dipolar or direct firing speakers for 7.1?

[kexodusc]

I'm about to upgrade to a 7.1 system (unless someone dares to talk me out of it). I'd like to know how people feel about the dipolars as side surrounds. Would that be too much? Should I get 2 pairs of dipolars. Or does the discrete nature of 7.1 channel call for 4 direct firing surround speakers? Any comments?

[recoveryone]

I'm about to upgrade to a 7.1 system (unless someone dares to talk me out of it). I'd like to know how people feel about the dipolars as side surrounds. Would that be too much? Should I get 2 pairs of dipolars. Or does the discrete nature of 7.1 channel call for 4 direct firing surround speakers? Any comments?

Well the first thing you need to look at is the size and make up of the your room IE.....doors, windows, open walls...... From what I have read the rear center speakers are direct firing. Now all of this is pending on the placement of the side/surround speakers. I personnelly like my rears (5.1 ) (direct firing) behind me, cuz I like the directional sound of each channel over the diffuse sound of dipolar of facing my rears toward each other. But in a 7.1 setup I would go with dipolars on side and direct in rear

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I'm about to upgrade to a 7.1 system (unless someone dares to talk me out of it). I'd like to know how people feel about the dipolars as side surrounds. Would that be too much? Should I get 2 pairs of dipolars. Or does the discrete nature of 7.1 channel call for 4 direct firing surround speakers? Any comments?

According to THX standards, dipoles should be directly to the sides, with monopoles in the center rear closely spaced together.(within a 1 ft of each other. In my installations I personally do not subscribe to close placement of the rear center speakers. I place the center rear equidistant but to the left and right of the primary listening position. It makes the backwall disappear more effectively than the THX standard.

Dipolars do not work very well in the center rear position. Hearing sounds directly behind us(and correctly positioning it) is already difficult. If you start to spreard that sound using dipoles it would just confuse the ear further. 4 direct firing monopoles are perfect for VERY large rooms where dipoles just would not be effective in any position.

[magictooth]

[QUOTE=kexodusc]I'm about to upgrade to a 7.1 system (unless someone dares to talk me out of it). QUOTE]

Hi!

I'd recommend that you try the 7.1 out on a trial basis. I tried it and I found that it was not worth the time, expense, and mess. I have a good room with ample space behind the viewer, but I only found a couple of scenes in a whole lot of movies where the rear channel effect was noticeable.

Get some speakers from a big box and give it a try and see if it's worth it for you. If you're not impressed, you can return the speakers. I wouldn't want to invest $1K in a nice set of dipoles for back there unless you're sure that it'll make a difference.

Dave

[kexodusc]

Good suggestions so far...I've never been a fan of the dipolars. My room is 12 X 20 and the dipolars didn't work that well when building my 5.1 system so I returned them. I didn't get enough rear effects no matter where I placed them so I bought monopoles and placed them in the basic ITU setup...I found that to work ideal. What qualifies as a VERY large room? I don't think 12X 20 is large at all, but nobody ever gives reference measurements when they say large.

[TinHere]

Here's a link: YMMV

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

[Geoffcin]

I'm about to upgrade to a 7.1 system (unless someone dares to talk me out of it). I'd like to know how people feel about the dipolars as side surrounds. Would that be too much? Should I get 2 pairs of dipolars. Or does the discrete nature of 7.1 channel call for 4 direct firing surround speakers? Any comments?

Your going to like 7.1 better than 5.1 for HT. Don't let anyone talk you out of it. I am using a speaker for my surrounds, the Cambridge Soundworks S300, that let's you chose your options when using it. There's three settings; Monople, Dipole, and Bipole. I have found that leaving it on Bipole has given me the best results.

[poneal]

I believe that in a 12x20 room that 5.1 is more than adequate. Most movies are in 5.1 now. Haven't seen to many 7.1. So basically, right now, you would only be using the rears for analog sources. This makes them just like any other surround speaker according to Dolby laboratories. Like in a movie theater, they have many surrounds to be able to fill the theater with sound. If you already have everything else and you just wanna upgrade to 7.1 then go ahead. Just dont expect it to sound to different than what it already does.