I created a post, but didn't see this one. Would the dolby almost speakers make a good difference on a vaulted ceiling and is it that much better (for someone who is on a tighter budget)? Opinions?
In general, you will see that the people who ACTUALLY have Atmos installed in their houses believe that Atmos offers a SIGNIFICANT enjoyment over regular surround sound (5.1, 7.1, 9.1).
It's one of those things where you have to EXPERIENCE it for yourself to believe.
There are some people who don't actually have Atmos installed in their houses who believe that Atmos is a waste of money. They will try to convince themselves and others that Atmos will somehow fade away, although Atmos has been around for over 6 years now and still growing in numbers.
Some of us may have spent close to $2,000 on ceiling speakers for Atmos.
Some of us may be willing to spend a lot more than that on ceiling speakers for Atmos because we've seen what Atmos can do.
But you don't need to spend more than $200/pair on ceiling speakers for a great Atmos experience and enjoyment.
In my opinion, you can have great enjoyment of Atmos regardless of the ceiling type you have (vaulted or not) or budget.
One significant enjoyment which many of us had not anticipated when we first adopted Atmos/DTSX is the DTS NeuralX UPMIXING ability.
This Upmixing feature (DTS NeuralX and Dolby Surround/DSU) turns almost anything into a surround experience that sounds like Dolby Atmos, even when the original source is regular DD, DTS, or just plain 2-Channel sources!
You can watch regular movies and TV shows (even 2Ch) and then you see some Rain/Storm and you can hear that Rain pouring down from your ceiling speakers!
You see Fireworks on DD/DTS/2Ch movies and then you hear that fireworks from your ceiling speakers! It is so COOL.
There are so many examples of where DTS NeuralX (many of us just call it NeuralX) can take any source and recreate some really cool sounds.
I was watching HBO's "Generation Kill" (older series) some time ago. It's in regular DTS. But when the bullets start flying, I heard it from my ceiling speakers. And then during final 5 minutes of the series when the soldiers were watching footage of the war, Johnny Cash's "The Man Comes Arounds" started playing from the CEILING speakers! It was cool in the moment. It gave me goosebumps and tears of joy.
For music, I used to own many SACD, DVD-A, and DTS-CD for many years. But I have NEVER enjoyed Multi-Channel Music as much as I do now using NeuralX on plain 2Ch CD music!