A Guide to Bipolar, Dipolar, & Direct-Radiating Monopole Surround Speakers (PART I)

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by echoesian

Hi BD, my living hall is not fully enclosed, there are open spaces everywhere, will the bipole work well in this environment ? As I know bipole needs to reflect its sound to the side walls

Not necessarily. The reflection from the walls may add spaciousness and a pleasant feeling, but depending on the room, there may also be too much reflection that may result in phase cancellation or the sound may become too cloudy. The beauty of bipole speakers is that the sound is radiated in two directions and you should be able to place them in such a way that satisfies your taste the most.

Remember that there is also nothing wrong with using direct monopole surround speakers.

[echoesian]

I notice that you are using a pair of Image S50, how is the performance like compare to your previous direct monopole sound?

[Pondosinatra]

Hey Big Daddy,

I have a layout as in the picture. I don't really have the space behind the couch for direct speakers so I was thinking of having bipoles or dipoles on the walls next to the listener.

I watch more movies than I listen to 5.1 music.

I'm just wondering about the acoustics considering that I have the one opening in the room.

Thoughts?

room_layout.JPG

[kareface]

As a calibrator I wouldn't suggest using rear channel speakers when your listening position is against the wall. Right and left surrounds will work. A bipole or dipole would work well. If the speakers are too close you'll want to to use a dipole and position the null at the listening position.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by echoesian

I notice that you are using a pair of Image S50, how is the performance like compare to your previous direct monopole sound?

The PSB Image S50 surround speakers are excellent. In my case, they did not replace monopole speakers. They were additions to the Definitive Technology bipolar side surround speakers and 2 Bose 901 rear speakers. I use 6 surround speakers. The Denon receiver that I own supports 4 side surround speakers and 2 rear surround speakers and calibrates them separately. I have a dedicated HT room and it is relatively large so I decided to pretend that I live in a movie theater and surrounded myself with speakers. After all, you only live once.

[echoesian]

I think I'll go to negotiate with the dealer on the Image S5 , if the price is right, I think I'll just go for the bipole ...

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by echoesian

I think I'll go to negotiate with the dealer on the Image S5 , if the price is right, I think I'll just go for the bipole ...

Good luck.

[echoesian]

Too bad the dealer doesn't have black color for the Image S5, they only have the dark cherry, because my front speakers are all in black!

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by echoesian

Too bad the dealer doesn't have black color for the Image S5, they only have the dark cherry, because my front speakers are all in black!

Why not see if the dealer can get it in black for you can't hurt to try

[echoesian]

No they did not bring in black colors for the current stock.. maybe the next shipment but the question is when...

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by echoesian

No they did not bring in black colors for the current stock.. maybe the next shipment but the question is when...

DMC-Electronics and Saturday Audio are authorized online PSB dealers. Call them and find out what they can offer you. Buy either the Image S50 or S5. They are identical. The S50 is the older model. If you scroll down the DMC page, you will see the S50 for $529 a pair.

https://dmc-electronics.com/Default.htm

http://saturdayaudio.com/

[echoesian]

After tons of reading and researching, I think I'll stick as much as I can to the Dolby/DTS standard that is surround sides instead of rears. I think I'll mount the surround speakers using either stand or on wall about 2' higher than ear levels on the sides of the sofa. One of the reason is because my back wall to the sofa is too far away is about 8' distance, so I'm worry about the performance

[echoesian]

opsss forgot one thing... is there any speaker stand that is at least 5 feet high?

[echoesian]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

I have 2 PSB Image S50 bipolar speakers. They are not in-wall speakers. I attached them to the ceiling with the help of two long angled brackets that I bought from home depot. The speakers have a screw hole in the back for mounting.

At one time, in-wall and in-ceiling speakers were rare. Nowadays, almost all speaker companies are beginning to offer them. Check the offerings from Definitive Technology, Polk, Infinity, JBL, Niles, Boston Acoustics, Klipsch, etc.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-mQPt0sd...html?showAll=Y

http://www.proacousticsusa.com/category.php?cId=44

http://www.inwallstore.com/Ceiling_S...400&OVNDID=ND1

How do you mount that on the ceiling? Can you share some photos?

[Kali157]

Originally Posted by echoesian

opsss forgot one thing... is there any speaker stand that is at least 5 feet high?

I couldn't find a 5 ft speaker stand. You might have to build one. Or drop it from the ceiling to the height you want. Just be careful of the speaker weight. I recently bought some surrounds that weighed 18lb and nearly broke my previous mounts. So I built one... it is also considerably cheaper (under $20). PM me if you want a parts list. Good luck

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by echoesian

How do you mount that on the ceiling? Can you share some photos?

This is the cheapest way to attach a speaker to the ceiling. A trip to Wal-Mart/Home Depot/Lowes is necessary.

Sorry for the poor quality pictures.

PSBBracket1.jpg


PSBBracket2.jpg

[echoesian]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

This is the cheapest way to attach a speaker to the ceiling. A trip to Wal-Mart/Home Depot/Lowes is necessary.

Sorry for the poor quality pictures.

Attachment 21153


Attachment 21154

Ops, I thought that you mounted it on the ceiling and the speakers are facing down...

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

This is the cheapest way to attach a speaker to the ceiling. A trip to Wal-Mart/Home Depot/Lowes is necessary.

Sorry for the poor quality pictures.

Attachment 21153


Attachment 21154

I may have to hang my surrounds that way

[Blu-Benny]

hoping someone can dumb down the bi-polar & di-polar info for me.

please forgive my ignorance....last time i was up to speed on HT was when optical & digital coax were the new big thing and 6.1 DTS was the shizz!!!

so is the bi/di-polar just the way the speakers are wired to the recv'r or amp??

it's not the actual speaker itself is it??

what i'm concerned about @ this point is i'm looking to order speaker wire this week so i can wire my HT.

i need to know of anything important when doing the wiring b/c it's gonna be in wall and i really don't want to have to rip it out and start over once the drywall is up.

[jomari]

Originally Posted by Blu-Benny

hoping someone can dumb down the bi-polar & di-polar info for me.

please forgive my ignorance....last time i was up to speed on HT was when optical & digital coax were the new big thing and 6.1 DTS was the shizz!!!

so is the bi/di-polar just the way the speakers are wired to the recv'r or amp??

it's not the actual speaker itself is it??

what i'm concerned about @ this point is i'm looking to order speaker wire this week so i can wire my HT.

i need to know of anything important when doing the wiring b/c it's gonna be in wall and i really don't want to have to rip it out and start over once the drywall is up.

in a nutshell, bipolars and dipolars consist of two drivers or more, both pointing in two different directions. The main difference is that Bipoles are in phase, and Dipoles are out of phase. Yes, its the actual speaker itself, but with Dipolars you have to wire it accordingly.

What kind of speaker are you using for inwalls then? For what its worth, there arent that many Dipolars or Bipolar in wall speakers. They need to interact to the room.

You can find an abundance of resources on the first posting on this thread, care of Big Daddys time and effort.