Will dipoles work properly in an open floor plan? (1 Viewer)

[Justin Friedman]

I have decided on my setup for my new house and it is as follows:

Klipsch

2 x RF-82
1 x RC-62
4 x RS-52

I have auditioned and I really like the sound versus other companies such as Def Tech, etc. Plus, I can get a really good deal on all of them, further sweetening the deal

Now, I have been doing some research going through all the dipole vs direct discussions. After hearing the speakers, dipole is for me. However, where I auditioned them was more of an ideal room than what I will have. From reading the aforementioned discussions, it seems that most people agree that dipoles sound better when mounted on-wall. Unfortunately, my main living area in my new house is going to be open to the dining area/kitchen and one of the actual walls has a sliding glass door.

My question is, will these surrounds still be effective if I don't mount them on-wall but get some 42" stands for all four? I know alot of people have dipoles at about 5 feet but 42" seems to be the highest speaker stand without really going into tri-pod oriented or really expensive custom stands. If I have a normal couch will this height be acceptable or is it still too low?

Also, will having, for all intents and purposes, three walls and one side that is completely open ruin the benefits of di-poles or would it just be a slight loss in effectiveness?

Please keep in mind, when answering my concerns, that the room itself is about 20 x 18 or close to it with volume/vaulted ceilings.

I'm really worried that having to use stands or having no fourth wall will severely hinder my investment in this setup. Please set my mind at ease, lol Thanks in advance!

Justin

 

[SethH]

I don't believe you will have much trouble doing what you suggest. Also, the height, IMO, is less relevant when using dipole or bipole configurations. One of the main reasons for placing the surrounds up higher is so that if you have two people on the couch the sound is not being blocked by the other person's head. Dipole and bipole speakers create a more diffuse sound anyway so the sound being blocked by someone's head is less of an issue.

An interesting note -- I could not find information on the Klipsch website (or elsewhere for that matter) stating whether those speakers are bipole or dipole. When doing 7.1 with 4 dipole surrounds there are certain considerations with placement -- IIRC you point the out-of-phase speakers toward the mains on the side surrounds and then for the left-rear you point the out-of-phase toward the left side surround and the out-of-phase speakers on the right-rear surround should point toward the right-side surround.

I believe that is correct. I know there is a thread around here somewhere that includes a good diagram of how surrounds should be setup when using 4 dipoles, but I could not find it quickly.

If that speaker is in fact bipole then the last two paragraphs are pretty irrelevant as all the speakers in bipoles are in phase.

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

One of the key design characteristics of dipole/bipole speakers is reflection off the wall they're mounted on. With no reflecting back/side wall the speakers will not perform as designed... I can't say exactly how they will sound but I would guess it will be much less than optimal...

The best way to tell would be buy the dipoles and also buy an equivalent direct-radiating bookshelf and compare them in your room... then keep the one that sounds best and return the one that does not.

 

[Justin Friedman]

Since these Klipsch RS-52s are essentially tri-poles in that they have direct radiating as well as dipoles, I wonder if that will help compensate. I really only have a one-time shot with this since the supplier I am getting them from is through my work and they don't actually stock the speakers but they will special order them for me at a discount. I'm just worried that, with only 3 walls, that the ambient sound may be too one-sided. Any Klipsch owners, or di-pole/tri-pole owners in general with a similar set-up have any thoughts on the performance of their setup? Thanks!

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

If it's a one-time deal I'd go with the DiPoles... you can always sell them for more that it would cost to replace them w/ direct radiators.

 

[LanceJ]

According to THX, the back surround speakers should be monopole i.e. "direct firing" designs: 7.1 speaker configuration. I'm not so sure about placing both back surrounds together - that's a new one to me!

BTW: you don't HAVE to use a 7.1 configuration - if that can be setup properly it can help the overall surround effect, but it doesn't make that much of a difference IMO vs. 5.1.

 

[Justin Friedman]

Based on my auditions I like the sound of 7.1 dipoles better than having direct radiating in the rear. That law that if the exact sound is coming from multiple locations, the closest will be heard really applies as thats how I hear direct radiating rears. I really don't need 7.1 but I have a Pioneer Elite receiver that supports it, plus the volume ceilings, so I have alot of space to fill. Also, with DD-HD and DTS-HD on the horizon one can never be too prepared Unfortunately, no demo room ever has only 3 walls

So Ill go with this setup once the house is complete and if it sounds off to me I'll try a version of what the the previous poster suggested and maybe use direct radiating for the 2 side surrounds. Hopefully, the tri-pole design of the RS-52 will eliminate the need for this.

Any comments from Klipsch owners with RS surrounds would be more than welcome, even though I have decided how to go about this. It seems most on the Klipsch threads are oriented towards buying either Klipsch or Paradigm with little input about what Klipsch owners think of their setup. I'll check AVS as well but I just can't stand navigating that site. What were those web designers thinking?! Thanks everyone