Dipole speaker mount - open space (1 Viewer)

[Charlie Campisi]

Hi guys -

I tried posting this in the HT Construction section but got now action, so I thought I'd try here where there is a little more traffic. This is my first post (even though I have now posted it twice.) I have been lurking on the forum for about a month now (and still have a lot more reading to do). I am setting up my first home theater. I already have the TV (57 inch RP hitachi 16:9 HD) and receiver (denon 1804). I have reserved some speakers with jon at the audio insider, swan 2.1's for the mains, C3 and R3 surrounds.

My question is about mounting the surrounds. The room is about 17x17, with a 7'9" ceiling, carpeted floor. Wires were run in the ceiling when we had the basement finished. The room has three full walls, but the back wall, where the couch is located, has about a 9 foot open entrance with some open space behind it. From what I've read, the dipole surrounds should be mounted directly across from the ends of the couch and at least two feet from the rear wall. The problem is with the one on the left side. Since there is no "rear wall" behind this speaker and nothing for the sound to reflect back off of, will this mess up my sound? Would I be better without dipoles?

The speakers should be in stock in a week or two and I want to make the right decision. Help! Thanks in advance. I'll need advice on wall mounts for the R3's eventually, so if in answering my question above, you have a wall mount suggestion too, fire away!

 

[Charlie Campisi]

TTT. Anyone? Beuller? At least tell me if I asked a bad question. :b

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Okay, I’ve been hoping someone else would respond, but I guess not.

Basically, di- and bipolar speakers are supposed to be hung on the side walls of a fairly symmetrical room and get their ambient dispersion qualities by reflecting sound off the front and back walls. Obviously of there is no back wall on one side, you can’t expect optimal performance from them.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Charlie Campisi]

Thanks, Wayne. Has anyone had to deal with this and come up with a solution? I realize with the open space, it won't be perfect, but will it be better than horrible?

 

[Geo Gabor]

Hey Charlie -

Have you made any conclusions/decisions with your setup?I'm facing a very similar situation: I've got a theater with no rear wall, and I'm wondering what type of speaker I should get. The more I learn about the different speakers, the less sure I am of anything!

If I get dipoles, they would be the Swan R3s. If I get quadpoles, they'd be the Axiom SQ8s. If I get monopoles, it's a race between the Swan 4.1s and the Axiom M22s or M3s.

Any experiences you've had would be good to hear about.