5 Reasons Dolby Atmos May Be DOA

[William Lemmerhirt]

Yep He’s a character.

Maybe if we say CATMOS enough times, he will reappear like Candyman or Betelgeuse.

Rofmeowing.....

 

[Danzilla31]

I have a pretty modest atmos setup...some paradigm LCR, subs and surrounds with 4 in cieling RSLs in a 5.2.4 with a marantz receiver. Anyone that's ever listened to an atmos movie with me has always commented on how crazy good it sounds and how the effects move around without any knowledge of atmos or me telling them about how it works. They were just there to watch a movie. To me that says enough. I've never listened to anyone elses atmos system I wish more of my friends were as enthusiastic about home theater as I am but I suspect atmos is thriving if a system as simple as mine can make an average person stop and comment positively about the experience.

Those RSL are some fantastic in ceiling speakers good choice

I had a similar experience with my first atmos system at the other house I had some friends over and a scene was on were somebody came into the room from a door on the right he freaked out because it sounded literally he said like they walked in beside him it was super cool to see his reaction

On my new system my nephew and his wife who is recovering from a stroke came to visit seeing there reaction to the sound moving all around them especially for her because she's been through so much was just man it's what I made that room for

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Those RSL are some fantastic in ceiling speakers good choice

I had a similar experience with my first atmos system at the other house I had some friends over and a scene was on were somebody came into the room from a door on the right he freaked out because it sounded literally he said like they walked in beside him it was super cool to see his reaction

On my new system my nephew and his wife who is recovering from a stroke came to visit seeing there reaction to the sound moving all around them especially for her because she's been through so much was just man it's what I made that room for

That’s a great story dan. Sorry for her troubles though, hope she can recover.
Agreed in the c34e’s. I love mine, and recommend all the time. I know you miss yours.

 

[Danzilla31]

That’s a great story dan. Sorry for her troubles though, hope she can recover.
Agreed in the c34e’s. I love mine, and recommend all the time. I know you miss yours.

Thank you brother she's come amazingly far she's a fighter

I miss those c34e's every Damn day and then some should have bought 4 more for this room.

Some day when I go full unleashed I am doing 7 590's on the bed layer and I'm ceiling mounting the 530's for my ceiling speakers it will be epic

.......and even then.... Sob!!! .... I'll still miss my C34e's!!!!!!

 

[tmurnin]

I don’t really understand the anti-Atmos argument here. If you’re saying that very few people will install a true 5.2.4 system with in-ceiling speakers, you’re absolutely right. However, by that criteria, very few people will even install a 5.1 or even a 2 channel system for home use. The VAST majority of people will just use their tv speakers, and of those who do upgrade beyond that, most will use a soundbar because It’s relatively easy and doesn’t require a complex or expensive setup. So, by definition, in-home Atmos is really only competing for a small population of enthusiasts. Once you filter the population to only those who have already demonstrated a willingness to go above and beyond in the pursuit of a theater-like experience, I think it’s reasonable to assume a certain population will decide to upgrade just as people did when 7.1 or 9.1 or 11 channel sound became a thing. Will Atmos evolve to a point where mainstream suburban homes are adding 4 in-ceiling speakers to their living rooms? Almost certainly not, but can it and will it survive as a way to drive UHD (or similar streaming format) sales? I think yes

 

[Auditor55]

No. Just you.

So its personal. You might taking this matter way to serious.

 

[Auditor55]

I don’t really understand the anti-Atmos argument here. If you’re saying that very few people will install a true 5.2.4 system with in-ceiling speakers, you’re absolutely right. However, by that criteria, very few people will even install a 5.1 or even a 2 channel system for home use. The VAST majority of people will just use their tv speakers, and of those who do upgrade beyond that, most will use a soundbar because It’s relatively easy and doesn’t require a complex or expensive setup. So, by definition, in-home Atmos is really only competing for a small population of enthusiasts. Once you filter the population to only those who have already demonstrated a willingness to go above and beyond in the pursuit of a theater-like experience, I think it’s reasonable to assume a certain population will decide to upgrade just as people did when 7.1 or 9.1 or 11 channel sound became a thing. Will Atmos evolve to a point where mainstream suburban homes are adding 4 in-ceiling speakers to their living rooms? Almost certainly not, but can it and will it survive as a way to drive UHD (or similar streaming format) sales? I think yes

I really would like to see some real data on how much Dolby Atmos have been adopted by the public. I don't believe its has taken hold among even HT Enthusiast as some Atmos fanboys would have us believe. I think there's a certain degree of delusion when it comes to Atmos, also I'm starting to see a tad bit of elitism from some of those who has set up an Atmos system.

I'm not against immersive audio, I like both cinema Dolby Atmos and cinema Auro-3D, wish DTS-X had a cinema version. However, for widespread application in the home, its problematic. It was much easier to go from a Pro-logic system to discrete audio system, all one need to do was upgrade the A/V receiver because the speakers were already in place.

 

[Auditor55]

 

[VonMagnum]

The masses can all use Atmos sound bars as far as I'm concerned so long as the immersive soundtracks keep coming....

Frankly, Interstellar sounded better upmixed than Star Trek (2009) sounded in Atmos, though.

 

[Erod]

I don't know anybody who has it ... and that's why it'll die.

The next big thing in speaker placement better not be called Uranus.

I actually know many people who have it.

I think it's somewhat regional. In Texas, we build big houses with dedicated theater rooms in them. Pretty much everybody in certain suburbs have dedicated theater rooms. These rooms are almost always prewired, and a high percentage of those buyers have Atmos speakers run because it's easy to do with upstairs theaters and tons of attic space to do so.

If you live in densely populated areas in the heart of big cities, or if you live in older homes, I'm sure the percentage drops significantly.

 

[dzzmiller]

Putting in ceiling speakers when the wall is open is not a big deal. I recently added a family room addition with a vaulted ceiling to my old house. The room is reasonably well suited to 7.1.4 so I added in ceiling speakers and wiring for surrounds.

The downside, which I hadn't thought through, is now I need to power 11 speakers. Whoops. I think I'll wait a couple of months and see if Denon refreshes their high end models.

 

[VonMagnum]

I re-used my old Yamaha AVR in 7.1 Channel Input mode as a six channel amp towards powering 17.1 speakers. New cost was zero there.

 

[Danzilla31]

Putting in ceiling speakers when the wall is open is not a big deal. I recently added a family room addition with a vaulted ceiling to my old house. The room is reasonably well suited to 7.1.4 so I added in ceiling speakers and wiring for surrounds.

The downside, which I hadn't thought through, is now I need to power 11 speakers. Whoops. I think I'll wait a couple of months and see if Denon refreshes their high end models.

One thing I loved about my Denon X4400h is the reassignable preouts I just bought an amp to run my front 7 and then let the Denon power the heights worked out great

 

[CajunLB]

Speakers in the floor (to match those in the ceiling) was what he called CATMOS. LOL

Yes.lol

 

[VonMagnum]

Clearly, his cat must be more behaved than my Aunt's Siamese. That thing wouldn't be found on the floor very much. It liked to jump up on the countertops, stove, shelves, you name it.

 

[dzzmiller]

What has traditionally been the refresh cycle for Denon/Marantz higher end receivers? I haven't paid attention much over the last couple of years, but it seems to me that the receivers capable of running larger atmos systems are a few years old.

 

[VonMagnum]

The 11-channel models usually refresh every year. The 13-channel models have no prior precedent, really, but I think it will be two full years in a month or two since it was released. I've heard predictions a new model may come out some time next year or if not, announced next year. I would imagine with the new 15.x-channel chipsets, they will want to upgrade their flagships to 15.x. It's hard to imaging 15 channels of amplification on-board, though. They may go to 11 or 13 plus pre-amps for the remaining 2 or 4 channels.

 

[dzzmiller]

Looks like the Marantz SR6014 is newish and has 11 channels pre. Like most people here I have a couple of older amps and receivers I can use to run extra channels. Does it work well on Denon/Marantz to assign the front three channels to an external amplifier? I'm a much more critical stereo listener than being picky about surround sound. It seems to me that offloading amplification of the front channels would benefit these types of receivers.

This is going to be fun going from 3.1 to 7.1.4. Although the theme of this thread is that Atmos sucks, so I'm probably going to be disappointed

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Looks like the Marantz SR6014 is newish and has 11 channels pre. Like most people here I have a couple of older amps and receivers I can use to run extra channels. Does it work well on Denon/Marantz to assign the front three channels to an external amplifier? I'm a much more critical stereo listener than being picky about surround sound. It seems to me that offloading amplification of the front channels would benefit these types of receivers.

This is going to be fun going from 3.1 to 7.1.4. Although the theme of this thread is that Atmos sucks, so I'm probably going to be disappointed

The 6014 will work great. I use a 6012 with LR pre-outs to a Yamaha pro amp. Works great.
And yeah, you’ll be disappointed. I’m so mad every day that went through with it.

 

[Danzilla31]

Looks like the Marantz SR6014 is newish and has 11 channels pre. Like most people here I have a couple of older amps and receivers I can use to run extra channels. Does it work well on Denon/Marantz to assign the front three channels to an external amplifier? I'm a much more critical stereo listener than being picky about surround sound. It seems to me that offloading amplification of the front channels would benefit these types of receivers.

This is going to be fun going from 3.1 to 7.1.4. Although the theme of this thread is that Atmos sucks, so I'm probably going to be disappointed

Hah hah set it up right and disappointed will be the furthest thing from your mind bro