My back surround speakers weren't installed by the book. I found while they offer decent separation of sound effects, creating more zones of surround information, the overall presentation is actually better with just the 1 set of surround speakers. The presentation is better because I can position better for acoustics and spot on clarity of sound effects that place them more precisely in a the sound field. It's hard to explain but sounds better. I never tried these speaker placements to hear this before.
So anyhow, I think I'm going to stick with one set of surround speakers making this a 5.1 system.
Now since I have another set of receiver outputs, I decided to try the Dolby Upfiring speakers. I don't want holes in my ceiling, period, so ceiling speakers aren't happening. So that left front height. That's a no go because I can't get anywhere close to the needed 45 degrees of down firing. With my living room arrangement, I'm at 62 degrees.
So I bought the Elac Debut 2.0 A4.2 Atmos enabled speakers for my system. They can be returned if I don't like them. Well, it's very difficult to explain. The upfiring speakers, just like back surrounds, don't alway play an important role in the sound and seem to just be idle or dublicating the sounds of the speakers by them some times.
What I found on some movies, is that I don't really get sound from above, just a taller front soundstage which is very insignificant. Still hard to tell if there really is a difference. Other movies, it is just very slight ambience that sounds different but is hard to pin point that there is a difference at all. Both of these were on the majority of movies I played, mostly Atmos but a couple of DD+ 5.1 soundtracks. After hearing this, I was ready to send the Atmos upfiring speakers back as they seemed to do very little if anything at all. Until the next movie I tried changed my mind.
What I noticed had the most top Atmos sound was from was the Aquaman, first movie, not second, in the war scenes. Only on this movie did I finally hear distinct sounds coming from above, and to the sides above. It was the only movie that I would say was really noticeable.
So is this to be expected?
Unlike my back surround speakers that weren't positioned ideally, the upfiring speakers were setup exactly by the book with smooth, painted 8' ceiling and the right height of the upfiring speaker, plus with the height difference set (speakers to ceiling) in the receiver, as well as the distance from listening position, and channel levels done with calibrated sound meter, and the such.
If my back surround speakers could be positioned more correctly, where there would be more distance behind me, they would offer the best, surround sound experience over using front upfiring atmos. However as it stands, the Up-Firing speakers make a positive difference on some movies, if barely noticeable on most movies.
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
