<!--[if gte mso 9]><![endif]-->
Just set up Atmos in 5.1.4 in my theater room.
Listening to Atmos A60 modules the sound was greatly improved with Audyssey. Without Audyssey they sounded more congested and boxy with more sound radiating directly from the speaker instead of projecting an elevated soundfield. The A60s didn’t remotely timber match ANYTHING in my system. This was obvious with pink noise and program material.
The rain demo was nice but with the A60 modules just didn’t have the definition and transient detail you could get from a discrete speaker IMO.
Enrique Iglesias Music Video: Bailando
The transient sounds like the snare drum hit or claps did project an elevated sound but the vocals sounded like they were coming from the companion speakers. If you sat too far away from the Atmos modules, the elevation effect evaporated completely. If you sat too close to an Atmos module, the speaker was easily localized. In my two rows of seats, only the primary row pulled off an acceptable elevation effect. If I turned off all the speakers but the Atmos modules you could clearly identify steady state sound from any seat. I believe once you have all the speakers engaged, your brain gets overloaded with so many sound sources that its harder to localize the Atmos modules as a result. The Atmos modules should be crossed over above 100Hz, recommend 250Hz to help mitigate this a bit.
Dolby Surround Upmixer produced a nice enveloping effect but purists may still prefer to listen to regular 2CH. I felt it bested DTS Neo by a good margin. PLIIx Music Mode was always my favorite upmixer and I’d say the DSU has at least equaled if not rivaled it.
I plan on testing in my untreated family room and comparing to in-ceiling speakers next.
I’m wondering if there is a 2nd Dolby HRTF implemented in the AV receiver and only engaged with Audyssey. I wish I could measure this but unfortunately my AP won’t support Atmos test signals. AP claims they won’t be upgrading their test gear either b/c Atmos is too niche. I will try to put 2CH analog signal in and engage the DSU to see if I get outputs from the Atmos channels to measure but not sure it will work yet.
I attached some pics and also a nearfield frequency response measurement of the A60 module.
<!--[if gte mso 9]><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <![endif]-->