Amplifier and setup recommendation

[MattBDad]

Setting up a new HT in my basement. I plan to do L and R towers and a center channel. My question is in regards to the rest of the speakers. Which of the following would be my best option…

1. 7.2.2 (ceiling surrounds and ceiling backs with front atmos) With surrounds in ceiling… does atmos add anything here?
2. 5.2.2 (2 ceiling surrounds about 10ft behind and 2 atmos in front ceiling) This is the easiest install as basement is presided for this
3. 5.2.4 (all 5 at ear height with the surrounds being about 10ft behind seats and 4 atmos ceiling speakers) I think I could wire the back surrounds on the back wall allowing for 4 ceiling atmos speakers

Any thoughts, recommendations or suggestions appreciated.

 

[lovinthehd]

No point in putting surrounds in ceiling if you want Atmos.....bed layer should not be mixed with the Atmos layer. So "3" seems the only reasonable way to go in your case. In this scenario, surrounds behind seats or mostly to the sides and slightly behind? Rear surrounds don't come into play except with the 7ch bed layer.

Some room dims and seating layout info would be good....

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

#3 is the closest but surrounds 10’ back is a problem. HD is right about the bed and height layers sharing the same plane. Atmos needs angular separation between layers to work properly. So I guess #3 is closest.
Again. Room layout and seating is always helpful.

 

[MattBDad]

So it sounds like 5.x with surrounds at ear level is priority? Even if my surrounds are 10ft behind on the wall? And this would be preferred over 7.x setup with surrounds and rears in ceiling?

One ear level rear speaker will have to be about 15 ft behind and out to side since there is a sliding glass door to deal with. Deal breaker? Or will the calibration compensate for this we’ll enough? (This is why I considered in ceiling)

 

[lovinthehd]

Your room sounds difficult for speaker placement I wouldn't want my surrounds where it sounds you're putting them myself, especially not adding rear surrounds in the ceilings above the surrounds, but maybe seeing a diagram of room/seating will help picture this better. Personally the only in ceiling speakers I'd want would be Atmos type. In a regular 5.1 or 7.1 layout I prefer the speakers a bit higher than ear height, tho....maybe even up near the ceiling off to the sides and aimed down at the listening area....but then that makes Atmos difficult (I haven't gone Atmos....my ceilings would be a hassle).

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

So it sounds like 5.x with surrounds at ear level is priority? Even if my surrounds are 10ft behind on the wall? And this would be preferred over 7.x setup with surrounds and rears in ceiling?

One ear level rear speaker will have to be about 15 ft behind and out to side since there is a sliding glass door to deal with. Deal breaker? Or will the calibration compensate for this we’ll enough? (This is why I considered in ceiling)

I would go for number three, but also know that it would be compromised. If you did that. How far apart could you get the surrounds? In a 5.x or 5.x.4 surrounds to the side and just behind works best. If the back wall is the only option then I would get them as far apart as possible within reason. I’m not a fan of IC side/surrounds but it might be easier for you.
If you can share some pics or a drawing would be helpful.

 

[MattBDad]

I’ll draw up a diagram and post it.
I believe I can do ceiling speakers easy pretty easily. The previous owner pre-wired for 5 ceiling speakers at the corners of the HT area. I think I can get 2 more speakers wired for a ceiling 7.x setup fairly easily. But I’ve always heard ear level is significantly better. I can do 5.x at ear level (and then add 4 atmos speakers)… or I can do 7.x in ceiling (No atmos… or maybe just 2 front for presence)

Seems most streaming content is 5.x. Is trying for 7.x overkill?

 

[kilwei]

Setting up a new HT in my basement. I plan to do L and R towers and a center channel. My question is in regards to the rest of the speakers. Which of the following would be my best option…

1. 7.2.2 (ceiling surrounds and ceiling backs with front atmos) With surrounds in ceiling… does atmos add anything here?
2. 5.2.2 (2 ceiling surrounds about 10ft behind and 2 atmos in front ceiling) This is the easiest install as basement is presided for this
3. 5.2.4 (all 5 at ear height with the surrounds being about 10ft behind seats and 4 atmos ceiling speakers) I think I could wire the back surrounds on the back wall allowing for 4 ceiling atmos speakers

Any thoughts, recommendations or suggestions appreciated cinema hd.

The reason for this is because the A-S series is completely analog (except for the Dac in the 801). You can even use the “Pure Line” mode to completely bypass the 4 adjustment mobs, which are: Bass, Treble, Left/Right Signal Pan, and Loudness. The crossover you would manually adjust on your subwoofer to blend with your speakers the most effectively. When you start getting into entry level hi-fi amplifiers like this, you sacrifice options for quality components. And the sound quality improvement is evident when you listen to this amplifier side-by-side with another amp on the same speakers. A lot cleaner, detailed, and wider soundstage.