Gradual upgrade, what to choose for surround?

[mohammad-addas]

Hello,

I’m upgrading my HT speakers gradually and the plan is to use speakers for LCR from the 1723 series. Regarding my surround, back surround, and Atmos which will be my 1st upgrade step, I use a crossover of 100 hz becuase I sit close to the wall and I feel too much pressure on my ears if I cross them lower than that. So I think there is no need to use monitors for surround and the bookshelf is enough. Am I correct?

For the bookshelf model to be used and considering the 100 hz crossover situation, are there any advantages for using the 1723 bookshelf model over the 1961 model? Should I give priority to some locations and use the 1723 model? For example, should I use 1723 for surround and 1961 for back surround?

I have the same question for the Atmos speakers: 1723 or 1961 considering they will be crossed ove at 100 hz.

[mohammad-addas]

Side notes:

I never exceed 85-90 db since I saw some people recommend bigger drivers for higher SPLs.

Room dimensions (L/W/H) 6m x 5m x 3.5m

Distance from Surround and BSurround: less than 2m

Distance from Atmosphere/Height: 4m

[Lukas]

Hi Mohammad,

It will be personal preference and budget of course.

The 1723 Series speaker will blend better together, but the 1961 is not far of.
Especially for surrounds and Atmos speakers differences are much harder to hear.

Personally, I would go with our dedicated 1723 Surround S wall mounted, as you sit very close to the speakers and they are much shallower in depth. You also get the benefit of the TriAxial design that works really well in that situation.

Since you have a high ceiling and a greater distance to cover I would actually go with the bigger 1723 Height S. They will have a much easier time keeping up with the rest of the system.

 

 

 

 

[mohammad-addas]

Thank you Lukas for your input.

Regarding the Surround S and its TriAxial design, due to the lack of visual illustrations and detailed info about how they are better than regular speakers I feel like stepping into unknown territory. I read in many reviews that current object-based surround favours regular speakers and that will produce better results compared to bipoles and dipoles.

TriAxial? I don’t know. I read the whole manual and there is not enough info to make me try them. For example, the manual says 2 of them can be excellent for Atmos but not 4 in which regular monopoles are better. OK, what if I got Surround S now for surround duties and later added another pair for back surround duties will that work or is it like the Atmos case? What if I decided to get bookshelves for one of the duties then will mixing both types is better or sticking to monopoles?

I’m a visual guy, and I hope Arendal can produce some illustrations that show the sound field of the TriAxial design and how is it better compared to monopoles, bipoles, and dipoles. Also, showing when it is best to use these speakers under different mixes with other models in multiple settings like 5.1.2, 5.1.4, 7.1.2, and 7.1.4 would be very helpful.

If such info already exist and I’m not aware of then kindly point me to where I can get them in order to make a better purchasing decision.

 

Best regards,

Addas

 

[Lukas]

Hi Mohammad,

We have an article about it: TriAxial Surround Speakers in a Dolby Atmos Setup?
I would use the same speaker for Surrounds and Back Surrounds. Placement of the TriAxial surround back-speakers
Since you have a tall ceiling you want direct-firing speakers like the 1723 Height S.

You can use the dedicated Surrounds as Atmos speakers as well, but that is more for smaller rooms in Triaxial mode.
With four on the ceiling, it can sound to diffuse and cause cancelations.

[mohammad-addas]

Thank you Lukas, I will check the links you sent and also found reviews on youtube for he proper placement of the 1723 Surround speakers that I will go through.

[Lukas]

Hi Mohammad,

Please keep in mind, every room and setup is different. There is not just one way how to mount and place speakers.

I personally like the surround speaker to be around 20-30cm above ear height, so no person is blocking the sound and you do not have a straight line of sound into your ears.

The same goes for Atmos speakers. With your tall ceiling, you have no problems with proper placement.
Something like this (see attached photo) will work great.

Attachments:

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[mohammad-addas]

Noted. Thank you for sharing the photo.

[chris-lukowski]

For narrow rooms where the layout is more of a long rectangle, would you still recommend TriAxial Surrounds for the Surround Back speakers since they will likely be close to each other laterally (say less than 2m of space between them)? TriAxials as side surrounds make sense since one speaker is covering a much wider area in such a configuration, but I wonder if there is a minimum spacing requirement where they make sense for surround backs as well.

[Lukas]

@Chris

Yes, I would still go with the same Tri-Axial surrounds.
You just have to switch the back surround pair so you do not have any cancelations.

Placement of the Tri-Axial Surround Speakers

But you can always experiment with the direct firing configuration. It is just a very flexible speaker.