Monopole/Bipole/Dipole

[laurence-chan]

I’ve seen many of you use the Arendal “surround” speakers for your side/back surrounds, while there is little to no discussion on the use of a monopole bookshelf such as the 1723 Bookshelf S.  I’ve found that today’s audio seems to contain more and more discrete info for the surrounds and so wouldn’t a monopole speaker be the most ideal for said audio tracks?  Yes I know that the room itself(size) as well as room treatments seem to dictate what one may need for surround speakers, but I’ve found that if you have the room behind your main listening area that direct firing/monopole speakers give the best home theater experience and this is with very little room treatments besides a large area rug.  I ordered four 1723 Bookshelf S THX speakers on Friday evening after talking with Brandon(great guy by the way) that should arrive with the 1723 Towers and 1723 Center(that didn’t make it this past Friday) this coming mid-late week, so next weekend looks to be a home theater setup/speaker positioning/breaking in period while hopefully getting to demo some of my favorite movie and music.  Looking forward to hearing what these 1723 Bookshelf S will do for surround duty.

[Hans Erik Sæbø]

I’m a bit uncertain of which speaker to chose for my surrounds and surround back! For atmos you really want direct firing speakers, som maybe the bookshelf speakers are the way to go? I’ll add some pictures of my room so it’s easier to see:)
looking forward to hear what you think after you have been able to demo these.

btw did you hang these in the wall using the wall mounts ?

 

kind regards

Hans Erik

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[laurence-chan]

Your rooms symmetry lends itself to direct firing monopoles like the 1723 Bookshelf S THX for a main listening area/position, but you’ll need a wall mounting system that allows for a range of movement, and I’m not familiar with Arendal’s wall mount so another community member familiar with this will hopefully give their experience.   I don’t have mine wall mounted as I have a living room that is open to my kitchen, so my four 1723 Bookshelf S THX will be on 28in stands just a tad above ear level.  I’ll know more next weekend on their sound once I setup and connect all 7 of the speakers.  Positioning may take a week or two of tweaking to get the optimum positioning for the MLP and then after 50 hours of breaking-in all 7 speakers, I’ll then be running Dirac.  If you’re unsure on which way to go I’m positive Arendal’s sales/customer service can answer all of your questions and point you in the right direction, as Brandon did for me a few times before buying.  By the way Hans, nice dedicated room you have for your home theater.

[Hans Erik Sæbø]

Thanks for your reply. Could use the surround speakers without the side woofers enabled though… I have a pair of the surrounds already … and these does not stick as far out from the wall as the bookshelves..

 

or is the bookshelves just better at direct firing than the surround?

[Lukas]

It will really depend on how you sit. I am personally going back from 4 direct firing surrounds to our TriAxials because they offer a much more enveloping sound even when you are sitting close to the speaker.

Like in Hans’s room the people sitting on the far left and right sides, will get blasted by the side surrounds.
I would prefer to have the TriAxials. They are much less sensitive when it comes to placement.

[Hans Erik Sæbø]

Thank you so much for your feedback. Your opinion means a lot :)

 

I might go for the surrounds over the bookshelf speakers. And if I don’t like it I can just disconnect the terminal on the rear of the speaker;)

 

the wall mount that comes with it, is that mandatory or can you use the keyhole? I have 4 screws in a stud at 150cm already:o

[Lukas]

The keyhole mount will work as well, but the included mount is more sturdy.

With the TriAxial you have the choice, that is what I like about it and it also is not that deep compared to the Bookshelf S.

[laurence-chan]

Lukas, I was hoping you would respond in this thread and give us your experience with the tri-axial design of the surrounds.  Good insight indeed!  I went with the 1723 Bookshelf S because of my room orientation and the speaker stand placement are my best option in my current home.  I will also say I think bookshelf speakers are a bit more versatile in general since they can also be used as front or center channels in a smaller room configuration where surrounds can not effectively be used anywhere but surround duty.  In  Hans situation you are definitely right, again thanks for the insight. :)

[Lukas]

Hi Laurence. It will always depend on the room layout.

In my room 7.1 would have the side surrounds very close to the listener, so I went with a 5.1 and 5 identical Bookshelf speakers. Those can be placed perfectly at equal distances with angles following Dolby specs. But you need to sit in the middle to get the full enveloping sound.
Little more to the left or right and the sound bubble collapses.

With the TriAxial speakers, you can move around the couch without the sound changing too much. The sweet spot is much wider. But this is for my 270 square feet / 25m² room and 4 seater couch.