Thank you all. Speaking of speaker layouts, Denon offers a "unified layout" that works (at least set-up-wise) with all formats. Is this the layout you have been using when comparing Auro-matic to the DSU
VonMagnum?
I'm using a customized setup with "Scatmos" (pair of old Pro logic processors set to "Stereo 3" that extract a center channel between the front/rear height channels (one for each side), giving me a near-discrete "middle height" channel that I use at the Auro-3D "surround height" position (side height). This can also be used with all three formats (Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Auro-3D since they don't know it exists). The side height speakers are less than two feet out of line with the front/rear heights so the change is almost unnoticeable in a narrow room.
I've also added Matrixed (using powered mixers)
front wide channels (combining L/R main with Side Surround) and
surround #1 speakers (mixing side surround with rear surround). This gives me a total of 17.1 speakers or 11.1.6. (i.e. 11 bed channels and 6 overhead channels and currently one subwoofer, although I really could use a second one to even out the back two rows of seats a bit better, but they get little use so I haven't been in a hurry and they're not bad sounding or anything as is, just not as tight/accurate sounding as the front three seats).
I've also got a speaker switch that gives me 2-in, 2-out and lets me use three basic setups as well. It's connected such that it can switch rear height with those side heights. That gives me the option of PURE Auro-3D at a push of a button. Auro-3D on the 7012 doesn't use rear speakers and with rear heights swapped to side heights, I then have the exact correct Auro 9.1 setup. I can also leave the rear heights on (which are then copies of each other) and simulates the cinema setup which copies sides to rears for Auro 9.1 and 11.1. The switchbox drives them in parallel in that case. Or it can use the extracted channel between front and rear height instead which gives me "top middle" for Atmos/X and even works with Auro-3D (minus the rear speakers, although the surround #1 speakers stretch the sides back 2/3 the way to the rear). If I wanted to get even pickier, I could put in a second switchbox and copy the sides to the rears in that and copied mode and have all the speakers active like cinema Auro-3D, but given the lack of titles, it just hasn't seemed worth the bother.
Given how well the extracted "top middle" channels work (even with Auro-3D), I probably wouldn't have bothered with the switchbox if I had known now as I typically just leave it alone with extracted sound now, but it did let me do a lot of comparisons between 5.1.4 Atmos (just switch rear height with side height and tell the AVR I have 5.1 instead and I get Atmos 5.1.4 without any rewiring) and Auro-3D, which essentially in 9.1 is 5.1.4 and it's based on it (people say they're incompatible, but Auro-3D based the layout on 5.1. They simply have the rear heights over top the rear/side surrounds.) I can also use that as 5.1.4 plus front wides (and technically plus surround #1) as they can all be easily switched on/off, although Audyssey is only setup for 11.1.6/9.1.6
Here's a link to some photos of the system at AVS: (
https://www.avsforum.com/forum/90-receivers-amps-processors/2321145-beyond-7-1-4-multi-avr-set-up-immersive-audio-54.html#post56799092)
They're not quite up to date for room decorations using movie props, etc., and I recently changed some chairs around a bit to try the massage chair in the main position, but you get the idea. I'll attach the two diagrams of the layout below to show the basic layout (don't want to post all those photos all over again). They're not precisely accurate (being hand laid out), but give a good idea. One shows the diagram of the room with the locations of all the PSB speakers and subwoofer relative to the chairs and other room items and the other shows the relative speaker angles from the MLP.
