Hey all,

This is my first post here.  I ordered a 5.1 system containing cherry power towers for the fronts, the bipole/dipole surrounds, and the VAC center channel (on backorder right now ).  I also took advantage of the receiver promotion and got the Onkyo SR602 receiver.  I ordered Monday and everything arrived this afternoon (except the center). 

First off, I'd like to thank Ben, who spent a good hour chatting with me on the live chat program on Monday helping me determine what would be the best setup for me.  When I told him I was ready to order, he called me up and took the order personally.  Now that's service!  I would go into detail about how great the packaging is and how great the speakers look, but everyone knows that by now.

Anyway, I haven't hooked everything up yet, but I have a few newbie questions I'm hoping someone can answer:

1. My previous home theater was installed for me, but I'm installing this one myself.  I labeled all of the speaker wire, but messed up and used a one (-) label for both the + and - ends of the wire for the front/right speaker.  Now, I don't know which end to plug into the positive and negative ends of the receiver.  How can I figure out which is which?  All the speaker wire is in a big bundle, so it would be very difficult for me to look at the other end to see which is which.

2. I got the free SPL meter with my order, but the Onkyo receiver also comes with a setup microphone that supposedly calibrates the system for you. Do I still need to calibrate using the SPL meter for best performance?  I have no idea what an SPL meter does or how to use it.

3. How do I know which mode to set my surround speakers (bipole or dipole)?  Is it just a matter of seeing which one sounds best?  Can someone explain the difference in layman's terms?

4. Do the bipole/dipole speakers need to be mounted to studs on the wall?  Since they come with the drywall anchors, I'm assuming not.

That's all I can think of for now.  I can't wait to try these speakers out.  I'm sure I'll be thirlled with them!

Welcome Tim! 

1.  Is there any kind of marking on the jacket of the cabling?  Most times, people will use the 'marked' wire for the + and the non-marked wire for the -.  If you followed this when wiring initially, you should be able to look at your two - labelled wires and determine (or guess) the 'marked' label as the +.  To confirm if you are right or wrong, you should run a phase test through a calibration CD/DVD.   This will ensure if you have your speakers wired correctly or not.

2.  The SPL meter used in conjunction with a calibration DVD such as AVIA/V.E. should yeild you better/more accurate results.  The quick receiver method is good for starters though.

3.  Bi/Dipole will be suited to what sounds better to you.  Without knowing your room layout or actual speaker location, it would be hard to comment further on this.  An explanation of your room size, opening locations and speaker locations will allow myself and others to comment further.

4.  I've used 50lb. drywall anchors to hang previous di/bipole speakers off the walls with great results.  I always like to go a little overboard in these situations, just to be safe! 

5.  Enjoy your new speakers! 

Hey Tim, thanks for the props...

The drywall screws that accompany your di/bi speakers will work fine in dry wall. No need to mount to the stud. As for what will sound better, USUALLY, (but not always) the dipole sounds best if the speaker is to your side aimed at you. The dipole mode allows sound to propagate everywhere except at you, which increases the ambient effect. That being said, I tend to prefer the bipole, maybe because I'm used to the direct radiating type and want a little more sound. So maybe try dipole first, then see what sounds best to you.

Tim,

My receiver (Denon AVR-3805) also has an auto-setup mic which I used to start with. I don't know how well it works on the Onkyo you have, but I found with mine that it set the subwoofer level way too low (about 7 db to be precise). I noticed particularly with music that the lower midrange was a little anemic. When I checked the levels with Digital Video Essentials and the Aperion SPL meter and adjusted the sub accordingly, I got a much more balanced sound. I was also informed that the meter is only accurate down to 32 Hz, so when I used test tones at 20 and 25 Hz I had to add 7 and 5 db's to those readings respectively.

Have fun and enjoy your speakers!

Zach Young

Zach,

I have the Denon 3805 and ran into the same issue I believe with the setup mic. It calibrated all the spreakers perfect except the sub. It turned it down -6db. When playing multichannel SACD I could barley hear the sub. Upon futher investigation I realized it was set way to low, this was yesterday. Should the sub level be the same on the SPL meter as the other speakers when testing manually? Or do you crank it up a little above that level?

I am looking to get a tight bass sound without too much boomyness

Richard,

As I said in my previous post, if the test tone is below 32 Hz, then you need to add about 6 db to the meter's reading. I can't remember what the tones are like on DVE's test, but I ended up setting mine with Rives Audio test CD #2. This CD outputs tones at 20, 25, 31.5, 40 and on up at various intervals, and includes tones which are corrected for a Radio Shack SPL meter. If you aren't using the Radio Shack meter, then you can correct the values below 32 Hz with the chart that is included with the CD. If I remember right, at 20 Hz you add 7.5 db, at 25 add 5 db. This CD also made me aware that the frequency response in my room is not very flat, so now I'm investigating alternate sub placements. It sounds as if our results using the setup mic were pretty consistent, as the receiver set mine at -5 db's. Maybe it does this to give the sub some extra headroom due to the sudden increases in low frequency in alot of movie soundtracks. Whatever the reason, I prefer it turned up to reference level (especially for music). You can always back it off if it is too boomy for you.

Zach