Klipsch "bipole" surrounds, anybody listened to them?

[yepimonfire]

Klipsch claims their WDST technology isn't the same as a bipolar speaker, but is designed so that the angles of the two horns give a 180° dispersion, without diffusing directional sounds.

It sounds like it would make sense on paper, after all, unlike dome tweeters which radiate as a point source, horns (theoretically) radiate equal sound across their entire coverage pattern. If the horns are 90x90, and they are both angled at 45°, they should, in theory, behave as one driver with a huge radiation pattern.

My question is has anybody heard them, and how do they sound in comparison to regular bipoles?

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[shadyJ]

In very simple theory two 90x90 horns angled such that their adjacent mouths become parallel would have something like a 180 degree dispersion pattern, but the problems is different frequencies will behave differently within its horn, so in practice there will definitely not be that kind of dispersion pattern. Regardless, this style of surround speaker is now outdated for anything beyond simple 5.1 setups where a diffuse surround sound stage will might wreck the imaging that can occur back there, and that is sound mix dependent. Monopole speakers should be the standard surround speaker. Bipole and and dipole style surrounds need to lay down and die.

 

[j_garcia]

Fewer companies are coming out with bi/dipoles these days. I was never really a fan and have always preferred monopole surrounds.

 

[everettT]

My thoughts, try some other speakers and expand your audio horizons