Upgrade from 2 to 4 Atmos speakers (or not)

swanny78

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I am relatively lucky in that I have a symmetrical rectangular room (converted single garage) and my speaker placements in my current 5.2.2 setup are pretty spot in with Dolby recommendations. I have recently upgraded my receiver and now have an additional 2 channels. I could add to my setup so make it 5.2.4 or 7.2.2. I am considering the 5.2.4 setup by adding 2 additional ATMOS in ceiling speakers to complement the 2 I already have. The issue is the 2 existing speakers would need to be shunted forward a couple of feet to be "Dolby perfect" needing me to drill 2 other holes and fill the existing 2 - I don't really want to do that. Would it be acceptable to leave where they are and mount the 2 additional ATMOS speakers at the rear as per the diagram attached. Red arrows show where existing 2 should move to. It wont be Dolby perfect but Audessy on my Denon AVR 3700 would compensate for that I think or should I go thru the hassle of moving the existing speakers, will it make a massive worthwhile difference. ?
Alternatively I could add 2 rear surrounds so have a 7.2.2 setup, is that more worthwhile than 4 ATMOS channels.
atmos setup.png

Any expert thoughts and ideas welcome.

P.S I know the Denon has 2 pre amp channels that I could use and have both the 7 surrounds and the 4 ATMOS 7.2.4 but maybe that's a future consideration but not for now. I have a family to feed ;-)
 
I know the itch of wondering if 4 speakers are better than 2. In an ideal placement they will definitely improve the soundstage. I've moved from 5.1.2 to 5.1.4 and definitely noticed the improvement.

If you're committed on 4 Atmos then I would try how they sound with front speakers in current position. Unfortunately some compromises needed to be had depending on the room. My rear speakers are behind me...just! In an ideal environment I'd like them further back. However room calibration should adjust accordingly. What I have noticed is moving front Atmos from top middle to top front increases the overhead soundstage so you notice the front to back panning.

IMG_20210313_153508.jpg
 
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I know the itch of wondering if 4 speakers are better than 2. In an ideal placement they will definitely improve the soundstage. I've moved from 5.1.2 to 5.1.4 and definitely noticed the improvement.

If you're committed on 4 Atmos then I would try how they sound with front speakers in current position. Unfortunately some compromises needed to be had depending on the room. My rear speakers are behind me...just! In an ideal environment I'd like them further back. However room calibration should adjust accordingly. What I have noticed is moving front Atmos from top middle to top front increases the overhead soundstage so you notice the front to back panning.

View attachment 1483199

What Atmos speaker are they? Look fairly large?

Why didn’t you go into the ceiling in line with the Dolby placement suggestions?
 
You would need to have the second set of ceiling speakers placed behind the main seating area but inside that of the surrounds in a 5.1.4, Pointless having the four ceiling speakers in front of the seating as this will not take that bubble of sound behind you.

Get your trowel and paint brush out. :smashin:
 
What Atmos speaker are they? Look fairly large?

Why didn’t you go into the ceiling in line with the Dolby placement suggestions?
They're actually quite small. 5.25" diameter Kef ci130QR. Just managed to fit in pelmet and saved cutting into ceiling.

They're aligned with front left and right as per Atmos guidelines.
 
Hi @swanny78, if it helps I’ve recently changed from 5.1.4 to 7.1.2 as my converted garage isn’t big enough to do justice to 4 Atmos speakers I don’t think, as the top front speakers were perfect in terms of the Dolby positioning, but while the top back also aligned with the Dolby diagram, they felt too close to the sofa position and so I never felt like there was enough distance between them and the surrounds. Now I’ve gone 7.1.2 I can have the back surrounds in an alcove right at the back and I prefer the sensation that there’s more horizontal space for the sound, and I still get the two overhead speakers doing Atmos duties. It’s meant that my placement doesn’t adhere to the Dolby map as well now but to me it sounds a bit more expansive as I’m not as close to the various speakers now.

All the best with whatever you decide
 
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Keep the mid top speakers where they are. Add a pair of Atmos upfirers for the front. Add a stereo power amp to drive rear surround back speakers (top rear) and fit rear back ceiling speakers. You now have a 7.1.4 Atmos system!
 
I know the itch of wondering if 4 speakers are better than 2. In an ideal placement they will definitely improve the soundstage. I've moved from 5.1.2 to 5.1.4 and definitely noticed the improvement.

If you're committed on 4 Atmos then I would try how they sound with front speakers in current position. Unfortunately some compromises needed to be had depending on the room. My rear speakers are behind me...just! In an ideal environment I'd like them further back. However room calibration should adjust accordingly. What I have noticed is moving front Atmos from top middle to top front increases the overhead soundstage so you notice the front to back panning.

View attachment 1483199
Hi I’ve been toying with every single sound format since my obsession began in early 90s but honestly believe I’ve now cracked it, I have 75 q90r tv, denon 4500h amp, q acoustic speaker package which was awesome but then bought kef q50r atmos speakers and result was great recently just bought klipch r41-as to go on my rears made a massive difference but ultimately the biggest difference was ignoring audessey speaker and changing crossovers, set all speakers to small, mains as in left and right to 200hz center and surround to 80hz and atmos to 150 hz set your sub crossover to 120hz when I say years of perfecting or trying to I believe I’ve found it
 
2 atmos speakers allows aerial sounds to go left to right above ur head.
4 atmos speakers allows sounds to move all around the ceiling in a circle and behind you.

kind of a no brainer going to 4. object based audio will take massive advantage of it. how amazing will it be or meaningful of an upgrade? meh... depends what u watch..
 

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