Question about surround speakers... RP-150M vs. RP-250S

[Esch30]

I'm slowly making progress on my "theater" room, and as I usually do, I begin to second guess and overthink decisions I've already made.  The latest: would a bipole speaker like the RP-250S be better as the surround speakers in my 5.1.2 setup?

 

I currently have the RP-150M speakers in the rear corners of the room at a 45 degree angle to the corner.  Would the 250S be better in this particular location?  I know I had read that bipole speakers are not recommended for rear corners.  However, I have a far from ideal setup.  I realize the sofa a few inches from the back wall is a big no-no, but I don't want to restrict seating in that room to just 3.  That canvas will be moved and replaced by acoustic panels... 20 sq. ft. worth on that back wall.

 

If I place the center of the 250S at the same angle in the corner, each side of the sofa would have a tweeter/woofer firing towards the MLP (assuming those speakers are angled at 45 degrees), and the love seat would also have a direct firing speaker.  I'm wondering if this would be preferred over the less diffuse RP-150M firing at the 45 degree angle from the corner.  I suppose I could also aim the center of the 250S at the sides of the sofa, but then I'd be firing one speaker into the rear wall (maybe those reflections are good ones?) and the love seat would get less direct sound, though probably the same amount as the current setup.

 

I'd appreciate any advice.  The more I read, the more I think that maybe a more enveloping surround speaker would be better for my not so great seating positions.  Or maybe what I have is good enough considering the conditions.

 

On a somewhat unrelated note, I plan on mounting RP-500SAs on the back wall right under the soffit as my Atmos speakers (assigned as top middle)... roughly above the first and last panels of the canvas.  Due to unforeseen events, I wound up with the 500SAs instead of the 140SAs.  For the sake of this discussion, I mentioned the 250S surround speaker, but I'd actually consider the 502S to match aesthetically.

[joornumerjuan]

Have you looked at the manual for the RP line speakers? http://assets.klipsch.com/product-manuals/Reference-Premiere-Speakers-Manual.pdf Take a look at the placement they recommend. The way that I am looking at it, you should be fine putting the RP-250S at that 45 or even flat against the left and right wall. I had asked a similar question on a Youtube video I saw, because in the video he had the RS62 II on the sides and rear. He said they sounded great even at mounted high on the wall. One thing though, they say to mount about 2 feet above ear level, but I am sure someone will advise against that. 

[Esch30]

Thanks for that suggestion.  I've included some better pics of the current setup.

 

I'm also kicking around the idea of ditching the love seat (I have another room that accommodates seating for 5) and bringing the sofa forward by another 1.5 ft.  My ears are currently about 1.5 ft. from the back wall as it sits now, so hopefully being about 3 ft. away would help.  If I do that, my speaker stands would definitely be behind and to either side of the sofa (probably the recommended 110-120 deg.), and I'm not sure if that changes things in respect to bookshelf vs. bipole speakers.

[Esch30]

I've decided to get the love seat out of the room and bring my sofa forward 1.5 ft.  Assuming the speaker stands remain the same distance behind the sofa (surround left will be brought closer to the sofa to match the distance away of surround right), would there be any benefit to replacing the 150M speakers with the 250S, aiming them the same direction?  I might be able to bring the stands forward a bit as well and then turn the 250S towards the MLP as opposed to having them at an angle in rear corners.

 

Does anyone have any experience using a bipole speaker like the 250s in a position slightly behind and to the side, similar to the surround locations in the picture below?

[wuzzzer]

My RS-7s fire directly toward my couch and are flat against the side walls they sit against.  They are about 6" from the rear wall.  They sound great in that position.

[Ceptorman]

In your room, I would go with the 250s as side surrounds, and the 160m as rear surrounds. 

That's a very nice room you have there.

[Esch30]

4 hours ago, wuzzzer said:

My RS-7s fire directly toward my couch and are flat against the side walls they sit against.  They are about 6" from the rear wall.  They sound great in that position.

 

Good to know.  Are they in line with your ears, or are they slightly behind the MLP?

 

3 hours ago, Ceptorman said:

In your room, I would go with the 250s as side surrounds, and the 160m as rear surrounds. 

That's a very nice room you have there.

 

I appreciate the compliment.  I already have the Denon X3400H which is limited to 7 channels total, and I also already have the RP-500SA speakers which I plan on using as atmos speakers.  I suppose I could always try assigning the RP-500SAs as the rear surrounds instead of top middle atmos speakers as they'll be mounted at the top of the rear wall.

Edited November 9, 2018 by Esch30

[Ceptorman]

I noticed you have stands. That's good because you can play with placement before committing your speakers to a certain spot. I would keep the 500s as Atmos, I think the Atmos affect sounds better.

[wuzzzer]

1 hour ago, Esch30 said:

 

Good to know.  Are they in line with your ears, or are they slightly behind the MLP?

 

They are just slightly behind.

[Esch30]

9 hours ago, Ceptorman said:

I noticed you have stands. That's good because you can play with placement before committing your speakers to a certain spot. I would keep the 500s as Atmos, I think the Atmos affect sounds better.

 

Yeah, space between the back of the sofa and the wall will still be somewhat limited even after bringing the sofa forward, so just having the 500SA mounted up high back there should be sufficient... any true rear surrounds would likely be too close to the listening positions.  I will experiment with the positioning of the stands with the bookshelf speakers and consider getting the 250S if the 150M provide too much of a localized sound.  I will see how much space I have between the sofa and the curtain once I slide it forward since I would likely want the 250S off to the sides.

[Ceptorman]

1 hour ago, Esch30 said:

 

Yeah, space between the back of the sofa and the wall will still be somewhat limited even after bringing the sofa forward, so just having the 500SA mounted up high back there should be sufficient... any true rear surrounds would likely be too close to the listening positions.  I will experiment with the positioning of the stands with the bookshelf speakers and consider getting the 250S if the 150M provide too much of a localized sound.  I will see how much space I have between the sofa and the curtain once I slide it forward since I would likely want the 250S off to the sides.

It sounds like a well thought out system. I have a feeling it will sound very good.

[Esch30]

After moving my sofa forward two feet, I've decided to replace the RP-150M with either the RP-402S or RP-502S (might as well match the new RP-500SA back there).

 

As surround speakers that will be pretty close to the MLP (especially the end seats), is there any reason to go with the larger 502S?  I'm all but convinced the 402S will be fine in my situation, but I can still accommodate the larger 502S on my stands.  Not that it really matters, but all other speakers in my setup also have 5.25" woofers, so the 502S may "fit in" to the rest of the system better.

 

Thanks again for all the feedback so far.

[Stefank]

Hi ,

 

I'm in the same dilemma right now that you were in. Can I ask what you wound up with?