Hi all,
Before I start I apologize for my poor English.
For some time now I want to add a pair of
Dolby Atmos enabled speakers to my 5.1 home theater system.
I have read quite a lot about the Dolby Atmos speakers and I learnt somethings like:
- This audio format was designed to be used with in-ceiling speakers, so the best options to enjoy it would be: overhead speakers – Height speakers – Dolby Enabled speakers (e.g. up-firing speakers).
- If you cannot or do not want to install overhead/height speaker, the up-firing speakers could do the trick. They would not perform so well, but if the room meets certain requirements a reasonably good Atmos effect could be achieved.
Am I correct so far?
If so, let me introduce my non dedicated home cinema room:
View attachment 32830
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This is a square part of a larger rectangular shaped living room.
I have marked in the photos the position of each of the speakers of my 5.1 system as well as the position from which we watch television.
Regarding the relevant distances, they would be the following:
- Distance from the front speakers to the seating positions:
. Left speaker: 3,15m (10,4 ft).
. Right speaker: 3,35m (11 ft).
If necessary, I have enough space to move the front speakers forward or backward.
- Height from floor to ceiling: 3 meters (9,85 ft).
- Height of the front speakers: 1 meter (3,28 ft).
- Therefore, height from the base of the front speakers to the ceiling: 2 meters (6,56 ft).
- Angles of both front speakers are 28°.
The ceiling is perfectly flat and built of reflective material.
I am aware that if I want a guaranteed true Atmos directional height setup I would need to cut 4 holes in the ceiling and install 4 downfacing speakers in the correct locations, but this is not an option in my particular case because of the material that the wall and ceiling are made of.
So considering all the above, I need your opinion on 2 basic questions:
1) Do you think that my room meets the requirements so that a pair of up-firing speakers placed on top of the front speakers can do their job correctly?
2) If (I know, this is a big IF) the answer to question 1) is “Yes, it could work”, what speakers would you recommend?.
After reading a lot, I guess that good candidates could be:
- KEF Q50a (or the most expensive version: KEF R8a).
- Klipsch R-41SA (or the most expensive version: Klipsch RP-500SA).
- Dali Alteco C-1.
My current home cinema equipment is:
- TV set: LG OLED 65E6V
- UHD Blu Ray player: Oppo UDP-203
- AV receiver: Yamaha RX-A3060
- Speakers: Focal-Jmlab Chorus S (front: 716S, central: cc700S and rear: 705S)
- Subwoofer: SVS PB-1000
Thanks a lot, in advance, for your help and advice.