bretty said:
Hi David,
I like the idea of bipole speakers for their sound dispersion property. I'd imagine they produce a more immersive sound than standard surrounds. What is the optimum position? My existing surrounds are wall mounted 1.5 metres behind the listening position. It's a dedicated cinema room, so they could be mounted wherever you suggest would be best
Nearly forgot, they'll be powered by my Sony STR-DA5400ES.
I'm not familiar with the receiver, so I'll have to make a few assumptions!
I'm presuming it is dipole speakers you're after rather than bipole. Dipoles work best when placed on the side walls, either side of the listening position. Basically you sit in the null while the sound is thrown up and down the room, partly replicating the multiple side speakers present in a cinema. Ideally they should be a good 1/1.5m away from the rear walls too, as the reflected sound from a speaker near to the rear wall gives away the speakers location, which you don't want.
As mentioned by Cno, the KEF R Series is a good start - their UniQ driver array possesses a wider soundstage than many other speakers, and usually helps to produce an expansive, seamless soundstage.
The Dali Rubicon range is another stunner, although they don't have any dipole surrounds. Fast, detailed, energetic, and seemingly a fairly easy load too.
You mention Ken Kreisel's speakers. These are excellent, but like all sub/sat packages, require a suitable sub, one that provides top notch performance up to 100Hz and beyond. Many subwoofers are designed to reach as low and loud as possible, but usually end up being compromised higher up the range, particularly where they're supposed to let the speakers take over (typically 80Hz). For accurate film reproduction, it is the 40-80Hz range that is more important than the range below 40Hz, as this is where much of the punch you hear and feel in a film takes place. It's all very well having ground shaking bass, but that isn't as realistic as witnessing real punch when suitable - I witnessed this when I went to see the new turtles movie - how the cinema speakers were still working properly I have no idea! This is something Ken's subs have always excelled with. As BigBoss has mentioned, there's also the SVS subs, which are fantastic value for money - how many other sub manufacturers provide you with a 12" driver for less than £1000 nowadays? You're usually lucky to get a single 8". And the SB13 Ultra for £1500 is great value with its 13.5" driver, something which some manufacturers will charge you over twice that price for!
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