[bdp24]

I've relocated, and my dedicated listening room in the new house is very different from that in the old. Rather the speakers and OB/Dipole subs firing down the length of the room (from their location 5' away from the wall---the front one---behind them), they will now be set up in front of (though still 5' from) the long wall, firing across the width of the room. That will require my loudspeakers be angled toward the listening position to a greater degree than they were in the old room.

So I'm wondering: One of the benefits of the Dipole sub is that it's side nulls prevent the excitation of the rooms modes in the side-to-side dimension. If I angle the subs to the same degree as my speakers, that advantage will evaporate. I'm using a x/o frequency of 180Hz between speakers and subs; should I angle the subs to match the speakers, or keep them parallel to the side walls?

[*Scotty*]

Your xover frequency of 180Hz overlaps roughly half the instruments in the orchestra and the lower range of the male voice. See image below

I would try the subs both ways and see which way I liked better. I can't see why you would loose the characteristics of dipole operation as a result orienting the sub differently, it doesn't stop being a dipole.
Scotty

[bdp24]

It's not the dipole operation of the sub itself I'm concerned with losing---of course it will retain that no matter it's orientation. However, because a Dipole sub exhibits a null to each side, it doesn't excite room modes from both the length and width of the room that an omnipole does, but rather only modes produced by the dimension of the room the Dipole sub is firing towards (front and back). That is a distinct benefit of Dipole operation, one very valued by Dipole sub owners such as myself. If I rotate the H-frames away from being parallel to the walls they are near, the side of the subs (and therefore the nulls) will no longer be facing the side walls, and the subs will then be very able to excite the modes of both dimensions of the room's floor plan, losing the Dipole null benefit. Or am I mistaken?

[Danny Richie]

Move them around and hear what happens. You might be surprised at how well they work angled in like your speakers. Give it a shot.

[bdp24]

Yup, I'll do that. Even if the other room dimension modes are excited, that's a small price to pay to keep the speakers and subs phase coherent, and preserve the timbre, tonality, and imaging the combination produces.