HELP!! FX500 Placement/Wiring

[marckdr]

Hi all. First time poster here. I have a pair of FXi500s that I bought several years ago and LOVE them. Just moved into a townhouse and can't wait to put these up. One problem-----The main seating area is against the wall opposing the TV, etc. (22 feet away)- which would require these rears to be mounted on the back wall. The "shared" walls of the townhomes have "party walls" installed so that it minimizes noise from the neighbors. This keeps me from being able to mount my Fxi50s on the back wall. Not much more than a nail can go into that wall, so that rules out dry wall anchors (too long). Even if I found a short drywall anchor that could hold the weight of these things I wouldn't be able to run the speaker wire through the wall.

First question- how bad would they sound if I put them on the side walls 2-3 feet above my seated ears? If I did that, should they be on dipole or bipole?

Second question- If mounting on the side walls isn't the best option then my only other option would be to place them on speaker stands at the back wall. However that would probably put the speakers at ear level instead of at the recommended height. Your thoughts? If I did that what speaker stands do you know of that fit the FXi50's??

Thanks in advance for your help.

Marc
Polk owner for 12 years

[gatemplin]

Welcome to club polk,

First answer: I think that the best solution is to mount them on the side walls 2-3 feet above your head and set them to Dipole. I believe this is what Polk recommends. Also you will be able to hide the wire. THere is nothing wrong with mounting them on the side walls.

Second answer: I have never heard of stands for di-bipoles that are 7-8 feet tall. They may exist but are probably unstable at that height.

What other speakers are you using?

[marckdr]

Thanks for your help! My fronts are "old school" 5jr +'s and my center channel is a CS245i. My concern with putting the surrounds on the side walls is that the side walls are only 3 feet or maybe less away from the sides of the couch. I'd be worried that they'd be a little close to the ears- even at 2-3 feet above- compared to my mains/center at 25 feet away.

Do you know anything about running wire through walls? The one wall is an outside wall, so there'd undoubtedly be a ton of insulation to try to negotiate. Never done this before and am looking for some resources so I don't $)#$ it up royally. Thanks!

Marc

[gatemplin]

Having the surrounds that close is not a problem, especially considering that you dont have much choice. You can compensate for the difference in distance by changing the delay time for the fxis. Probably in the area of 10-15 milliseconds. Read you manual if you are unsure about how to do this.