Question about Bi-Polar speakers

L

Love4Music

Enthusiast
Hello everyone, I currently have a 5.1 surround sound.. And I recently been seeing these Bi Polar speakers..
And was wondering what your thoughts on them are?

Do they really make a big difference?
Is it worth investing in them?

Or just plain bookshelf speakers would be better?
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
For what purpose? As mains? I'd have to say no. As surrounds would be fine. Bipolar speakers have been around for a long time and remain a niche market IMO.
 
L

Love4Music

Enthusiast
No I was going to use them in the middle both sides.

Bookshelf back rears, Bi-Polar in middle both sides, Two towers and center up front..

Do you think it would be worth it??
Or not really any difference in sound..
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
That's where they're normally used, as side surrounds. The difference is they provide a more diffused surround sound, as opposed to direct. I personally still prefer monopole surrounds in all locations and using good placement to achieve proper surround. I also don't have a side wall on one side in the current setup so they wouldn't work for me anyway, but I don't feel they offer a huge advantage over a monopole. As long as you have side walls along side the listening position, they'll work fine.
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
Bipoles are generally a better option than Dipoles b/c the former keeps all drivers in phase and thus still provides some of the best attributes of a monopole but with broader sound coverage for multiple rows of seats. I personally use a variant of them as side channels in 2 of my theater rooms. Though, if you have the space and the processor to handle two sets of side surrounds with independent delays, I'd probably go with two pairs of monopoles for the side channels and an additional pair for the back channel. Placing these speakers a few feet above ear level pretty much gives you plenty of height and coverage very similar to if you were running ear level monopoles and upward firing Atmos speakers, but you will have better focus of the soundfield without the Atmos upfiring speakers. I've been comparing this for several weeks now and will discuss in more detail in my up coming Denon AVR-X5200W Atmos receiver review.
 
lsiberian

lsiberian

Audioholic Overlord
Bipolar speakers are typically a DIY project, but certainly work well as mains. Rarely do I see a commercial Bipolar speaker capable of being a main, but I use bipolars for my front sound stage and they are fantastic. Most commercial bipoles are surrounds. I have no idea why. You need a good amount of space between the back of a bipole and the wall so I disagree that they make sense for surrounds in most wall mount setups. You can use dipoles, but that's a different type of speaker. Bipoles have the same drivers on opposite sides of the enclosure. Dipoles typically are triangles with drivers on two sides
 
lsiberian

lsiberian

Audioholic Overlord
Bipoles are generally a better option than Dipoles b/c the former keeps all drivers in phase and thus still provides some of the best attributes of a monopole but with broader sound coverage for multiple rows of seats.
I'm intrigued by this since I'm still yet to decide on a design for my surround build. I obviously have the bipolar fronts which I really like, but I'm concerned about having the rear firing driver so close to the wall. I'd think that would cause problems.
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
Bipolar speakers are typically a DIY project, but certainly work well as mains. Rarely do I see a commercial Bipolar speaker capable of being a main, but I use bipolars for my front sound stage and they are fantastic. Most commercial bipoles are surrounds. I have no idea why. You need a good amount of space between the back of a bipole and the wall so I disagree that they make sense for surrounds in most wall mount setups. You can use dipoles, but that's a different type of speaker. Bipoles have the same drivers on opposite sides of the enclosure. Dipoles typically are triangles with drivers on two sides

Sorry I meant a hybrid Bipole like the RBH 44-se and 66se where the MT driver arrays are on an angle rather than 180 deg apart like a Bipole tower speaker.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Dipole/bipole has nothing to do with how the drivers are aimed but the phase of the drivers. I've seen bipole and dipole both straight out and angled. In surround use, they are opposed and not facing towards the listener, to provide more diffused sound, as opposed to a main where the rear is firing at the wall.
 
lsiberian

lsiberian

Audioholic Overlord
Dipole/bipole has nothing to do with how the drivers are aimed but the phase of the drivers. I've seen bipole and dipole both straight out and angled. In surround use, they are opposed and not facing towards the listener, to provide more diffused sound, as opposed to a main where the rear is firing at the wall.
I get what you are saying, but the traditional bipole I'd define as having drivers aimed the opposite way this is what really gives the maximum omnipolar effect IMO. I guess with the near boundary you'd need to compromise some of that effect. Back the the original discussion I do think omnipolar speakers are typically better in most rooms than monopolar speakers assuming they are competently designed and comparable. You do double the driver cost though and I've not seen many omnipolars commercially that I'd consider cost effective.
 
BlwnAway

BlwnAway

Audioholic
My current layout is all bi-poles (except of course my center), all old school DefTech (BP2000's, CLR-3000, BP-20'S and BP-10'S), and yes while needing the space to use them as mains properly, I have a very large room, and the opposing drivers really help to fill the space as surrounds placed sideways, right up against the wall, firing forward and back, the side reflection you get this way really lends itself to not realizing that they're not firing directly at you.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
I've never had a problem getting room filling sound from monopole speakers.
 
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