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Dolby ATMOS

31K views 76 replies 20 participants last post by  maritimer555 
#1 ·
Hello friends, I have recently seen some AV receivers have starting appearing in the market with Dolby ATMOS. Is it really worhwhile to look for this technology for your home theater environment?
I will appreciate your advice.
 
#2 ·
I'd wait but then I've never been an early adopter. In this case my reasons to wait and see are as follows
1. How many movies that I want to see/own are going to be released with Dolby Atmos tracks. If like 3D has become, Atmos becomes just a gimmick in kids' films, forget it.
2. Does DTS have a similar technology in the works? I once had a receiver that could play Dolby Digital but not the DTS equivalent. It made almost every movie purchase a challenge. Never again.
3. Atmos is currently a first generation product. It will get better with time and the price of the equipment (which does include the need for additional speakers) will come down.
4. Lastly there's the WAF to think about. I'm not sure that at the moment I could sell her on even more speakers than our current 7.1 system. That will take time.

So I would wait for now.
 
#21 ·
I'd wait but then I've never been an early adopter. In this case my reasons to wait and see are as follows

2. Does DTS have a similar technology in the works? I once had a receiver that could play Dolby Digital but not the DTS equivalent. It made almost every movie purchase a challenge. Never again.
Christmas Eve I purchased a new receiver and speakers but upon reading about the new DTS:X format. I returned the unopened boxes as I waited for CES before opening. DTS:X will need a hardware upgrade so I will wait till the fall when the new Onkyo receivers will be out.

DTS:X I suspect will be popular on BR as DTS is now.
 
#3 ·
I agree. Instead of getting an ATMOS receiver, I would go for either a 7.1 or 9.2. Chances are the 7.1 would support the 9.2. Of what I heard, the extra $ isn't worth it. Search for it and you will find unimpressed first buyers.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for your advice. It is too early to jump into this technology. I was reading about it on Future shop website, you don't need any specially coded Blu-ray disks. All you have to do is set your Blu-ray player/ Game Console to PCM audio and the rest will be done by the new Dolby ATMOS enabled receiver.
 
#5 ·
Does DTS have a similar technology in the works? I once had a receiver that could play Dolby Digital but not the DTS equivalent. It made almost every movie purchase a challenge. Never again.
Yeah, I am currently looking to replace my current receiver exactly for this. I'm still rocking a Kenwood VR-307 that I've had for a little over 15 years now. I just wish the damn thing would die so that it would be easier to convince the wife to change it.

I don't know however if missing Atmos is as significant as missing DTS. At least, I know for me DTS is definatly a must on my next purchase (I don't think its possible to get one without DTS anyways) but I really coudn't care less about Atmos as I know I'm not in the market to change my speakers yet. As long as it can be downscaled to either regular DD or DTS so that I can still get 5.1 sound.
 
#6 ·
I am also in the market for a new receiver and Dolby ATMOS is on my short list.

Onkyo is currently offering this feature on their 7.2 channel TX-NR636 and TX-NR737 receivers together with 4K up-scaling and HDMI 2.0 with HDCP 2.2 compatibility. These units are within my price range. Onkyo also offers 9.2 and 11.2 capabilities on their more expensive units if interested.
 
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
You can use new speakers that beam object-oriented sounds off your ceilings. You don't need to mount speakers in the ceiling.
 
#10 ·
I have not seen any setup at any store with Dolby ATMOS yet, so no idea how it sounds with ceiling reflection of the sound. I have some reviews of the people who who Denon receivers and they were quite happy. Last night we watched "Transformers - Age of Extinction" on Blue-ray. this move is in Dolby ATMOS. SInce I don't have ATMOS receiver so it played this movie in DTS-TrueHD.
 
#11 ·
Listened to a Dolby Atmos speaker set up with a Pioneer receiver at Magnolia in the BB Galleria Mall in Buffalo.

Was not impressed. Thought the Pioneer speakers with those dual forward/upward speaker design would do the job. Well it didn't.

Don't want to write off Dolby Atmos yet as I want to give them another chance but I hope I can find a set up in Toronto where everything works.

I'm thinking that to get it really to work properly you need ceiling mounted speakers and not upward firing speakers. We will see.
 
#12 ·
Thought the Pioneer speakers with those dual forward/upward speaker design would do the job. Well it didn't.
It's extremely important that this sort of speaker be wired properly and that the setup in the AVR is done properly. In a recent optimization I performed, the AVR was set up to send "rear" speaker audio to the "upward" speaker (these were for the "height" speakers in my particular instance). Obviously a less than ideal situation. The wiring or setup may have been incorrect in the installation you viewed. This stuff is not so easy to set up, even with the "auto speaker setup" if the AVR is configured incorrectly... Need to pay particular attention to the setup for rear or zone, etc. speakers
 
#13 ·
I agree with 57. Many a times I have been in specialty audio/video shops where their amplifier wasn't set right or on the wrong setting. Never wanted to be served by pushy salesperson when they wouldn't take constructive criticism when I would tell them that the sound coming out didn't seem right.

I'm no specialist but my ears don't lie to me on purpose. :)
 
#14 ·
Well I ended up buying the Denon x4100 and the Onkyo Skh-410 atmos modules.

Man what a difference in my theater. We had my wife's family over and watched Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol in DSU and in one scene there was a knock on the door behind us and everyone turned their heads. Made it worthwhile for me right there!!
 
#15 ·
#16 ·
Yes my system is a 5.1.2 system. I am totally aware of Atmos and how it works and how to set it up.

The Knock sounded like it came from outside my theatre. To go along with the sandstorm scene in that movie that enveloped all around us.

All I am saying is that DSU and Atmos is the best money I have spent on my Theatre since I built it. It is a game changer as far as Immersive sound is concerned
 
#17 ·
But have you actually watched a BD with an Atmos soundtrack? If not then any 5.1 receiver would give you the same surround effect. Atmos is not a simulation effect like Dolby Pro Logic. It requires a soundtrack with dedicated Atmos height encoding to produce its effect. It does nothing to enhance standard soundtracks.
 
#18 · (Edited by Moderator)
But have you actually watched a BD with an Atmos soundtrack?
Yes I have!!

Transformers 4 is an Atmos BD and it is just ok as far as utilizing the Atmos channels.

DSU (Dolby Surround Upmixer) is the simulation effect that comes with my Denon x4100 Receiver. This DSU is the game changer.

I now get to enjoy all my old BD's in DSU and man does it do a fantastic job of simulating Atmos.

The Atmos-Sphere in my theatre is nothing short of AWESOME.

I am actually watching Skyfall at this very minute and DSU has been doing a great job so far of simulating an Atmos track.
 
#19 ·
@jgourlie: All right. You are quite enthused with your DSU which simulates Atmos. Since it's from Denon I'm not surprised. However this forum is about Dolby Atmos. You don't seem too impressed with Atmos after watching Trans4. Maybe all we all really need is the DSU since you refer to it as the "game changer" not Atmos.
 
#20 · (Edited by Moderator)
I just don't think that the sound engineers have really caught on with how to fully utilize Atmos.

It has only been out for a few months. I know the movie titles will get better as time goes on. One of the problems of being an early adopter I guess.

In the mean time DSU has allowed me to re-watch all my old bluray's over again and it's like I am seeing the movies again for the first time. I will be more excited about Atmos movie titles as they are released.

Until then DSU has me totally satisfied with my $$$$$ investment into Atmos
 
#22 · (Edited by Moderator)
Boodaddy I think you are really missing out.

You could be enjoying 3D Sound for the next year before DTS:X finally get's their act together and launches their product. They are so late to the game.

I am not sure how DTS:X will pan out as most of the cinematic releases are in Atmos, playing in Atmos theatres so I am not quite sure that Dts will catch on in BR because the movie was originally in Atmos.

Although it is of course a wait and see game at this point.

3D sound has really changed how I enjoy movies in my home theatre. It really is an amazing experience!
 
#23 ·
I didn't see too many Atmos releases coming and I also returned a TV (again waiting for CES). After ordering the Onkyo 838 I realized I could not expand my home theatre with this product and needed the 1030. Once reading about DTS:X and confirming with Onkyo it would not be a firmware update for DTS:X I figured it would be good to let the dust settle till the 1030 successor appears and I can properly add to the HT.
The experience is what I am after. Now I can wait till the specs come out and plan properly instead of on Christmas Eve.
jgourlie, glad you are enjoying the 3D sound. That is what I want.
 
#24 ·
@boodaddy: You are doing the right thing by waiting. Around 2001 I jumped at a Dolby Digital only 5.1 receiver. It worked fine of course but within a half year DTS began to appear and to my dismay movie after movie came out with a DTS track which I couldn't play as well as a DD track. Before long some films were carrying only DTS and to add insult to injury it was DTS not DD that became the soundtrack of choice for most home theatre enthusiasts. I had to wait until 2005 before buying a receiver capable of playing DTS. I made sure in 2011 when I went to lossless sound that my receiver could -play both Dolby True HD and DTS-MA. As for ATMOS, I'm on the fence. I'm not sure I want to add any more speakers to my system. There's also the WAF to consider.
 
#26 ·
I just finished watching TMNT in Dolby Atmos this evening and I wanted to give a report. Not only was it a better movie then Transformers but the Atmos sound bed was very impressive in this movie. I think some people believe that the main benefit is the added height of the sound, But I feel that Atmos adds something a little different on top of the height feature.

Atmos has the ability to add specific sounds to the mix. It may be hard to explain clearly, but for example the villain would throw knives and you could follow the knife around the room up/down/side to side. I think this is where Atmos really shines. Yes the sounds going above your head is cool. But to me it's the discrete sounds travelling across the room that truly impresses me. I don't want you to think that it's just going speaker to speaker, that's not how it sounds, it's like the object is actually travelling through space inside my theatre.

Very Very cool.

Like I said earlier. This is a game changer for home cinema!!
 
#27 ·
Thanks for your feedback. Next year when I upgrade my receiver, atmos will be on the top of the list features. The other feature I would definitely consider is airplay. It is so easy to connect your Apple devices wireless with your avr.
 
#29 ·
I definitely think that Atmos will get better as it is incorporated in more films.

But I guess the part that I like most is that you don't even really need an Atmos movie because of DSU as I have said before. That is the benefit of purchasing an Atmos enabled receiver is that you get DSU included.

Last night was another great example. My wife and I were watching "The Hundred Foot Journey" and at one point of the movie there was faint rain outside of the restaurant the characters were in. I looked at my wife and said It's raining outside, fully believing that it was raining on my home, not in the movie. Then within a few seconds the characters went outside and it was pouring rain.

For a few seconds I felt dumb, then I just smiled and said to myself DSU in my Atmos enabled receiver you got me again!!
 
#30 · (Edited by Moderator)
jgourlie, how high is your ceiling? Are you using 2 or 4 of the 410s? How is your Amp Assign set up?

I have the same setup as you; Denon 4100 and Onkyo 410 atmos to accompany my Pioneer surround speakers. My setup is in a basement recroom with 7' 2" ceiling. I'm having a hard time getting the full effect.
> on top of my front L/R towers (~ 12' from my seating position), I hear nothing above me even after I raise the gains.
> I put them on the floor beside the mains. Now I hear it a little, but I also hear directly from the speakers as well.
> I raise them to just about my ear level. I hear less above me but nothing directly from the speaker.
> I bring them closer to me. I hear more above me. Still nothing directly from them.
> Closer still and I hear from them directly.
> The sweet spot seems to be 4 feet closer to me and just above my ear level.

I'm close to buying some cheap ceiling or outdoor (can be ceiling hung) to try instead.
 
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