Surround speakers, need help choosing

[TommyV]

Well I need to get some bipole/dipole type surround speakers to replace my directional surrounds I was using before. Unfortunately I cannot afford the B&W DS3s I want ($850/pair) so I was looking at some other options.

What I want is a speaker that works well with an 80Hz crossover setting in the processor. It seems you cannot completely determine that from the freq range.

I have noticed two main styles: One with a woofer and tweeter on either side and another with with a single forward facing woofer and a tweeter on either side.

I am looking at these Energy C-R100s as an option.

Also Emotiva ERD-1s but they are out of stock and no one knows when they will be back in.

Any others people would suggest in the $500/pair price range? They will be mounted on my back wall and the couch it pushed back up against it.

[Hammie]

I've been happy with the Polk FXi line. I have been using them in my setup for about 4 or 5 years now. I have hem set with an 80Hz crossover with my Denon 3808.

[artv4]

Well I need to get some bipole/dipole type surround speakers to replace my directional surrounds I was using before. Unfortunately I cannot afford the B&W DS3s I want ($850/pair) so I was looking at some other options.

What I want is a speaker that works well with an 80Hz crossover setting in the processor. It seems you cannot completely determine that from the freq range.

I have noticed two main styles: One with a woofer and tweeter on either side and another with with a single forward facing woofer and a tweeter on either side.

I am looking at these Energy C-R100s as an option.

Also Emotiva ERD-1s but they are out of stock and no one knows when they will be back in.

Any others people would suggest in the $500/pair price range? They will be mounted on my back wall and the couch it pushed back up against it.

check ebay for the ds6 s3. there is a pair for 650 with offer option

[TommyV]

Yea art, I was thinkin about doin that but I went ahead and pulled the trigger on some Axiom QS8s. $540. They are suppose to be real nice so we will see.

[Chris D]

Oooh, nice, Tommy! That deserves a banana. :banana: Those look to be very well designed for surround dispersion use!

[David Meek]

Tommy keep us posted on how you like the Axioms. Im curious about how the downward firing mid/woofer performs as it's not part of the dipole arrangement. FWIW, I used dipoles for several years (Boston Acoustics VRS-Pro) in an earlier theater room and really liked them.

[TommyV]

Yea guys I am excited. They are scheduled for delivery Fri. I have my new amp/processor all hooked up so hopefully I can knock those speakers out and fire up some Blu-ray HD audio.

I will let you guys know my impressions. I will need to run a full speaker setup with my SPL and all that.

[Chris D]

yes, my previous surround speakers were Klipsch SPS-6 speakers that looked somewhat similar without the downward firing mid-range driver.

[TommyV]

Well I have spent nearly two weeks with the QS8s and here are my impressions so far:

At first I was pretty disappointed. I leveled my speakers using Avia test tones/SPL meter and it just seemed like the surrounds were barley even there. The sound is so disperse you hardly even notice them while watching my reference movies.

After a week I raised the level 1dB on each and watched some other movies and that seemed to help a bit. I also tweaked my PLII Music settings which helped alot because I like to use that mode for some music.

My previous surrounds were B&W M1s mounted @ exactly 110 deg and 5 ft above the listening position. I really thought the sound was awesome but this new room required a different mounting setup. I am starting to like the QS8s a little more but overall I am a bit disappointed. I could just be getting used to the sound or maybe I just like directional surrounds?

I do have some time to change my mind but to what?? Do I really want to start all over again? Sheesh I dunno. Suggestions are welcome.

[audioqueso]

Buy a pair of Emotiva ERD's. You can try those out as well. Decide which one you are satisfied with, and return the other one. Both have 30 days money-back guarantees.

[Ken49r]

I would suggest keeping them all B&W if possible. The drivers sonic signature is hard to blend using different series within the same company, even harder integrating two different company's speakers. Could you pole-mount the M1's on the sides until you can afford the DS3's? Using a $500.00 budget to buy Axiom's could buy used DS3's if your not willing to wait until you have $850.00

The Axioms probably need a break-in time but if you only have a 30 day return policy it may be to late to return them if the timbre still doesn't match.

Ken

[TommyV]

The Axioms are sounding better. I raised the level a little and that helped. I think I needed to get used to the sound. I don't think timbre matching is as important on the surrounds. My fronts are all B&W 600 S3 series. I am using the M1s now in the master for a 2.1 system and I like them.

I think the placement and different shape of my room has a lot to do with the sound change. My front sound stage is improved but my rears are not as optimal.

[Ken49r]

The Axioms are sounding better. I raised the level a little and that helped. I think I needed to get used to the sound. I don't think timbre matching is as important on the surrounds. My fronts are all B&W 600 S3 series. I am using the M1s now in the master for a 2.1 system and I like them.

I think the placement and different shape of my room has a lot to do with the sound change. My front sound stage is improved but my rears are not as optimal.

Hi Tommy,

I too had the 600 S3 series using DS3 for surrounds and did not notice the surrounds as you are with the Axioms. Everything just sounded right. It could just be that the Axiom does not give you the option of monopole and is always in dispersion mode. I did prefer to use my DS3 in monopole most of the time because of placement and room size. And I didn't like to keep changing them over when listening to MCH music. Even in dipole mode the sound was well balanced with the front 3.

If it sounds good to you, that's all that matters at the end of the day.

Ken