I've had Atmos for about 2.5 years. I spent a lot of money on it, had it professionally installed and a lot went wrong. There are things about my setup I can't change such as vaulted ceilings...it's the worse for Atmos...a flat ceiling is the best and then setup as recommended by Dolby. In saying that, I wanted on ceiling Atmos speakers but couldn't find any brackets to hold the speakers the way they needed to be aimed. So we went with the in ceiling speakers which were angled correctly but because they were in the ceiling, there is no room for toeing in the speakers for sound stage purposes. Lots of money spent with results way less than ideal. I'm just now revisiting it again.
Learning from mistakes, I'm starting from scratch again. This time I'm going for on ceiling speakers so they can be placed exactly where they need to be placed and have movement so they can be then aimed exactly where they need to be aimed. With support from the ceiling the placement will now be as if I have a flat ceiling meaning the front speakers will be on a much longer support from the ceiling to match the same level that the rear Atmos speakers are height wise. The rears will be pretty much on the ceiling and as the ceiling travels upwards, the front Atmos speakers will hang from the ceiling from long poles imitating a level flat ceiling placement. The update has been started yesterday and I expect full installment to be finished by mid to late August.
Once this is complete, I will then revisit this Kiss recording with high hopes for a totally different experience. Not with just Kiss, but with other music Atmos discs I have (not very many.) On the other hand, I watch more movies than listen to music and have very many movies with Atmos and can't wait to give some of these a try again.
This time my expectations will be with low expectations with high hopes. I'm told this time around will make a difference...and it should; but we'll see.
If you don't have a flat ceiling, get something to hold the speakers where the ceiling is higher to keep them at the same level as the lower speakers. Angle the speakers towards the listening area like you would any other front speakers to help create a better sound stage.
Also, now there is a Atmos test disc that's $100, sounds expensive but it will show up any faults and areas that will need work to help dial in your Atmos.
