Atmos Heights?

[hobbyinn]

I am finally retiring my floor level 25 year old Mission speakers.  With the new additions, I now have:

 

SPL-150 subs (two)

RP-8000F front L & R

RP-504C center

R-51M side L & R

R-15M rear L & R

Satellite speakers from a HT-50 system for heights (four, each have a 3.5" driver)

Onkyo TX-RZ830 RX and an Onkyo M282 amp.  

 

In the future I may consider RP-600Ms for the side.  However, I need to listen to this setup for now to see where I want to go.  My primary question is the height speakers.  I am considering replacing the 3.5s with R-41Ms.  Thoughts or suggestions?  Thanks in advance.

[Sancho Panza]

RP-500SA is working great for me in my second system.

 

While that room is being remodeled, I’m going to try them in my den (550 square feet).

 

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[inMotionGraphics]

That's a killer system you are putting together, especially the front stage and low end... 🙂

 

Are you planning on doing in-ceiling speakers, or are you mounting satellite speakers to the wall near the ceiling or hanging them from your ceiling?

 

I went the in-ceiling speakers route, and I love my PRO-180RPC in-ceiling speakers. These are an excellent match for the entire high-end range from RP like you have, right up to RF etc.

 

Beyond that, I can't say more, as I don't have first hand experience with the R-41M or the HT-50 system.

 

Brendon

[hobbyinn]

Thanks for the input.  I see that Dolby calls for using full range speakers.  The ones I currently use go down to 120 Hz.  The R-41 goes to 68 Hz, and the R-51 to 62 Hz.  I think I am eventually going to try the 41 or 51.  Both of Klipsch's Dolby SA speakers appear to be the 41 and 51 in a slightly different enclosure.  I am suspending the heights as the room has a high cathedral ceiling.  

[inMotionGraphics]

50 minutes ago, hobbyinn said:

I see that Dolby calls for using full range speakers.

 

Well, you're going to be crossing your height speakers (as with all your speakers) over at a certain frequency to allow your subwoofers to do all the heavy lifting in bass department. With the R-41 and R-51's, going by the frequency responses you've quoted above, you can happily cross them over at 80Hz (I wouldn't go lower than 80 though).

 

In the case of your current speakers that only go down to 120Hz, you'd need to set your crossover higher, but I'm sure they'll still work well.

 

Taking into consideration that you're suspending your heights, I think either the R-41 or R-51's will be just fine. I don't know how the Dolby SA speakers compare in terms of specs (as Klipsch doesn't seem to provide a frequency response spec for them), but I don't see any reason to go this route, as they are primarily designed to bounce sound off the ceiling, even though you can also wall mount them.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Brendon

[hobbyinn]

I found this in the Dolby Atmos Installation Guide and find it helpful:

Overhead speaker characteristics:

Dolby Atmos audio is mixed using discrete, full-range audio objects that may move around anywhere in three-dimensional space. With this in mind, overhead speakers should complement the frequency response, output, and power-handling capabilities of the listener-level speakers. Choose overhead speakers that are timbre matched as closely as possible to the primary listener-level speakers. Overhead speakers with a wide dispersion pattern are desirable for use in a Dolby Atmos system. This will ensure the closest replication of the cinematic environment, where overhead speakers are placed high above the listeners.

Edited March 4, 2021 by hobbyinn

[inMotionGraphics]

Yes, that all makes perfect sense. But you're still going to cross the height speakers over at 80+ Hz as I explained above, because you've got 2 x Subwoofers in your system.

 

And if you're worried about timbre matching, then you could choose speakers from the RP range instead of the reference range, which will give you the titanium tweeters and Cerametallic woofers that your RP-8000's have. But if you don't have the budget for these, then I still think you'll be just fine with the reference range for your heights.