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The official Dolby Atmos thread (home theater version) – Check out post 1 first

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#1 · (Edited)
Last update: 02.04.2023



Official Dolby Atmos at home website

Dolby on Atmos for the home
Dolby Atmos Speaker Setup
Ceiling-firing speakers ("Atmos-enabled speakers")
http://www.dolby.com/us/en/technologies/dolby-atmos/dolby-atmos-enabled-speaker-technology.pdf
Speaker installation guidelines
http://www.dolby.com/us/en/technolo...tmos-home-theater-installation-guidelines.pdf
If you're more the visual type of guy here's a good video explaining the basics of placing your Atmos speakers:

Insights from a recording and mixing engineer


Technical specification for studios wishing to employ a 7.1.4 home entertainment Dolby Atmos monitoring setup
Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment Studio
Certification Guide


Blog posts
Dolby Atmos: Coming soon to a living room near you - Lab Notes
Dolby Atmos for home theaters: FAQ - Lab Notes


Dolby Patent Application
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/WO2014036085A1.html


Dolby on Atmos for movie theaters
Wayback Machine

Specifications for movie theaters
Wayback Machine


How Atmos content is created
Wayback Machine


How Atmos is encoded into TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus
https://professional.dolby.com/site...on/dolby-atmos/dolby_atmos_renderer_guide.pdf


avsforum.com Members Atmos & Auro Configuration Spreadsheet (at Google Docs, maintained by user kokishin)


Atmos test tone downloads (E-AC-3 audio in .mp4 container)
https://www.dolby.com/us/en/guide/test-tones.html

Other Dolby trailer downloads
 
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#4,341 ·
Thanks. Yes, so long as you are within the required angle specification (30-45 degrees for Front Height) then you can use them in any combination allowed by your AVR. The permitted combinations which Denon are offering are:

Front Height + Top Middle
Front Height + Top Rear
Front Height + Rear Height
Top Front + Top Rear (default)
Top Front + Rear Height
Top Middle + Rear Height

Dolby have now confirmed, and even praised Denon for the fact, that those combinations will all work well.
So that means Dolby Atmos would be possible with neither ceiling speakers nor Dolby Atmos enabled speakers just by using front and rear heights at an angle firing about straight into your direction. This could solve my "low ceiling dilemma" as ceiling height should not matter that much! I wonder how this will sound!

And if the next gen of processor come out and support more channels I buy 4 Dolby Atmos enabled speakers additionally!
 
#4,342 ·
It received a 97% rating among viewers and all of those awards so you must have been in the 3% that didn't like it.
For me too Hollywood Sandra Bullock almost dies, I don't know how many times to miraculously make it then get to that Chinese space station and reenter the atmosphere..
Remember she was tumbling in space out of control screaming and flailing she should have died then.
The sound and video were amazing and that's what got me through it but the content was just too unbelievable..
 
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#4,343 ·
So how do I use this Denon sheet exactly? I calculated that if I would go for installing front heights at between 45 and 30 degrees to the main listening position I would have a distance between 170 and 207 cm as distance between main listening position and ceiling is around 120 cm. Now my main speakers are at about 400 cm distance to the listening position. That means I would have to install the front heights somewhere in the middle between main listening position and main speakers. Are these tboughts correct?
BTW I found a really nice tool to calculate distances from the angles.
Yes, you are correct. In my room, using a 42 degree angle from the MLP, the Top Front or Front Height speakers on the ceiling fall in between the MLP and the front wall, which is perfect.

I just drew a scale rectangle on a piece of paper, using the scale 1mm = 2cm, to represent the room, measured where my ears are in the room and marked them on the diagram and then used my schoolboy protractor to draw a line at the relevant angle until it intersected the ceiling. Easy then to measure the distance from that point to the front wall - and bingo - you have your speaker position. If it isn't quite where you want it, then repeat using any angle in the permitted range for the speaker pair you are concerned with and you are good to go. Then repeat the whole process for the Top rear or Top Middle etc...
 
#4,344 ·
I've been a longtime fan of Yamaha going back decades. My very first 'proper' stereo amplifier was a Yamaha, decades ago. I sold it to a friend in the late '70s and, amazingly, he still uses it to this very day. How's that for build quality?

I only moved away from Yamaha with the advent of AV units because I attach so much importance to Audyssey's XT32 in my system. I am sure that if Yamaha had XT32, it would be my go-to brand. I am not all that familiar with the latest version of YPAO but I understand that it is much improved over earlier incarnations. Add that to the ability to measure speaker locations (if this comes off) and Yamaha might just be coming back on to the radar of a lot of people.
My first Dolby surround unit was also from Yamaha in the early nineties. Then I moved to Lexicon but they have just become too slow so I am looking into Yamaha again. I am going to the IFA in Berlin in three weeks where Yamaha apperently will announce /demonstrate a CX A5000 sucessor which will have Dolby Atmos!
 
#4,345 · (Edited)
So that means Dolby Atmos would be possible with neither ceiling speakers nor Dolby Atmos enabled speakers just by using front and rear heights at an angle firing about straight into your direction. This could solve my "low ceiling dilemma" as ceiling height should not matter that much! I wonder how this will sound!

And if the next gen of processor come out and support more channels I buy 4 Dolby Atmos enabled speakers additionally!
In Denons at least, and supported by Dolby for Atmos, you can use Front Height and Rear Height speakers so long as they comply with the angles to the listening ears which are laid down in the specs (see the oft-posted diagram).

Both FilmMixer and myself have recently commented that this configuration might not be as effective as overhead speakers, but neither of us has currently heard such a configuration so we could be surprised. And Dolby specifically support that configuration so it must be, at the very least, a reasonable way to go or, presumably, it would not be a supported configuration. In my reply to this specific question (see my report) Stephen from Dolby said that while they (Dolby) are recommending a 'standard' configuration (using Top Front, Top Middle and Top Rear in 5/7.1.2 or 5/7.1.4 configurations) they also allow for the full Atmos experience with other configurations and indeed he commended Denon for making these other configurations available.

In your case, with your room, the configuration you are considering might be less than ideal, but still much better than no Atmos at all. I wish you well with it and would love to read a report of how it sounds if you do go that way.
 
#4,348 ·
For me too Hollywood Sandra Bullock almost dies, I don't know how many times to miraculously make it then get to that Chinese space station and reenter the atmosphere..
Remember she was tumbling in space out of control screaming and flailing she should have died then.
The sound and video were amazing and that's what got me through it but the content was just too unbelievable..
'Believability' isn't a requirement for my enjoyment of a movie. How else would I enjoy Marvel Comic Universe movies, for example, or The Hobbit and thousands of others where a suspension of disbelief is not just desired but mandated? Suspension of disbelief requires that you accept that she did NOT die (in the movie) when hurtling through space, just as you accept in Superman that a man can fly. It is absolutely 'unbelievable' that a man can fly but we suspend that disbelief to allow ourselves to be entertained. Similarly, in, for example, Skyfall, it is 'unbelievable' that an MI6 agent and a foreign agent can engage in hand to hand combat on a moving train in the way they do, but we can still enjoy that part of the movie immensely thanks to this ability to suspend disbelief when watching a play or a movie.
 
#4,349 · (Edited)
I have had yamaha and denon for years then I tried onkyo I love my TX-NR 818 has been a workhorse I have it hooked up to 11 speakers and two subs the 818 can only do 9.2 I use a amp to drive my wides I rarely use my back speakers mostly use just the 9 speakers from the front highs to the surrounds.
I just replaced my TX-NR 616 in the den with a TX-NR 737 and once the atmos firmware update comes out hopefully next month. I'll have it run 5.2.2 with ceiling speakers top middle. I got the 737 at a good price and I was very curious about Accu-EQ I just don't believe how it's that horrible it's made out to be, I've always loved Audyssey XT32. But I wanted just too see what Accu-EQ was all about I won't bad mouth it till I have first hand use of it.
 
#4,350 ·
Me too - for synthesizers.... :D

I guess they have had too many syntheics hall/concert modes for meto pay attention
But you don't have to use them. I'd say more than half the features on my Onkyo 5509 have never been used (by me).
 
#4,351 ·
Just don't be surprised when speakers in front of you and behind you don't sound like they're above you.
Yes, it's a stretch to imagine that they would isn’t it? But not as big a stretch, perhaps, as speakers which fire at the ceiling and reflect sound of it will sound as good (better than?) as speakers physically mounted above you. :) It's a Dolby-supported configuration so it must work in at least some capacity with Atmos. Maybe better than no Atmos at all? I’d love to see the OP try it and report back.
 
#4,352 ·
I was very curious about Accu-EQ I just don't believe how it's that horrible.
I shall look forward to you report on that! In the comparative test I saw somewhere, AccuEQ didn't actually seem to do anything worthwhile at all (based on measurements).
 
#4,353 ·
Just don't be surprised when speakers in front of you and behind you don't sound like they're above you.
I can test that out easily! As top front and topheight have an overlapping angle (same for top rear and rear height) I can aim tbem a) at the listener, b) directly to the ground and (a) and b) from the same position) c) get myself four Atmos enabled speakers and compare these three setups I should find the best for my room with an overseeable workload. :cool:
 
#4,354 ·
I loved everything about it. I found it to be one of the most involving, immersive movie experiences of the year. I was on the edge of my seat half of the running time. The incredible sound and visuals perfectly complemented the story IMO. And to hear it in Atmos... well....

I totally agree!:)
The first time I saw it in the theater, there were only 6 people in this huge theater. When the movie started, about 30 minutes into it, I realized that I hadn't moved once. I was mesmerized by the cinematography and the sound track. The second time I saw it, I was able to look around the screen, checking out the details. As far as the plot, it's just a story. Anyway, back to the topic on hand, I just installed the new Pioneer Elite Dolby ATMOS speakers designed by Andrew Jones in my home theater and connected the speakers to the new Denon AVR-X5200W. After watching Matrix and Avatar in Dolby ATMOS I am really impressed. Looking forward to some of the new releases of other blockbuster movies. Fade to black - just kidding. Hopefully in a few months after the announcements in Denver.

:D
 
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#4,356 ·
In the cinema but not, AFAIK, at home. At home, typical screen widths would make it less useful than in a cinema where the screens are so much wider.

Dolby may have allowed for it in the home Atmos spec, but the real question is whether any AVR manufacturers will enable it as an option. So far, none of the mainstream manufacturers has.
If you look carefully at the Trinnov speaker layout on their website, they show a diagram with five screen speakers (I think that's why they have 32 outputs rather than the maximum of 34). The diagram that Dolby shows in their white paper actually shows seven are supported. That's way overkill for most home theater screen installations... that's even too much for many cinema screens.
 
#4,358 ·
I've been a longtime fan of Yamaha going back decades. My very first 'proper' stereo amplifier was a Yamaha, decades ago. I sold it to a friend in the late '70s and, amazingly, he still uses it to this very day. How's that for build quality?

I only moved away from Yamaha with the advent of AV units because I attach so much importance to Audyssey's XT32 in my system. I am sure that if Yamaha had XT32, it would be my go-to brand. I am not all that familiar with the latest version of YPAO but I understand that it is much improved over earlier incarnations. Add that to the ability to measure speaker locations (if this comes off) and Yamaha might just be coming back on to the radar of a lot of people.
Can Yamaha do wide like DTS NEOX?
 
#4,359 ·
Yes, it's a stretch to imagine that they would isn’t it? But not as big a stretch, perhaps, as speakers which fire at the ceiling and reflect sound of it will sound as good (better than?) as speakers physically mounted above you.
Sure, maybe Dolby has a similar feature they haven't revealed yet that can turn a tall soundstage into overhead imaging. That would be as nice a surprise as their upward firing speakers.
It's a Dolby-supported configuration so it must work in at least some capacity with Atmos. Maybe better than no Atmos at all?
Better than no Atmos at all, but I can't pretend that a tall soundstage sounds like overhead imaging. Folks will have to decide for themselves which of the two comes closer to the intent of Atmos.
 
#4,360 ·
My first Dolby surround unit was also from Yamaha in the early nineties. Then I moved to Lexicon but they have just become too slow so I am looking into Yamaha again. I am going to the IFA in Berlin in three weeks where Yamaha apperently will announce /demonstrate a CX A5000 sucessor which will have Dolby Atmos!
Interesting really taht would be good hopefully they will have DTS NEOX as well!
 
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