bookshelf vs bipolar for close range to head in new room.

[ssmokeyy]

So i'm finishing my new theater room and with what i have to work with the side speaker will be between 4-6 feet for my head from the 2 seat loveseat on each side. Wondering if bookshelf still the best idea or if i should go bipolar? i'm also wondering if i bring it up 3 feet above my head would that kill the atmos setup being close to the ceiling?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Bipoles can work ok in such situations. While not ideal for pinpoint imaging, 5’ would be pretty close and I think hotspotting would be more distracting than a slightly diffused sound.
How high is the ceiling? Imo, 3’ would be too high. While it wouldn’t necessarily kill the Atmos generally speaking, it would definitely change its effectiveness. Atmos is based on angles, so it’s best to follow the guides. Problem is, there are a few of them, and some are contradictory.
What are the overall room dims, and associated gear?

 

[ssmokeyy]

13 feet wide 15 feet long. 7 foot to the ceiling. But i have a soffit in the middle i made to do lights and atmos speakers in the middle of the room. That bring's it down to 6.6 feet under those spots. I will post a picture at the same time. I installed 2 layers of 5/8 heavy rock and did a floating ceiling to try to stop the noise in the house the best i could. speaker our klipsch
Center 2 klipsch rc-62 ii I have owned these speakers for years, been playing around with myabe changing but not sure ye to what. paradigm is my top idea right now.
Front klipsch towers rf-62 ii
surrounds i have now is rb-81 ii but the bipolar 502s can be had for $400.
2 martin logan 12 inch subs. Going to add a 15/18 for low end effects in the 15 hz range when i get to it.
atmos speaker are the elac ceiling speakers. For about a month i was going to change to elac but change my mind again. The room is used for movies 80% of the time. room is fully painted no and ready for carpet.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Ok quick question. You said you ran a soffit down the middle for speaker? I hope i misunderstood, because that won’t work at all. Also, do you already have the ML subs? If not I would recommend others, and if you do have them it can be very tricky to add subs of different design.

 

[ssmokeyy]

Yes i have the subs all ready got them 3 years ago. Im going to cross the 15 lower in the 40hz and under range. If the new unit can't handle 3 plus subs independently i will get a module that can. I posted a picture u can see the ceiling. I built it on top of the sheetrock to block the sound from the going upstairs. It might be higher up i can double check that tonight when i go home. Why would this be a problem?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Well something to keep in mind is that subs have different phase anomalies around port tunes and that can make them difficult to integrate and keep a smooth FR. Not quite as simple as just getting a unit to handle it. Which ML’s are they?
Also. In the soffit are the six round holes for lights, and the rectangles for heights? I’m assuming this will have four height/top speakers? If only two, I would place the tops at about 75-80° instead of the front of the room.

It’s hard to tell from pics sometimes, but thanks for sharing. Very helpful.

 

[ssmokeyy]

Its going to have 4 over head. Two of the circles will be speakers. The front is the rectangle. setup is going to be 7.3.4 or 7.4.4. The subs are dynamo1000

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

So yeah, I guess I would try out the bipoles, but keep them closer to ear at as much as possible. A foot above might be ok and can help clear multiple listeners.
I would also take the opportunity, since this theater isn’t complete, to sell the ML’s and upgrade them to something more capable. Sealed 12’s will struggle to give the impact that a high quality HT deserves. Especially if it’s on concrete.

 

[Wardog555]

I'm going to vote for regular speakers as for Dolby atmos you want the pinpoint accuracy of the sounds from all directions.

As for the height if its close to the ears distance wise you really don't want them too high like you propsed as it will sound like from above rather than beside or behind you. And you want be able to tell the difference between the overhead atmos speakers and the base layer speakers. This is of importance to getting dolby atmos as intended.

Hope this helps!

 

[ssmokeyy]

Thank u both for the help.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Roger that!

 

[Wardog555]

Welcome!