Hi everyone,
I'm currently upgrading my Home Cinema setup from 5.1.2 to 5.1.4. My bed layer consists of SVS speakers, and for the 4 height/Atmos channels, I’m using Cambridge Audio Minx 22s.
My room is quite small: I sit less than 2 meters away from the TV, and the back wall is right behind the sofa. I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by the different naming conventions and placement options: Front Height, Top Front, Dolby Front, etc.
My main question is: Where should I physically place them and how should I label them in my AVR settings to get a "true" Atmos experience?
Here is my current layout:
- Fronts (L-C-R): They are placed slightly forward, ahead of the TV line.
- Surrounds: They are about 30cm behind my seating position, so they aren't strictly "Rear Surrounds."
My initial idea was:
- Fronts: Set them as "Front Height" (mounted on the front wall, near the ceiling).
- Rears: Set them as "Top Rear" (mounted on the ceiling, as close to the back wall as possible, roughly in line with the surrounds).
However, after watching several videos, I'm more confused than ever. It seems the front Atmos speakers should be between 30° and 55° from my listening position, rather than on the front wall. But when I look at the angles, I run into these issues:
- Option C (Diagram): The "ideal" manual placement. But they feel too close to my head and too close to the rear heights.
- Option B (Diagram): They end up directly above my front SVS speakers. I’ve heard this is a bad idea for sound separation.
- Option A (Diagram): If I move them further away (closer to the TV), they end up behind the front speakers line. People say this might ruin the Atmos effect.
I’ve attached a diagram of my setup.
1-->Front speaker line
2-->Surrounds
3-->Top Rear or Rear Height?
Any advice or clarification on where to mount them and how to name them in the Marantz settings would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
