XTZ S2 cinema surround. Atmos / DTS:X advice sought.

Captain Ron

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I'm looking forward to upgrading my audio to either a 7.1.2 or 7.1.4 configuration to accommodate Atmos and DTS:X. My living room is my AV room. I don't have a dedicated home cinema room. I'm currently running a 7.1 setup but will be upgrading my receiver (currently an Onkyo TX-SR875) to accommodate the new object based surround formats.

My living room is actually rather nicely setup for 7.1 with my sofa positioned against the wall opposite the screen which is wall mounted on a fake partitioned chimney brest protrusion. The 7 are Canton CD250s and the .1 was a Canton sub (deceased) but is being replaced soon by a BK XXLS400DF.

I am thinking about speaker placement for two (or four) XTZ S2 cinema surround speakers.

1) Is it recommended to have the height .2 or .4 pointing towards the primary listening position from ceiling or top of wall level or is it better to have the speakers firing towards the centre of the room floor?

2) Would a .4 setup work well if all four speakers were pointed towards the centre of the room or listener from the ceiling along one wall up at ceiling height or is it better to have the .4 positioned apart towards the corners of the room up high?

Bear in mind that I am sitting approx 9 feet from the screen in a room 10Dx13Wx7'8"H directly opposite the viewing position. FL,FR,SL,SR are at head height. C is below the screen and RR and RL are behind me about 1 foot above my head. Sub will be mid wall at floor level to the left from the seating position at about 10 o'clock. I sit nearer RR than RL but have compensated and calibrated to my relative satisfaction given the room limitations. Also the ideal box shape of the room is compromised by a stairway to upstairs to my left running up from TV side to viewing position side and by a 16" door entrance protrusion into the living room.

My gut feeling is that up firing and bouncing off the ceiling is a suboptimal way to go about Atmos or DTS:X but if you feel it's worth considering then feel free to convince me.

Thoughts please oh Atmos / DTS:X surround gurus. :)
 
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Did some more research on this and it would appear that while the XTC S2's fit the bill technically, they just are not going to fit in to my living room. Can't be having four huge black blobs on my white ceiling and they are too large to sit on top of my Canton CD250s. I had a hunt about and there appears to be a dearth of unobtrusive full range ON-ceiling speakers. Bit of a hole in the market and probably a symptom of Atmos / DTS:X being relatively new as home products I guess. I can't have IN-ceiling speakers as I rent so can't go ripping huge holes in the ceiling. Polk OWM3's look interesting potentially and are available in white but can't seem to find any UK supply. The smallest Monitor Audio picture frame models (SF3) also look like they would do the job but I am not sure they would adapt well to mounting on a ceiling. They are designed primarily as wall hangers. The search goes on.
 
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Dali Phazon Sat's look interesting. Nice design. Better UK availability than the Polk OMW3's and decent frequency response for a compact speaker too. 88Hz - 25Khz. My Canton CD250's are rated at 45Hz - 30Khz.
 
Definitive Tech Pro Monitor 800's look like a better match for my Canton CD250's. 57Hz - 30KHz. Might allow dropping the sub crossover to 70Hz methinks.
 
I've gone with Cambridge Audio Minx 112s in white for the sake of decor integration. These will serve as side channels and .2s with a view to adding rear heights later. I'm installing them on Thursday so can't comment on performance yet. My amp is a Denon x4200 so should drive them great.
 
I ended up getting 4 Canton Plus X.3's and matching mounts (all in white). Same make,frequency response spec and driver type as my existing Canton CD250s so should integrate well. They'll get fitted and will sit there for about eight months doing nothing until I can afford the receiver though but it's a statement of comittment dammit! :)
 
I've been looking to updated my Onlyo 410s and was thinking of the S2s, they would have to be upward firing as i cant mount anything to my ceiling.
Has anyone getting good results with this?
Would they be significantly better?
 
I've been looking to updated my Onlyo 410s and was thinking of the S2s, they would have to be upward firing as i cant mount anything to my ceiling.
Has anyone getting good results with this?
Would they be significantly better?


Upfiring works well depending on ceiling height and seating distance. On wall works very well too. The S2's will be available in black or a limited edition in white in a couple of weeks.

Danny Phillips has just published a review in Home Cinema Choice where he specifically comments on the performance of the S2's as upfiring modules. Available digitally or in most bookshops now.
 

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