I'm still sceptical, but I hope I remain open-minded.
One problem I foresee is adding speakers to older set ups - and not all that old.
People (well...erm...me
) like to keep their speakers matched - hence I have all Monitor Audios from the same series. The series is now close to defunct. If I decide to upgrade to Atmos in a couple of years, I may well not find matching speakers.
In addition, my front 3 speakers are in-wall (fairly rare, I'll admit), whilst my 4 rears are di/bi-pole wall mounts, already quite a long way up the wall. Adding upward firing add-ons to these would be at least difficult, and more likely impossible. In short, I'd have absolutely no option but to add in-ceiling speakers, and there'll be many in my position.
Actually, that wouldn't be quite so bad for me, as my room is on the top floor with a loft above - I already have all of my speaker cable going through there - but for anyone with their cinema room not on the top floor, it's going to be tough.
BTW, just checked, and I think 4 MA in-ceilings would set me back c.£540, which I don't suppose is a fortune.
But finally, there's still a part of me thinking...so what? At what point do I say "TOO MUCH!".
Is it impossible to imagine a future system requiring 5 fronts (some have this already) a couple on each side and a couple on the back wall, 4 above, how about 'below' speakers? You know, sound from volcanoes, earthquakes, the road beneath a car, the x-wing beneath your spaceship?
Even if all of these are very valid, and do indeed do what they're supposed to, and do it well, at what point do we say we've come far enough?
Ask me in 5 years.
Steve W