Rear upfiring Atmos speakers

[ihmedia]

Hi

My Denon amp can do 5.1.2 in my lounge setup. I have some upfiring atmos speakers but i only have room to sit these on top of the rear surround speakers.

Is that going to be ok, the amp has this position in the setup no problem.

Just wondering what the sounds going be like, i guess you would expect them to be front upfiring on a 5.1.2 system? I hope they will be ok as its my only option to be honest.

I guess the other option is get 2 more floors standers and have 7.1 instead?

 

[gibbsy]

I suspect your Denon is a X2XXX model, would have been better if you mention it. If so then with the X2600 you would need to assign Side Dolby Enabled and place them on the surrounds.

When all else fails, read the manual.


Example connections when using surround Dolby Atmos Enabled speakers
This 7.1-channel surround system is the same as a basic 5.1-channel system but with surround Dolby Atmos Enabled speakers.

Set “Assign Mode” to “Surround Dolby” in the menu. link

 

[ihmedia]

Thanks for your reply, its an avr 2300.

So its fine to have Atmos on the rear upfiring rather then front upfiring?

 

[gibbsy]

Yes it the same setting on the 2300 as described above. The receiver will configure the Atmos metadata to portray from those speakers as opposed to them being mounted on the fronts. Dolby do recommend that the front position is best but you have to work with what you have and Denon have configured the 2300 to be able to do so.

 

[ihmedia]

Ok thats great.

I did wonder if i would best to use those extra chanels for 7.1 with 2 new floorstanders and forget atmos 5.1.2.

Do most people go Atmos these days over 7.1?

 

[gibbsy]

I prefer 5.1.2, that's all I have room for, would never go back to a floor only speaker set up

 

[joysleep1]

I suspect your Denon is a X2XXX model, would have been better if you mention it. If so then with the X2600 you would need to assign Side Dolby Enabled and place them on the surrounds.

When all else fails, read the manual.


Example connections when using surround Dolby Atmos Enabled speakers
This 7.1-channel surround system is the same as a basic 5.1-channel system but with surround Dolby Atmos Enabled speakers.

Set “Assign Mode” to “Surround Dolby” in the menu. link

So I'm potentially thinking about this because my seating distance is very close to my rear speakers because my fronts are around 13ft away.

Do rear upfiring speakers work well?
Would I notice a difference you reckon?
I would love to actually install ceiling but my wife has said no because it's too much hassle.

I have some pictures I can show of my current set up.

 

[gibbsy]

So I'm potentially thinking about this because my seating distance is very close to my rear speakers because my fronts are around 13ft away.

Do rear upfiring speakers work well?
Would I notice a difference you reckon?
I would love to actually install ceiling but my wife has said no because it's too much hassle.

I have some pictures I can show of my current set up.

Some photos or a diagram of your room would be better. You can use upfiring in the rear most position and depending on your AV amp you can configure as such. Depending on that seating position you could use them high on the wall opposite the seating and again depending on amp configure as top middle.

 

[joysleep1]

Some photos or a diagram of your room would be better. You can use upfiring in the rear most position and depending on your AV amp you can configure as such. Depending on that seating position you could use them high on the wall opposite the seating and again depending on amp configure as top middle.

Oh mate. Your expertise would really help.
I'm sending you a private message

 

[joysleep1]

Right OK
So my front stage consists of the polk s55 tower speakers with the emotiva c2+ centre speaker
Subwoofer is the xtz 12.17 edge.

The rear speakers are monitor Audio Radius 90 HD speakers.

Receiver is the denon x2600h

Question is weather I can incorporate atmos speakers without having to drill any holes. I already concluded that adding upfiring above my fronts won't work as I'm sitting 14 feet away.

Question is whether I can sit them on top of my current rear ones. I have a direct ceiling above them and the listening positing is right next to these.

So floor to ceiling is 8feet 3 inches and from rear speaker to ceiling is 4feet 11 inches

I'm tempted to purchase some and try it out for the fun of it but if this is definitely not gonna work then I don't want to waste my time

 

[Htfanboy]

It's actually worth the effort to have ceiling speakers. If you think it's not. Try them both out then.

Ready player one race scene has overhead useage. And let us know if you hear anything that's directly above you.

 

[joysleep1]

It's actually worth the effort to have ceiling speakers. If you think it's not. Try them both out then.

Ready player one race scene has overhead useage. And let us know if you hear anything that's directly above you.

I would love to get ceiling but that will require someone to install my Mrs isn't having it. It was a fight just get to get my current 5.1 set up.

 

[joysleep1]

I wanted to ask.

If I purchase the atmos speakers to try out then that would mean recalibrating my current set.

If I don't like it or there's no difference can I easily switch back to my old settings?
I have it just the way I like it right now

 

[Jester1066]

I wanted to ask.

If I purchase the atmos speakers to try out then that would mean recalibrating my current set.

If I don't like it or there's no difference can I easily switch back to my old settings?
I have it just the way I like it right now

Yep you can revert to your current settings. Before you recalibrate with the Atmos speakers, use a USB pendrive to save your current AVR settings. Here's how:

Saving and reloading AVR's user settings

support.denon.com

 

[gibbsy]

I wanted to ask.

If I purchase the atmos speakers to try out then that would mean recalibrating my current set.

If I don't like it or there's no difference can I easily switch back to my old settings?
I have it just the way I like it right now

You would have to. You will also have to recalibrate if experimenting with different locations.

 

[joysleep1]

You would have to. You will also have to recalibrate if experimenting with different locations.

Yh that's fine. When I get time I'll buy some and place them above my rears.

I'll recalibrate and see how much difference it makes
What movies or clips shall I play to test good dolby effects.

Also if I save the settings onto USB and once I want to go back to my original settings do I have to factory reset and then upload my backup file?
Does the save file save everything in terms of dB rating cross over. Etc?

 

[Jester1066]

Yh that's fine. When I get time I'll buy some and place them above my rears.

I'll recalibrate and see how much difference it makes
What movies or clips shall I play to test good dolby effects.

Also if I save the settings onto USB and once I want to go back to my original settings do I have to factory reset and then upload my backup file?
Does the save file save everything in terms of dB rating cross over. Etc?

It should save everything. You can test this though. Save the settings, then make one change to a crossover, then upload the saved settings again to compare.

 

[gibbsy]

You can download good Atmos files. Some members have recommended this site in the past.

Dolby Trailers - The Digital Theater

This Dolby Trailers page lists all the Dolby trailers we have at thedigitaltheater.com. To playback the MKV files in Dolby TrueHD you will need a media player such as Media Player Classic Home Cinema (MPC-HC) or a Media Server such as Plex that can output the Lossless stream via HDMI to an AV...

thedigitaltheater.com

As long as you use the upmixers then any base 5.1 soundtrack will give overhead effects. The last Mad Max films is very good with an Atmos soundtrack. Unbroken is another good one in the opening scenes when the bomber is attacked by a Japanese Zero. If you have Game of Thrones then any scene with the dragons in is good.

 

[joysleep1]

You can download good Atmos files. Some members have recommended this site in the past.

Dolby Trailers - The Digital Theater

This Dolby Trailers page lists all the Dolby trailers we have at thedigitaltheater.com. To playback the MKV files in Dolby TrueHD you will need a media player such as Media Player Classic Home Cinema (MPC-HC) or a Media Server such as Plex that can output the Lossless stream via HDMI to an AV...

thedigitaltheater.com

As long as you use the upmixers then any base 5.1 soundtrack will give overhead effects. The last Mad Max films is very good with an Atmos soundtrack. Unbroken is another good one in the opening scenes when the bomber is attacked by a Japanese Zero. If you have Game of Thrones then any scene with the dragons in is good.

OK I'll give it a go.
Now which atmos speakers to get.
There's so many brands. I take it the brand doesn't matter with atmos speakers so mix and matching isn't an issue right?

As it is I've already mixed and match.
What specs tell me how good an atmos speaker?
Is it a case of more power more effect?

 

[joysleep1]

You can download good Atmos files. Some members have recommended this site in the past.

Dolby Trailers - The Digital Theater

This Dolby Trailers page lists all the Dolby trailers we have at thedigitaltheater.com. To playback the MKV files in Dolby TrueHD you will need a media player such as Media Player Classic Home Cinema (MPC-HC) or a Media Server such as Plex that can output the Lossless stream via HDMI to an AV...

thedigitaltheater.com

As long as you use the upmixers then any base 5.1 soundtrack will give overhead effects. The last Mad Max films is very good with an Atmos soundtrack. Unbroken is another good one in the opening scenes when the bomber is attacked by a Japanese Zero. If you have Game of Thrones then any scene with the dragons in is good.

So are you saying that any video formats that are shown as 5.1 will still have an atmos effect.

For example i think netflix and amazon video only has 5.1. So are the dolby atmos speakers going to do anything? And if so, would it be effective?

Do i have to calibrate it in a different way to achieve better results??

 

[gibbsy]

So are you saying that any video formats that are shown as 5.1 will still have an atmos effect.

Yes, that's the joy of an Atmos layout. You have two upmixing modes available to you in Dolby Surround and DTS Neural:X. You can apply Dolby Surround to all 2.0 or 5.1 broadcasts or streaming services and this will effectively bring the Atmos speakers into use, where appropriate.

I find DTS Neural:X to be excellent especially when listening to DTS-HD 5.1 soundtracks from disc. It steers object based sounds very well indeed around the soundstage. Those upmixing modes and the Atmos speakers breathe new life into old soundtracks.

Remember though that the ceiling isn't suddenly become alive with sound with either true Atmos or the upmixing modes. It is in many cases far more subtle than that. You will get the object based audio but in a lot of mixes the Atmos is just ambient sounds.

The brain isn't very good at picking up sounds from above. Go into your garden and listen, unless you have a jet overhead or birds in the trees it's pretty quiet up there. A good Atmos mix is often done for excitement such as the last Mad Max film which does fill the room with audio.

Set up your Atmos, experiment with levels and use it for a month or so. Then use the direct mode on a 5.1 soundtrack which will faithfully replay the audio so the Atmos will be silent, I guarantee you'll miss those Atmos speakers in whatever configuration you go for.

 

[joysleep1]

OK just to feedback. I bought some KEF atmos speakers but they were soo huge. They wouldnt fit on top of my monitor audio radius 90hd speakers. So that was a flop. My fault i guess. I tried placing these on top of my towers but there was no affect at all.

So the key here is if i want atmos then i need ceiling speakers or atmost speakers drilled to the wall high up.

I guess next time we renovate then i am def going to get this.
Thanks for the feedback and info pee[s

 

[gibbsy]

OK just to feedback. I bought some KEF atmos speakers but they were soo huge. They wouldnt fit on top of my monitor audio radius 90hd speakers. So that was a flop. My fault i guess. I tried placing these on top of my towers but there was no affect at all.

So the key here is if i want atmos then i need ceiling speakers or atmost speakers drilled to the wall high up.

I guess next time we renovate then i am def going to get this.
Thanks for the feedback and info pee[s

The KEFs should have keyhole fittings so that they can be used on a wall.

 

[joysleep1]

Hmm yh need to think about that in the future. I think i would just prefer right above your head ceiling speakers