Have you moved to Dolby Atmos?

[MMurg]

22 minutes ago, Jones said:

I wish the survey had at least one more option: I like it, but haven't done it yet. I like the RP 500 sa as something that would sit on top of the towers and project sound off the ceiling. (I wish those would go on sale like the r41sa has.) However, my HT room and ceiling has odd dimensions. It is a new room, not quite finished-like I still need to mount the TV, etc. Do you think it is OK to bounce sound off of 2 different ceiling angles? 

 

I'm pretty sure that the ceiling bounce speakers (aka Atmos-enabled) need a flat ceiling of somewhat average height.  I found this in one of the installation guides (https://www.dolby.com/siteassets/technologies/dolby-atmos/atmos-installation-guidelines-121318_r3.1.pdf):

Room treatment considerations for use of Dolby Atmos enabled speakers

For optimal performance, the ceiling should be flat (not angled or vaulted), with a height between 7.5 and 14 feet (2.3 to 4.3 meters), and made of an acoustically reflective material (drywall, plaster, hardwood, or another rigid, non---sound-absorbing material). The ideal ceiling height is between 7.5 and 12 feet (2.3 to 3.66 meters).

[Zen Traveler]

On 7/12/2021 at 10:36 AM, dimanata2007 said:

 Not everyone has a cathedral hall size HT room. 5.1.2 is more than enough in many cases.

IMO music still sounds better in 2 and 2.1 channel and Atmos is good for some movie tracks, but not for all.

Ha! Our Library Home Theater listed below has 9 speakers and 2 subwoofers in a less than 2,000 cu ft room.  That said, it also has a cathedral ceiling, irregular walls, and bookshelves/cases with carpet and drapes to make it not so reverberant...Insofar as music is concerned, I primarily listen to multichannel music and no 2 channel material. 

[Zen Traveler]

On 7/12/2021 at 2:02 PM, Audible Nectar said:

I'm still doing five Cornwalls and two JBL professional theater cabs (each 15" twin woofers)......in fact, doing a refurbishment of that system pretty much across the board, save for the woofer cabs and the display itself. I find that the "universality" of the 5.1 concept is sufficient to keep it as a long term multimedia room strategy, just like any "stereo" system would have two speakers.

Nice. I heard an all Cornwall system with 2 SVS subs and it really ROCKED! He also had a 5.1 Heresy system he set up for us but I didn't like it as much.

Quote

Cable/sat providers broadcast in 5.1, and that's really about as universal as it gets in video formats generally, which makes it worth the investment.

I understand but I've joined the camp where when done right, multispeaker configurations can matrix 5.1 material into 9.1(2) using rears and heights and raise the bar. Fwiw, I use the Dolby PLIIz algorithm in that format and it makes my Talking Heads DVD-A collection come alive!  I've read others share the same experience with the newer Atmos processing so I still intrigued. 

[wuzzzer]

I just did since my new receiver supports it.  I purchased a pair of AW-650 speakers.  They were very easy to install.

Still need to do some tweaking but I put on Star Wars 9 and was impressed at how much they added to the sound. 

[Zen Traveler]

On 8/21/2021 at 5:54 PM, wuzzzer said:

I just did since my new receiver supports it.  I purchased a pair of AW-650 speakers.  They were very easy to install.

Still need to do some tweaking but I put on Star Wars 9 and was impressed at how much they added to the sound. 

Nice! I gather you are still enjoying Atmos...

On 10/26/2020 at 4:59 PM, Zen Traveler said:

I purchased our Denon AVR-4311ci about 8 or 9 years ago when it was discontinued at a good price. I actually can't justify spending any money right now (given I have several AVRs including the one mentioned) and will only upgrade when it goes bites the dust. When I do I'll probably go with a recently discontinued upperend Denon as well.

It's been almost a year and I am fortunately (unfortunately?) still enjoying Dolby PLIIz and actually hope I can wait another year before upgrading. Lol.😎

[wuzzzer]

2 hours ago, Zen Traveler said:

Nice! I gather you are still enjoying Atmos...

It's been almost a year and I am fortunately (unfortunately?) still enjoying Dolby PLIIz and actually hope I can wait another year before upgrading. Lol.😎

 

It is a really cool upgrade.  I wasn't sure if it would be gimmicky or not but it does at quite a bit to the overall audio experience.

[Zen Traveler]

14 hours ago, wuzzzer said:

 

It is a really cool upgrade.  I wasn't sure if it would be gimmicky or not but it does at quite a bit to the overall audio experience.

Excellent! What I'm actually looking forward to checking out is the Dolby Surround processor for upcoverting multichannel music material. Talking Heads DVD-As sound like they were made for Dolby PLIIz in 9.2 and heard Atmos was an upgrade to that. 

[rebuy]

I haven't done it but thought about it.

I have enough speakers to pull it off But

I already have 6 Towers in the room.

My sound is OK for now.

 

[wuzzzer]

Anyone moved from .2 Atmos to .4?  My Sony receiver supports it with external amplification, which I have.

Was it worth it?

I have my Atmos speakers mounted on the ceiling and it would be very easy to add another pair.  I just don't want to spend the money if it doesn't add much.

[dtr20]

I did, and it made a huge difference. If something was coming overhead front to back, with only 2 atmos speakers, it was a noticeable stop in sound. When I added 2 more atmos speakers, it helped the overhead sound continue

[hobbyinn]

If you can swing it, you definitely want four.

[Quiet_Hollow]

I'm all for the ability to process the ATMOS codec, and made damn sure to buy a receiver that could do so. A/B'ing ATMOS encoded material vs. the older stuff has been an eye-opening experience...even when down-mixed to 2.1

 

That being said....

 

I've had no motivation to go further than 5.1    With capable speakers sporting the right dispersion characteristics, proper placement (paying particular respect to the setup diagrams in most AVR owner manuals), and the right processor, 5.1 seems to strike the right balance, for me, of throwing sound all around the room without becoming an absurd chore to set up and maintain.

[Zen Traveler]

12 minutes ago, Quiet_Hollow said:

A/B'ing ATMOS encoded material vs. the older stuff has been an eye-opening experience...even when down-mixed to 2.1

Just curious, why would you want to do that?  

[Quiet_Hollow]

On 10/12/2021 at 4:39 PM, Zen Traveler said:

Just curious, why would you want to do that?  

To hear how it scales up or down across different system types. Sometimes I play back movies or concert material on systems much smaller than a typical cinema.