Unwanted Sound From Dolby Atmos Speakers When Not Encoded With Dolby Atmos

[AudioBuffCO]

Hey All -

I have a Klipsch / Onkyo 7.1.2 system. At times I listen to music in DTS 7.1 surround – the other times, I listen in Pure Audio mode.

When my Onkyo RZ30 receiver is set to 7.1 DTS decoding, but there is no Dolby Atmos encoding in the source material, * how can I prevent sound coming from the connected dolby atmos speakers *?

To clarify, music should be coming from the Atmos speakers when the source stream is encoded with Atmos – I get that. But, when it is not, I get a wall of sound from the front, because my front-Height/Atmos speakers are then putting out the same music that my main left & right speakers are. That is not true Atmos sound. For some music tracks it kinda sounds ok, for others, too “heavy”. Atmos speakers are the Klipsch RP-500SAII.

Thanks, Tom

 

[TLS Guy]

Hey All -

I have a Klipsch / Onkyo 7.1.2 system. At times I listen to music in DTS 7.1 surround – the other times, I listen in Pure Audio mode.

When my Onkyo RZ30 receiver is set to 7.1 DTS decoding, but there is no Dolby Atmos encoding in the source material, * how can I prevent sound coming from the connected dolby atmos speakers *?

To clarify, music should be coming from the Atmos speakers when the source stream is encoded with Atmos – I get that. But, when it is not, I get a wall of sound from the front, because my front-Height/Atmos speakers are then putting out the same music that my main left & right speakers are. That is not true Atmos sound. For some music tracks it kinda sounds ok, for others, too “heavy”. Atmos speakers are the Klipsch RP-500SAII.

Thanks, Tom

In that case you have your sound set to ALL channel stereo. Set it to two channel or use one of the up mixers like Dolby Surround. Read your Manual! That is what it is for.

 

[AudioBuffCO]

In that case you have your sound set to ALL channel stereo. Set it to two channel or use one of the up mixers like Dolby Surround. Read your Manual! That is what it is for.

Actually, I have it set to 7.1 DTS or Dolby Digital (at times), not Stereo. As far as your rude, unprovoked comment, "Read your Manual! That is what it is for."....I did, and searched hi & Lo and cud not find an answer. That's why I posted in this forum, to find a solution - not to be attacked by an immature hi-fi snob.

 

[j_garcia]

Check if you have dts direct, or just use a direct mode, which should eliminate the Atmos portion. If not, make sure you are not using Neural:X, which will upmix and add the Atmos.

My AVP does this as well and my experience is similar, sometimes it is OK, but more often than not too much is mixed to the heights.

 

[dolynick]

Sounds like you're using an upmixing mode that is converting it to a surround mix if the data is missing. If you set it to a basic "stereo" mode, you'll just get the fronts.

 

[AudioBuffCO]

Check if you have dts direct, or just use a direct mode, which should eliminate the Atmos portion. If not, make sure you are not using Neural:X, which will upmix and add the Atmos.

My AVP does this as well and my experience is similar, sometimes it is OK, but more often than not too much is mixed to the heights.

Thx for your reply. : O ) To clarify, I get sound from the Atmos speakers whether I use DTS, DD, THX, etc surround sounds. The issue is that, when a track is NOT encoded in Atmos, sound still comes from the Atmos speakers, but, in stereo, not Atmos. Short of having to deselect Atmos speakers in my receiver's settings menu, I'm looking for a surround mode that will not cause sound from the Atmos speakers when there is no Atmos encoding in the source track.

 

[TLS Guy]

Thx for your reply. : O ) To clarify, I get sound from the Atmos speakers whether I use DTS, DD, THX, etc surround sounds. The issue is that, when a track is NOT encoded in Atmos, sound still comes from the Atmos speakers, but, in stereo, not Atmos. Short of having to deselect Atmos speakers in my receiver's settings menu, I'm looking for a surround mode that will not cause sound from the Atmos speakers when there is no Atmos encoding in the source track.

Then you have to listen in two channel stereo. If you select a surround mode the ceiling speakers will be active to a degree. If the system is calibrated correctly, then you will not be aware of the surround speakers.

We do not know your receiver or AVR, nor your speaker layout. Even more important we do not know if you calibrated your system using the provided microphone, and followed instructions to the letter.

We are working under conjecture here due to lack of informtion.

All I do know is that if your system is properly calibrated, then the upmixers, especially Dolby Digital Surround, can work very well. If you don't like that after doing a diligent set up, then your only option is two channel stereo and no upmixers engaged.

 

[j_garcia]

From the RZ30 manual:

Direct
This listening mode can be selected for all input signals. Processing that affects sound quality is shut down, and sound closer to the original is reproduced. The sound is reproduced with the sound field based on the number of channels in the input signal. For example, a 2 ch signal is output only from the front speakers.
Note that the sound adjustment is not available when this mode is selected.
• The speaker calibrations measured with Dirac Live are disabled.

This should eliminate upmixing regardless of signal type, but also disables speaker adjustments from Dirac. For each format, there may be a different upmixer and settings. DD and DTS look to have completely separate settings for using or not using the heights, so you need to check each.

https://support.onkyousa.com/hc/en-us/articles/30110592504212-TX-RZ-30-Listening-Mode-Effects

If you check the chart, Nerual:X can apply to every signal type, so you need to ensure that is not what it defaults to.

https://support.onkyousa.com/hc/en-us/articles/30108766111124-TX-RZ30-Input-Formats-and-Selectable-Listening-Modes

 

[rajsingh]

What you’re hearing is the Onkyo applying an upmixer (likely Dolby Surround or DTS Neural) to non-Atmos content, which intentionally feeds audio into the height channels. If you want the Atmos speakers silent unless the source is true Atmos, switch to Direct/Pure Audio or disable the upmixer for standard DTS/stereo playback modes.