surround preferences

[av-man]

Which do you like better for theater, Di-pole, Bi-pole or Direct radiating? Just curious.

 

[Rowdy S13]

This is a great question that Ive been wondering a lot about lately bacause I need to get new surrounds soon. I just wish I had some input. I can tell you that right now I have Direct (Just Infinity Bookshelfs) and placed right and adjusted right the hard to detect behind you which I believe is a very good thing in surrounds. It seems to be just harder to get set up right compared to Di Pole Bi Pole and if you have an irregular room Id imagine it gets harder.

Sean

 

[av-man]

Rowdy,
I have the Atlantic Tech. sytem170 at home with Di-pole rears.
In my showroom I have Wharfedale EVO 10's with Bi-poles.
I will need to set up some bookshelf rears to be sure but I think I like the Difuse set up more than direct.
I haven't been able to tell any difference between di-pole and bi-pole. But they are in two different locations so its hard to compare.

 

[Doug917]

I prefer Bi-polar. The don't give the pinpoint accuracy of direct radiating speakers, but are pretty close. The also work great for pans and transistions. Dipoles lose even more pinpoint accuracy. I have tried all three types before and the Bi-poles are kind of in the middle of the other two and work out quite well for surround channels. I use four Def Tech BP2X Bipolar speakers (2 for surround channels and 2 for surround back channels). If you watch mostly movies, I feel bipolars are the way to go. If you mainly listen to music, you may want the direct speakers. In the end it all comes down to how it sounds to you.

 

[tedmjr2]

Face Off: Surround-Speaker-Configuration Wars

Here's an interesting six-page article to add to your dilemma:

http://www.hometheatermag.com/bootcamp/25/index.html

 

[jmgillespie]

Depends on what you like, if you use it more for music then direct radiating are the best and to top that using the same speakers you use in the front in the rear makes it even better. If you are also a fan of music in your movies like me then that is the best way to go, I have Paradigm legends as fronts and rears and they sound amazing in movies such as Ray, Resevoir dogs (anything by QT), Resident Evil, ect. They also sound very good in all other aspects as long as you have them seated behind not at the side of you or your going to be able to pinpoint it exactly. I have mine about 3 ft behind me and I cant' really detect them at most times (they are in my bed room I'm a college student living at home lol) I also have them turned in and set up properly so it even sounds like a phantom center when its suppost to.

The bi-pole/di-pole are great for movies like the Perfect Storm and Twister where the sound is suppost to engulf you in to the action. I think they would be just as good for you if your making a dedicated theatre, it all really just depends on your preference I would go to a hi-fi store and test them out and also the direct radiating speakers. Bring in a few dvd's like Perfect Storm and Ray and also a few cd's or sacd's if you have any and try them out.

 

[saurabh]

I would prefer a Dipole/Bipole for my surrounds since they produce a better soundstage than the direct radiating ones and direct radiating ones for the fronts. This way you have a balance of movies (using surrounds) and music (using stereo/fronts). Since most of the music is still stereo sound.

 

[bruceh]

Surrounds are better

I have a pair of Axiom QS8's that are fantastic on movies and music. They radiate in four directions and also do an excellent job on multichannel audio, which sometimes requires more discrete placement of sound.