Full Range rears, surround rears; 5.1, 7.1?

[MikeEckhardt]

Personally I prefer a more diffusive side sound field from a bipole/dipole type speaker and direct radiators spaced out about 6-8 feet behind me for the back channels assuming you aren't sitting in a chair smack up against the backwall.

I don't know much about bipole/dipoles and direct radiators, but if they kick *** I'm willing to go that route as well... but are they out of the ball park in price? Suggestions?

If you are transmitting DVD-A/SACD via HDMI, i.Link or D.Link, you owe it to yourself to engage PLiix Music Mode. Simply awesome if your speaker system is set up right!

I am using D.Link, I believe it is in PLiiX Music Mode, but I will double check!

lol... lots of info here!

 

[gene]

Gene, assuming you read my original post, does your position stand the same for multichannel music? I just want to make sure you weren't thinking that this is just a movie setup.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I assumed that you'd want full range speakers all around (except center) for multichannel music, since if you think about it, the sound engineers could put any instrument at any speaker point, at the same volume levels as the fronts for example. Seems to me then that surround speakers would be limited?

Tom, thanks so much for taking the time to read and learn about the different speakers! It will take me some time to read and digest it all, and eventually come to a decision on what I want to do.

Also, for what its worth, if I used rear towers, they could stand on the floor as the fronts are. My couch would be just a few feet back from center.

I am pasting a PM I sent someone else on this very topic:

Read the article I linked up in my forum post. Most multi channel music is recorded wrong. The recording engineers are recording in a nearfield environment for a single sweet spot. Our ears don't perceive sound the same way in front as they do behind. We are set up more for direct point source sound in front of us and diffusive sound field behind us.

Granted, I am not saying direct radiators for sides/back channels are bad, but most people don't implement them correctly and are usually sitting only a few feet away from a rear speaker blaring at them and causing a deteriorated surround field. Not to mention the bass issues they will likely be suffering trying to get full range speakers to properly acoustically sum with their subwoofer and other full range speakers. It is rare that the optimal position for bass coincides with where the speakers will reside. This is why it’s usually better, and easier to set up a high performance satellite system with multiple subwoofers. Satellites don’t have to be dynamically limited. I consider the RBH T1 system to be satellite speakers yet they can handle 500watts continuously and produce a soundstage that rivals any conventional 3 way tower speaker I have heard! Perhaps its time for another editorial

What I am espousing here is nothing new. Some of the great minds in the industry have been preaching this for years like Dr. Floyd Toole of Harman and the folks at THX.

That being said if you are only setting up a 5.1 system, and assuming you can get the surround speakers several feet away from you, preferably more, I would still suggest a quality satellite speaker placed on the side walls a few feet behind you. Monopole works fine, but you may wish to expirement with bipole/dipole speakers. Should you choose to use tower speakers, I suggest implementing bass management on them. Most so called full range speakers really aren't full range and have poor linearity at low frequencies at high SPL levels.

As for your two subs, you may wish to experiment on their placement. Check out our Place for Bass article in our Principles page and other sub placement suggestions we have in our Setup tips area.

Symmetry works well with subs, try placing them equadistant from the primary listening position on the same front wall, or using the virtual subwoofer placement technique we discuss in our articles.

 

[MikeEckhardt]

Okay, got it Gene! I have a lot of reading to do and research. I know that Magnolia HiFi will loan me some speakers to try out as well.

My layout is as follows:
.........................____________________
Rectangle room....LF...SUB...TV...Equip..RF





And in the back... LR.........COUCH.......RR
.............................................SUB.......
.........................____________________

I could move the second sub where my component rack is, what do you think Gene? Also, I have flexibility with the rears, they just happen to be on the sides as they are the Klipsch that are triangle shaped so to speak. Set it up that way according to the 5.1 THX layout.

 

[tomd51]

Satellite speakers need not be dynamically limited. Take for example the RBH Signature T1 system which can handle 500 watts continuously and has a bigger soundstage than any conventional 3 way tower I have heard.

Tell me you're not referring to these as satellites:

Maybe these satellites?

No, b/c I am wrong more often than not in the eyes of my wife so I have to make up for it here

I just have to prove I'm right, like being married to a judge. Wait a minute, now that means I have to deal with being wrong here, too. Crap... -TD

 

[gene]

Tell me you're not referring to these as satellites:

Yes the T1's are satellite speakers. I refer to any speaker not capable of playing linearly down to 20Hz as a satellite speaker