Bipole, Dipole, or Direct Radiating surround back speakers?

[Christiaan]

So I am trying to figure out what to finish up my 7.2 home theater with. I have a pair of RF-7 II's, RC-64II's, RP-250s' (surround sides), and deciding between my already owned RB-61II's or another pair of RP-250's. I've read direct radiating speakers are the choice of many enthusiasts such as THX for surround back speakers. Aesthetically I'd also prefer the RP-250s' because the colums will

be built 'around' the RP-250s in a trapezoidal way. Please let me know your thoughts and opinions. Thanks. 

[Youthman]

RB-61 are front ported

[Christiaan]

44 minutes ago, Youthman said:

RB-61 are front ported

Yes they are. My mistake. I don't know what I was thinking. 

[derrickdj1]

Have you considered some in-wall speakers.  I have used the RS, direct radiator and in-wall for rear speakers.  They all work well.  It is a matter of what works and wire management.

[Frzninvt]

Use what you have first, if it does not work out take it to the next step.  I would not use sound sprayers (RS series) as rears only side surrounds.

[Christiaan]

On 3/24/2017 at 11:31 AM, Frzninvt said:

Use what you have first, if it does not work out take it to the next step.  I would not use sound sprayers (RS series) as rears only side surrounds.

I agree. I've given it some thought and will stick with my RB-61's as my rears. The RP-250's are awesome by the way. Thanks for the input. 

[Christiaan]

On 3/23/2017 at 8:48 PM, derrickdj1 said:

Have you considered some in-wall speakers.  I have used the RS, direct radiator and in-wall for rear speakers.  They all work well.  It is a matter of what works and wire management.

I have but I am going to be building some custom pilars to house the speakers. I suppose the in wall speakers would work as well but I'm just going to stick with my RB-61's and RP-250s' as my rear and side speakers. Thanks for the input. 

[derrickdj1]

16 minutes ago, Christiaan said:

I have but I am going to be building some custom pilars to house the speakers. I suppose the in wall speakers would work as well but I'm just going to stick with my RB-61's and RP-250s' as my rear and side speakers. Thanks for the input. 

I can understand that since you already have the speakers.  I was reluctant at one time to go to in-wall since most people felt they were not as good but, I have been pleasantly surprised and wish I would have did this right off the bat.  I could of saved a few bucks, lol.

[Ian]

For Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and most newer 5.1-7.1 mixes (say from 2000 on), direct radiating speakers are going to more appropriate for most mixes and THX processing (if you have it) will help diffuse the sound a bit as well.  For older films, particularly those mixed in Dolby Surround (the old 4 and 5-channel version, not the Atmos upmix processing) will generally sound better with dipoles.  Newer films lose a lot of their directional impact with bipoles, though, so when I last bought new speakers, I went direct radiator.  And since going from 5.1 to 7.1 with direct radiators, I find that THX and (the new) Dolby Surround processing do an excellent job with the older atmospheric surround channels by distributing the sound across the side and rear channels.

 

So, in summary, as you've probably read, it's always a compromise.  If you mostly watch older, pre-2000 movies, dipoles are probably best, but for newer soundtracks, I'd go with direct radiators.  

[Christiaan]

On 5/2/2017 at 1:25 PM, derrickdj1 said:

I can understand that since you already have the speakers.  I was reluctant at one time to go to in-wall since most people felt they were not as good but, I have been pleasantly surprised and wish I would have did this right off the bat.  I could of saved a few bucks, lol.

i hear ya. Aesthetically I love the look of the RP-250's and Klipsch speakers in general. They are beautiful in wall and cabinet built.