Should I add Height to this setup?

[William Lemmerhirt]

So I've been wondering about the up firing and reflections and angles, but more theoretically than practically since I am convinced to try down firing first.

The sound comes off the speakers in a diffusion pattern that's more cone like than line like, and it gets further diffused (and reduced in strength as it does) hitting the ceiling. Some part of the sound leaves the speakers at a wide angle and goes straight to the listener. If you need an angle that is is more horizontal (say 60 degrees from horizontal rather than 45 or so you have drawn), a lot of that direct sound hits the listener and less of the reflected. For more "up" angle (say 25 degrees from horizontal) for a close-up seating position, this is minimized, the further the seating position the worse the angle gets.

Are these speakers more directional than most, and so this is not really a factor?

Or is there a sweet spot not just to get the angles right, but to also not be too far away (and so need a sufficiently aligned angle you get too much direct sound)? Too far and the speaker has to angle down toward you too much and you hear it, rather than the reflection?

So if one does this, do you actually use straight lines and equal angle reflections, or is some power diffusion calculation needed to ensure the reflected sound is substantially greater than the direct?

(But that even more supports that people may fail at this by getting the angles wrong).

The way I have it figured is upfiring speakers are like making a bank shot on a pool table. Hit, or MISS! Lol

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

If you can't get in-ceiling, then I think the next best thing is to get very small speakers above/over each end of the sofa.

The question of whether ATMOS is gimmick is irrelevant. Many of us love ATMOS. But there will always be people who don't have ATMOS who will say it is gimmick.

Agree.

 

[TLS Guy]

If you can't get in-ceiling, then I think the next best thing is to get very small speakers above/over each end of the sofa.

The question of whether ATMOS is gimmick is irrelevant. Many of us love ATMOS. But there will always be people who don't have ATMOS who will say it is gimmick.

I don't think it is a gimmick at all. However, it is mainly of use if your primary interest is movies, as it does expand effects, but even more to the point there is a lot of native material. I do not watch a lot of movies. For what I listen to and watch native Atmos material is not prevalent. The number of native Atmos discs is very limited. My major source is the BPO stream. They are now only doing selected concerts in Atmos. The upmixer certainly works to an extent, but not a huge game changer. A well produced Atmos recording is certainly realistic and impressive. At the current time those are not prevalent.

So, if your main interest is movies, then the trouble and investment in Atmos makes some sense, but if not it is somewhat marginal and money better spent improving the bed layer speakers.