Can di-poles be hooked up out of phase?

[CraigV]

I changed my speaker wire today to the fronts, and while I was hooking everything up I had a thought - my two surround speakers are di-pole, one speaker pushes as the other pulls. So, is there any such thing as being hooked up out-of-phase? Neither speaker is designated as left or right, so is there really a difference?

 

[Adam]

Interesting. Seems like it wouldn't matter, unless they are set up so that one of the speakers (e.g. the one facing the listeners) fires in phase with the front speakers.

Have you tried it to see if you can tell a difference?

 

[CraigV]

Interesting. Seems like it wouldn't matter, unless they are set up so that one of the speakers (e.g. the one facing the listeners) fires in phase with the front speakers.

Have you tried it to see if you can tell a difference?

No I haven’t, and since there’s no indication of which driver fires when….

 

[TLS Guy]

I changed my speaker wire today to the fronts, and while I was hooking everything up I had a thought - my two surround speakers are di-pole, one speaker pushes as the other pulls. So, is there any such thing as being hooked up out-of-phase? Neither speaker is designated as left or right, so is there really a difference?

In a di-pole both speakers move out together and in together. The speakers do need to be in phase with the rest of the system.

 

[CraigV]

In a di-pole both speakers move out together and in together. The speakers do need to be in phase with the rest of the system.

I thought that was the definition of a bi-pole.

 

[TLS Guy]

I thought that was the definition of a bi-pole.

Is the speaker the one in the photograph? If it is it looks like a one cavity box. If it is one single cavity, then the drivers have to move in and out together, as otherwise there would be no restraint on cone movement.

I suspect the speaker is actually a bi-pole. You can check it with a battery.

In order to have both sides out of phase a true dipole, then the speaker has to be planar like electrostatics or Magnepans, or the drivers have to be in separate enclosures. If the speakers are truly out of phase, phase won't matter.

Usually surround di-poles have one monople bass speaker and the tweeters out of phase facing in opposite directions. Often they have a phase inverting switch to one driver, so they can function either way.

 

[CraigV]

Is the speaker the one in the photograph? If it is it looks like a one cavity box. If it is one single cavity, then the drivers have to move in and out together, as otherwise there would be no restraint on cone movement.

I suspect the speaker is actually a bi-pole. You can check it with a battery.

In order to have both sides out of phase a true dipole, then the speaker has to be planar like electrostatics or Magnepans, or the drivers have to be in separate enclosures. If the speakers are truly out of phase, phase won't matter.

Usually surround di-poles have one monople bass speaker and the tweeters out of phase facing in opposite directions. Often they have a phase inverting switch to one driver, so they can function either way.

Yes

From KEF's web site:

As the dipole rear effects speaker for the Q Series, the two 130mm (5 1/4") Uni-Q arrays in the heavilty braced curved cabinets of the iQ8ds disperse atmospheric effects encoded in digital soundtracks evenly throughout the listening area to create a sense of place so real you can almost touch it. Perfectly timbre-matched to the rest of the range, transitions are seamless and the detailing impeccable. A simple keyhole mounting system allows effortlessly quick wall insulation. Sit back and enjoy.