my other speaks, would the 50/500 series be a better match than the 30/300 series output and power wise? My room is not that big, but I don't want to wimp out on the side surrounds if the 50/500 is noticeably better than the 30/300.

Third, if I run the F/X directly to either side of the couch, should I run them in bi-pole or di-pole mode?

Finally, there are a bunch of them listed on eBay. Is $399 including s/h a good buy for a pair of NIB F/Xi50's?

Thanks,

Doc
"What we do in life echoes in eternity"

Ed Mullen (emullen@svsound.com)
Director - Technology and Customer Service
SVS
Post edited by Dr. Spec on
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  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited January 2003
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    I'm surprised to see you moving away from direct radiating speakers... what are your thought here?

    HBomb
    ***WAREMTAE***
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  • shack
    shack Posts: 11,154
    edited January 2003
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    The FX500i will match with your 800/400 fronts perfectly. It has the same driver and 2 of the same tri-lam tweeters. The fxi series has the silk dome tweeters. The FX300i has the same driver as the CS245i but has 2 3/4 in. silk dome tweeters. I would go with the FX500i.
    "Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right." - Ricky Gervais

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  • Dr. Spec
    Dr. Spec Posts: 3,780
    edited January 2003
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    Originally posted by HBombToo
    I'm surprised to see you moving away from direct radiating speakers... what are your thought here?

    HBomb

    I'm not exactly moving away from them, I currently use a pair of CS245i as my 5.1 surround speakers and I like them very much. They are at head level, about 7 feet apart, about 3 feet behind the couch, and angled toward the listener. They localize sound effects well front to back, like whizzing bullets and such.

    I imagined the rear surrounds in a 7.1 set-up should be direct radiating for a stable sound stage in the back.

    But the 7.1 side surrounds are supposed to be pointed directly at the listener on each side, right? I thought that a more diffuse sound field on the sides, coupled with direct radiating in the rear, would result in the best of both worlds.

    Is my thinking off base here? Would I be better off with a direct radiating speaker on the sides too?

    Also Shack - thanks - I see the difference now. The f/x...i has the tri-lam tweet used in my other speaks, and the f/xi.. has the silk dome German "Mueller" tweet.

    How different is the tweeter timbre between the tri-lam and the silk dome? Will it be noticeable if I can't find a pair of f/x500i and am forced to use the f/xi50?

    I will also check at the two local CC and see what there is on close-out over there. They have been blowing out the OOP RT...i and CS...i stuff. Maybe I can find a pair of f/x500i over there.

    Thanks,

    Doc
    "What we do in life echoes in eternity"

    Ed Mullen (emullen@svsound.com)
    Director - Technology and Customer Service
    SVS
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  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited January 2003
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    Originally posted by Dr. Spec

    Is my thinking off base here? Would I be better off with a direct radiating speaker on the sides too?

    I don't think your off base by any means... I'm just in the direct camp for surround and like that control and have extended those notions to 7 channel. Furthermore, I would think that if your processor can do 7 channel stereo it would be a better match in a party like atmosphere.

    I have 0 experience with fx style surrounds and only am basing this on thought for me and my system... so really I would like to hear the pro's and con's for this topic.

    HBomb
    ***WAREMTAE***
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  • faster100
    faster100 Posts: 6,124
    edited January 2003
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    I too thought later on of doing this, putting di-pole speakers on the sides and directs for the rear center/s... good idea i just am yet to demo the fxi series speaks, the 300 and 500 series match the old line and the shorter numbered series ie:fxi30 and 50 are for the newer line like i have... The 500/50's are huge, I would think the 300's would be good with the cs245's..

    Or get rt35's for rear centers and fx300's for side surrounds.. just a few idea's.. I just set up my full rti28 rear stage and it works well, matches nice and sounded great on *Signs* that i watched the other night.
    love the sound move from side to rear to other side just matches the full 3 speaker front stage in movies nicely
    MY HT RIG:
    Sherwood p-965
    Sherwood sd871 dvd
    Rotel 1075 amp x5
    LSI15 mains
    LsiC center
    LSIfx surround backs
    Lsi7 side surrounds
    SVS pb12/plus2

    2 Channel Rig:

    nad 1020 Pre-amp
    Rotel 1080 stereo amp
    Polk sda 2B
    kenwood grunt Tuner
    realistic lab 450 TT
    Signal cable IC
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  • Dr. Spec
    Dr. Spec Posts: 3,780
    edited January 2003
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    Thanks for all the input guys. I'm keeping the direct radiating CS245i's as rear surrounds regardless. They are a great value as a surround.

    For best timbre matching, I'll try to find a pair of F/X300i's or F/X500i's for the side surrounds and run them in di-pole mode. I like the wall mount design of this speaker.
    "What we do in life echoes in eternity"

    Ed Mullen (emullen@svsound.com)
    Director - Technology and Customer Service
    SVS
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  • scottvamp
    scottvamp Posts: 3,277
    edited January 2003
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    The research I have done in the past have lead me to believe that for 6/7 channel - dipole on sides and direct in the rear.
    I have the fx500i's and the cs245i in 6 channel and it sounds seemless. Perhaps the cs400 would have been a better choose but it was just too large to "hang" and pricey.
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  • marvelous
    marvelous Posts: 38
    edited January 2003
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    I use the 300i for my surrounds in dipole and they blend very well. The ease of hanging them on the wall is a big plus as well. I love my 7.1 setup!
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited January 2003
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    Just throwin' this out, see if it sticks, anyone using Atriums in their HT rig for rears/rear surround?
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited January 2003
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    although i only have 5.1 sound. I use FX300i for the rears. In bi-pole mode. I fiddled with the di-pole setting and didn't like the sound field as much It was to narrow for my tastes. Plus my small room I really only had one place to mount the rears anyway. They are about 2 - 3 feet above the listener on the side wall about 6" from the ceiling, running in bi-pole mode. While I have a small room. Dr. you may want to go with the F/Xi50 or F/X500i instead.
    I did also play around with direct firing speakers.. and the sound just went over my head. :p

    Get a pair, mount them on the wall, then fire that baby up. The wide diffused sound field is what sold me on them.
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • kberg
    kberg Posts: 974
    edited January 2003
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    I can't say enough good things about the FXi30's. I really like 'em. I use them on 24" stands in dipole mode slightly behind my listening position (which is unfortunately on a couch along a side wall). Perhaps not the best speaker placement, but I'm not ready to play Tim (the toolman) Taylor and wall-mount them just yet. I think they will be a perfect match for my CSi30 rear center I will be picking up tomorrow.
    Mains: polkaudio RTi70's (bi-wired)
    Center: polkaudio CSi40 (bi-wired)
    Surrounds: polkaudio FXi30's
    Rear Center: polkaudio CSi30
    Sub: SVS 20-39 PC+
    Receiver: ONKYO TX-SR600
    Display: JVC HD-56G786
    DVD Player: SONY DVP-CX985V
    DVD Player: OPPO DV-981HD 1080p High Definition Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI
    Remote: Logitech Harmony H688
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  • goingganzo
    goingganzo Posts: 2,793
    edited January 2003
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    doc this is good to hers 7.1 is so sweet. i would recomend the 500 or 50 for your surounds. i had the 300 befor and they just wernt that impresive. i have my sound on di pole on the sides and bi pole on the rear surounds. i have the same mains and center as you and i love the match of powre handlong and sound. they olny have 150 but they performend way better than the 300i.
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