Dipole rear speakers ???

I've only used them as side speakers, and they do the job.

I have 7/8 year old Martin Logan Quests as sides and as rears. Since the rearward sound of these is as loud as forward,I put carpet tiles around the corner walls that are close by. The result is great (no "bounce, echo, reverb),and they work well with the M-L Prodigy's at L&R . The Quests are no longer expensive.
Hope this helps. Don

Also, you could easily mount your dipoles upside-down,firing toward the floor and ceiling along sides and on the back wall, if need be. Still a better option likely than dirrect firing on the back wall in your sitch, without any other considerations

The cancellation issue mentioned by mrrobbcc above does not really exist/come into play from my experiences. You do however want them above your head somewhat ideally. For what you are doing I still like this setup.
Actually, mounted on the ceiling (how high again?) is the better option.
Dipoles are diffuse enough to still be more "non-specific" if you get em up higher. Sure, you ideally want to sit in the null in relation to where the drivers are, but there are compromises. And I still think placing monopoles back there will be a worse choice from an overall sound perspective, in that the sound is booomy and colored, which is the antithesis of proper sound.
The only alternative there is really "Equalization" likely, which is what I'd do, if I didn't do extensive resonators on the wall or whatever. Good luck

I think dipoles sound good as long as they are up above you and off to the side as opposed as behind you, since they are side firing, you wouldn't want them side by side as there could be some frequency cancellation. I agree with the guy who said to use them if there is a significant distance between the front and rear speaker areas.

My first thought on your seating possition (2' from back) and monopoles mounted on that same back wall, is that you're compounding your "boomy", "peaky", "low fidelity" bass problems!!! This won't sound very good. Infact, you can forget any audiophile refined applications here, or even good "midfi" sound from this setup! You and your speakers are then located in the most bass heavy/peaky spot in the room!...not the way to do it.
I would go for dipoles on that back wall if you must, because they'd likely be much better balanced to be on the back wall vs. monopoles(which more often than not are better balanced out in the room more!) (if you doubt, just measure and find out with test tones/sound meter).
Also, dipoles are more diffuse sounding mostly, which lends to a much less specific and distracting experience back there. You get lost in the movie much better, and they're less intrussive.
If you gotta go monopoles, they're trickier to make dissapear if you ask me.
Good luck

thanks !!!

mike

"what are the advantage of dipole surround speakers ?"

Dipoles offer a more defuse soundfield...this could be usefull if the rear speakers must be placed near the listening area so as not to draw attention.

They are usually placed at the sides of the room and above the listeners ear level by some degree of feet...you deside what works best.

Chad has a good idea with the switch...you can try both that way.

Dave

Hi Mike, I chose dipoles for my rears. Wider soundstage on each side vs more pinpoint with point source. I suppose some soundtracks might sound better one way or the other. Last night we watched Independence Day, good timing, and I had no problem discerning jets/spacecraft flying from front left to back right in a continuous manner and I wasn't even in the sweetspot. The farther your fronts are from your rears might make dipoles the better choice. Think of a stereo pair of speakers too far apart where you have a hole in the middle of your soundstage. In a home theater, you would want the front left and rear left,(and FR/RR), to be as seemless as possible as well as FR/RL and FL/RR. It would be hard for 2 point sources to fill in a distance of say 15' and the diagonal would be even greater. BUT taste is more important than math. Hope you find what you're looking for.

More people use di-poles on the side and mono-pole in rear, try it that way unless you get a bigger room I think mono is good, some di-poles can be switched, mine are BW and I can run them both wats, maybe get a pair that switches and try it both ways