Speakers? How many?

[sterling shoote]

My son is remodeling his basement. He's running electrical. I suggested now's the time to run speaker cable. I suggested passive in wall and in-ceiling speakers from JBL, except for the sub which will be a small box active unit. At any rate, how many speakers will be necessary of the in-wall and in-ceiling types to accommodate Dolby Atmos and where would each be placed in a rectangular area.

 

[shadyJ]

Dolby Atmos Home Installation Guide. You are going to want to look at that.
As for how many speakers, well the sky is the limit so long as your budget is also unlimited. It depends on how much you want to spend. In a small room I wouldn't do more than a 9 channel system. In a large room it might be worth moving up to 11 channels if the budget isn't too strict.

 

[sterling shoote]

Thanks for the great suggestion, I downloaded all 43 pages. Your recommendation, I assume, is for a 5.1 installation plus 4 ceiling speakers.

 

[shadyJ]

Thanks for the great suggestion, I downloaded all 43 pages. Your recommendation, I assume, is for a 5.1 installation plus 4 ceiling speakers.

No, I would go for 7.1 over 5.1.4 any day. There are way more sound mixes that use regular 7.1 DTS MA rather than Atmos. Get the bed 7 channels right, and then go for Atmos.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Thanks for the great suggestion, I downloaded all 43 pages. Your recommendation, I assume, is for a 5.1 installation plus 4 ceiling speakers.

I would personally yes. 5.1.4 is much more immersive than 7.1. And it’s the future, with a good catalog of titles already. Not to mention dsu is really good at creating a faux 3d experience with non atmos titles. PLIIx with 7.1 is only half a$$ed IMO/IME. It doesn’t make sense to me to build a brand new room for yesterday’s tech.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I think since wires are pretty cheap, just wire for 7.1.4 and install 4 ceiling speakers (at least 8" speakers, no more than $200 each).

In the long run, he doesn't have to use 7.1.4. He could still just use 5.1.2 if he wanted, but the options are open if he wants to try.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

My room is 22’W x 26’L x 14’H and I’m thinking of doing 5.5.2. So a total of 8 channels for the Main Front 3 + Subs and 4 channels for the Surrounds (2 Rears and 2 Ceilings).

I have my priorities straight.