Hi Axiom man,
Back in the early days of Dolby Surround (before Dolby Digital), when the surround channel was a mono feed, THX was really big on using dipole surrounds to create a diffuse "null" (cancellation) in the listening area, to increase surround envelopment and prevent the mono surround info from in-head imaging. I always found the dipole surrounds very "phasey", as if the speakers were out of phase and never liked them. It puzzles me why THX continues to hype dipole designs.
My preference has always been for bipolar surrounds such as Axiom's QS8s, where all the drivers operate in phase. With Dolby Digital, where the surround information is in stereo, there is no need for dipole surrounds.
You'll get a greater sense of envelopment using the QS8s in the surround back channels rather than direct-radiating designs.
Regards,
Alan
