Bipolar placement

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  • Dr C
    Member
    • Feb 2003
    • 86

    Bipolar placement

    Hi guys - after the dipole/bipole thread i started some time back; i finally decided to go and get a pair of bipolars.

    Question I want to ask is that I believe bipoles should be situated to the back of the seating position; as opposed to dipoles which should be placed along the wall. Is this absolutely neccessary ? Anyone use bipoles along side walls ?

    If using bipoles on the back wall (difficult in my case), how far apart should they be ?

    If there's a centre back channel (6.1/7.1), do the bipoles still get located on the back wall or sent to the sides ?

    As always ... appreciate your comments.

    Dr C
  • Burke Strickland
    Moderator
    • Sep 2001
    • 3161

    #2
    I am using bipolar speakers at the sides and rear. They are floor standing towers rather than wall mounted. The side speakers, Definitive Technology BP-2000s, were my main left and right front speakers before I moved up to Magnepan MG 3.6s and the rears are Def Tech BP-20s, which have always been used as surrounds, frst in a 5.1 setup and now in the 7.1 configuratiion.

    Rather than having the side speakers fire directly toward the seating positions, I have them turned sideways, parallel to, and about a foot from, the walls on either side of the three-across seating, a few feet away from the chairs. This works remarkably well in forming a seamless soundfield with the front three speakers while dispersing the sound so there is no "pinpoint" effect. It also avoids having the speaker closest to the people at the sides overwhelming the sound from the rest of the speakers.

    When I converted to 7.1, I started out with the BP-20s (which are the "rear center" speakers) firing forward with their backs close to the rear wall, mimicking the operation of a direct radiator. However, even with about three feet between the speakers and the chairs, that was just too direct (localized). So I tried turning them so they fire parallel to the wall, as the side speakers do. This has worked much better. With the setup I have now, the dragon flying in a circle around the knight in "Dragonheart" moves around in a continuous circle of sound instead of hopping from speaker to speaker, an effect I had heard when listening to it with the speakers set up according to the "officially recommended" procedure.

    I've found that having the rear speakers about four feet apart along the back wall works best in my setup. That is not a hard and fast rule for every setup, but I do think they would need to have at least some distance between them in any room to overcome the psychoacoustic effect of the rear sounds seeming to come from up front, which is why two speakers are recommended instead of one, even though the two are essentially putting out the same signal. (There is not any truly discrete 7.1 source material.) A little experimentation in positioning is worthwhile to get the best results in you own HT.

    Hope this helps.

    Burke

    What you DON'T say may be held against you...

    Comment

    • Dr C
      Member
      • Feb 2003
      • 86

      #3
      Thks Burke

      Your experience only served to confirm what I thought - that using bipoles along the sides (and maybe rear) would be ok as opposed to the conventional theory that dipoles should be used along the sides.

      The funny thing is that my bipoles are not symetrical; ie on side has a mid and the other has the same mid but with an extra tweeter. My experience has been to direct the side with the tweeter towards the front and position the speakers slightly to the rear of my listening position but still along the side wall. Anyone have similar experiences ?

      Was going to use an old center channel as the rear in a 6.1 setup but now am considering bipoles in a 7.1 situation.

      How does SACD/DVD-A sould with bipoles ? Any comments ? Do you guys change speakers everytime you switch from HT to multi channel music ?

      Thks - Dr C

      Comment

      • Burke Strickland
        Moderator
        • Sep 2001
        • 3161

        #4
        Originally posted by Dr C
        How does SACD/DVD-A sould with bipoles ?
        Sensational.

        Originally posted by Dr C
        Any comments ?
        Get your 7.1 array set up and start listening! :>)
        Note: I started to use my Def Tech C/L/R 2000 center, which is a direct radiatng, not bipolar, speaker, as my rear surround (was planning to sell the BP-2000s and use the BP-20s at the side) but using it by itself produced the psychoacoustic sensation I described before of the rear surround material sounding like it was coming from in front instead of from behind. I wasn't about to get another one of those and didn't get a taker on the BP-2000s so I decided to make the best use of what I had on hand and arranged this as I described before. (I'm going to use the old center as an extension speaker for background music in another room where mono is fine -- just need to do a little wiring first.) :>)

        Originally posted by Dr C
        Do you guys change speakers everytime you switch from HT to multi channel music ?
        Nope. Sounds fine to me with my speakers "as is". I tried moving things around, but didn't notice any audible benefit, and those towers are bulky and heavy (I'm sure as heck not going to add more speakers ti this room) :>) so I decided to leave them where they'd work well for both music and movies.

        I've heard multichannel on a number of systems in peoples' homes and at specialty stores, including the "ultimate system" put together by Telarc and Vandersteen to show off SACD at its best. I do not feel at all deprived listening to my own system, even after having heard that one.

        Their demo room was much larger than my HT space, so there was more of an opportunity to move around the room and get the sensation of being in various locations around the hall where the recording was made as the musicians were playing, which was very effective for the demo, but I still prefer listening to my music from the sweet spot anyway, rather than traipsing around a big room as if I were trying to find the best seat in a concert hall.

        Burke

        What you DON'T say may be held against you...

        Comment

        • Chris D
          Moderator Emeritus
          • Dec 2000
          • 16877

          #5
          Now, if someone visits your theater that is manic depressive, do you make them sit in the back because they're Bipolar?



          Sorry, I couldn't resist.




          CHRIS
          Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"
          CHRIS

          Well, we're safe for now. Thank goodness we're in a bowling alley.
          - Pleasantville

          Comment

          • Sonnie Parker
            • Jan 2002
            • 2858

            #6
            Hmmmm.... I was wondering why everyone always had a chair ready for me in the back of the room once they found out I take 500mg of Depakote daily.


            Dr. C... I have PSB 10S's (bipolar surrounds) in my rear corners for a while now. Once our HT room is finished I will be placing the 2 surrounds on the side walls almost equal to the front row seating position with an extra 10S in the rear center. However these surrounds are angled bipolars. None the less... I sure hope it works cause if it doesn't then I'll have a time moving them.








            SONNIE

            Cedar Creek Cinema

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            BFD Comprehensive Setup Guide

            Comment

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