Poll: What's your current Atmos speaker layout?

[ar surround]

All of my speakers are the same, Mordaunt short Genie’s, in a 5.1.2 system and it sounds amazing, if I ever get the opportunity to move to 5.1.4 i’d be looking for another pair of the same, I bought them 2nd hand but they’re the best (and most expensive new) i’ve ever had

Madscot, I think that your setup philosophy is absolutely ideal! I’ve been considering installing a standalone Atmos system in its own room. ( But it would probably be the tool shed because that’s where I’d be living after my wife banishes me from the house.)

I encourage you to snag another used pair of those Genie’s as soon as you have the funds.

 

[marpow]

Do your speakers have any type of attenuation switches for the upper range drivers?

NO, feel free to PM, I'm actually gonna leave now, but will be back this afternoon.

Regarding positioning, in addition to bringing them further out into the room, have you tried moving them in from the side walls as well? I believe I recall you stating that your room is only 12 x 14 feet, so that may be difficult.

Picture, toed in, isolators as feet, have moved them all around, switched places with subs, forward, backward, not toed in, I could go on and on.

 

[paligap]

I listen to everything in 4.0.

Good for you, but I don't understand why someone who doesn't listen to anything in Atmos would bother to comment in a thread about Atmos speaker layouts.

 

[par4ken]

Good for you, but I don't understand why someone who doesn't listen to anything in Atmos would bother to comment in a thread about Atmos speaker layouts.

Because there is a poll. The closest selection option there is 5.1 or 7.1 system. The other option is other! Am I not allowed to voice my opinion? Is my opinion less important than someone who selects headphones or soundbar? A few here think that they need to keep challenging me on my choice!

And I do also vote on Atmos Blu-rays, based on the 5.1 mix or the Atmos downmix if no separate 5.1 is present!

My Mono, Stereo, Quad, 5.1 and Atmos speaker layout is always the same 4.0! Why is it that some of you are not willing to accept that?

 

[madscot]

Madscot, I think that your setup philosophy is absolutely ideal! I’ve been considering installing a standalone Atmos system in its own room. ( But it would probably be the tool shed because that’s where I’d be living after my wife banishes me from the house.)

I encourage you to snag another used pair of those Genie’s as soon as you have the funds.

My mate bought a full set the same as mine after hearing them, I then saw a single speaker on ebay and purchased it in case one of ours goes wrong, it is safely boxed in a cupboard. I have only seen some without the stand since which is no use if we move up to 5.1.4

 

[Ranasakawa]

For whatever reason, I never had 7 base speakers until I got into Atmos. So in case of my 7.1.4 setup I can def tell a difference in sound vs 5.1.2 or 5.1.4.
Are you using one of your AVR's upmix functions to go from 5.1 to 7.1?

Good question

My AVR is a Yamaha and I have set it up for 7.1 using the speaker settings. I will check it out again

 

[mandrix]

Because there is a poll. The closest selection option there is 5.1 or 7.1 system. The other option is other! Am I not allowed to voice my opinion? Is my opinion less important than someone who selects headphones or soundbar? A few here think that they need to keep challenging me on my choice!

And I do also vote on Atmos Blu-rays, based on the 5.1 mix or the Atmos downmix if no separate 5.1 is present!

My Mono, Stereo, Quad, 5.1 and Atmos speaker layout is always the same 4.0! Why is it that some of you are not willing to accept that?

Easy guy. No one cares if everything you listen to is on a quad system. But you make comments about speaker placement and such with never having heard a properly set up system with overhead speakers and dismiss it offhand as not being worthy. You are certainly entitled to your opinions. However you keep indicating to all of us that beyond quad, or a 5.1.2/5.1.4/7.1.4 or > is not worth doing when you yourself have never heard it.
So we are all wrong and you are right just because you prefer to have only 4 speakers? You can justify your preference all you like to yourself, but those of us that have truly immersive sound systems and the right content are usually pretty happy we made that leap.

 

[paligap]

Because there is a poll. The closest selection option there is 5.1 or 7.1 system. The other option is other! Am I not allowed to voice my opinion? Is my opinion less important than someone who selects headphones or soundbar? A few here think that they need to keep challenging me on my choice!

And I do also vote on Atmos Blu-rays, based on the 5.1 mix or the Atmos downmix if no separate 5.1 is present!

My Mono, Stereo, Quad, 5.1 and Atmos speaker layout is always the same 4.0! Why is it that some of you are not willing to accept that?

Fair enough. I guess I never noticed the options about listening on 5.1, 7.1, or headphones. I actually voted "Other" because I have two subs in one system and four subs in another.

 

[ar surround]

NO, feel free to PM, I'm actually gonna leave now, but will be back this afternoon.

Picture, toed in, isolators as feet, have moved them all around, switched places with subs, forward, backward, not toed in, I could go on and on.
View attachment 99804

How far is your head from that center speaker? And what is the distance between those B&W mains?

When listening to stereo, you might want to try sitting in a chair that is closer to those mains. That may give you the results with stereo sources that you are looking for.

 

[mrcond]

My thoughts (stereo listening) on my current B&W fronts, sonically they are great, good detail, where they sit, postion, etc a great triangle to my sitting area. I have done this and that, moved them here and there, way over focused, makes me sick when I think how OCD I can be at times.
There are two things that bug me, they are on the bright side, I have Tinitus, so really bright sounds bug me, like a singer or a guitar going to a top end bugs me.

Agree that B&Ws can sound bright if the mastering isn't good. As @ar surround noted, brightness is the trade-off for providing excellent detail. So really well-recorded tunes (Steely Dan, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Stevie Ray Vaughan etc. not to mention all the usual cast of audiophile favorites) sound fantastic, while really compressed or brickwalled material does not fare well - so bad, in fact, that I avoid brickwalled recordings at all cost on my main system and save them for the car or computer.

For my stereo fronts I have the Mcintosh 2 channel C1 100 preamp and the 2 channel MC452 amp, no lack of power.

I'm jealous!

I wonder if you could improve your sound with some EQ. I don't have any experience with that though, so not really sure what is available.

But if you are determined to get new front speakers and move the B&Ws to the rear, that should work great, as I am sure any brightness issues will be far less noticeable in the rear channels than in the fronts. You would, of course, have to figure out what amp drives what channels in that kind of a setup though. I'm not sure if driving the B&Ws in the rear with standard AVR amps would be ideal, but again, since they aren't doing the bulk of the work in most surround mixes, it may be just fine.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Because there is a poll. The closest selection option there is 5.1 or 7.1 system. The other option is other! Am I not allowed to voice my opinion? Is my opinion less important than someone who selects headphones or soundbar? A few here think that they need to keep challenging me on my choice!

And I do also vote on Atmos Blu-rays, based on the 5.1 mix or the Atmos downmix if no separate 5.1 is present!

My Mono, Stereo, Quad, 5.1 and Atmos speaker layout is always the same 4.0! Why is it that some of you are not willing to accept that?

At this time I see the 5.1/7.1 category just a few votes ahead of the most popular ATMOS category of 7.1.4. For all the buzz about ATMOS I'me surprised that it's this close.

Sure I can listen to 4.0 but I can also do 5.1 for movies mostly & I like that choice. I really found my sweet spot on my set up and am very happy with it. I might consider ATMOS if I was 30 years younger & had time for the investment to enjoy. But I still support & will buy ATMOS releases because so far I'm very happy how they play back in 5.1.

 

[zdjh22]

Sure I can listen to 4.0 but I can also do 5.1 for movies mostly & I like that choice. I really found my sweet spot on my set up and am very happy with it. I might consider ATMOS if I was 30 years younger & had time for the investment to enjoy. But I still support & will buy ATMOS releases because so far I'm very happy how they play back in 5.1.

My system was built up over many years, and was started for watching Dolby surround TV (Twin Peaks was the first as I recall) and then movies. I missed out on quad and my only 5.1 music albums were concert DVDs. As I recall they sounded much better with Dolby ProLogic - makes me miss my old Sunfire Ultimate AVR.

What drives me nuts now on my physical system is that my Denon won’t use my rear speakers for 4.0, only my side surrounds. There are some albums, for example the E. Power Biggs Bach organ pieces from the church in Germany with an organ in each physical corner, that are meant for rear surrounds.

Of the media in my Atmos collection, there are few that really demand more than 5.1. But it’s nice to have the option for those that benefit.

 

[HomerJAU]

I actually voted "Other" because I have two subs in one system and four subs in another.

I have 2 subs in a 7.1.4 system and voted ‘7.1.4’ because in home Atmos there is only 1 LFE channel. Any additional subs are just duplicates of the source LFE channel.

 

[marpow]

How far is your head from that center speaker? And what is the distance between those B&W mains?

When listening to stereo, you might want to try sitting in a chair that is closer to those mains. That may give you the results with stereo sources that you are looking for.

I live in a perfect triangle, 7' between right and left. 7' from center to head.
Don't forget I have studied this for years.
It is possible that my gut is right and my listening ability has grown, but my speakers have not, hate to say it that way.
As a member of QQ I get so much experience from others and I hope to help, especially the beginners.
The biggest draw back is we are not able to go on tours of listening systems.
Speaking for myself there are a few stores in the area, everyone wants to sell you more than what you ask for, or go to online purchases, even though many have 30-60 day return, some restocking fee, some not, but seems like such a hassel, plus you have to account for 300 to 400 hours breaking in.
I'm luck because I have a dedicated room and my wife now says zero, but when I was down stairs she had plenty to say.

I am listening now to Bobby Blue Bland, Dreamer in stereo, and my first glass of Jack Daniels Single Barrel and my stereo speakers sound great at 62db, go figure

 

[HomerJAU]

What drives me nuts now on my physical system is that my Denon won’t use my rear speakers for 4.0, only my side surrounds.

There are some reports on QQ indicating changing the channel map of quad files will reroute to rears in a 7.1 system. Have your tried that?

 

[marpow]

Agree that B&Ws can sound bright if the mastering isn't good. As @ar surround noted, brightness is the trade-off for providing excellent detail. So really well-recorded tunes (Steely Dan, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Stevie Ray Vaughan etc. not to mention all the usual cast of audiophile favorites) sound fantastic, while really compressed or brickwalled material does not fare well - so bad, in fact, that I avoid brickwalled recordings at all cost on my main system and save them for the car or computer.

I'm jealous!

I wonder if you could improve your sound with some EQ. I don't have any experience with that though, so not really sure what is available.

But if you are determined to get new front speakers and move the B&Ws to the rear, that should work great, as I am sure any brightness issues will be far less noticeable in the rear channels than in the fronts. You would, of course, have to figure out what amp drives what channels in that kind of a setup though. I'm not sure if driving the B&Ws in the rear with standard AVR amps would be ideal, but again, since they aren't doing the bulk of the work in most surround mixes, it may be just fine.

Yeah, I figured on hiring a professinal with a multi Mic DIRAC , but speaking of brickwalls, I sometimes hit a brickwall on things I can do, cuz the audiophile rabbit hole can make me crazy and the stress is not worth it. Risk vs Reward.
I have a 3 channel amp for center and two rears and I have a 4 channel amp for the 4 heights, I would likely buy a low to mid range, not a McIntosh to amp the what would be the two side speakers. It would have to be trigger capable to fire when the others fire.

Thanks both to you and AR acknowledging the brightness and detail of B&W's they where good scenarios as to the brightness is a sign of good detail but the brightness can also be a hinderance to someone like me, with the tinitus. Funny I can literally hear a pin drop, but brightness bugs me. I have had two hearing tests and they both prove that am suspect to high frequencys.
The doctor told me that when ears become subject to tinitus it is the brain/ear trying to make the defect normal, therefore the ringing.

 

[par4ken]

What drives me nuts now on my physical system is that my Denon won’t use my rear speakers for 4.0, only my side surrounds.

I found that same issue with my Oppo BDP103 as well. I have to use the side surround outputs as the back. It should be a simple matter for an AVR or a player (with analogue outputs) to be set up either way. With one set of speakers side or back sound should always be routed to whichever one is selected.

A work around would be to install a speaker switch so that you could swap speakers around. More thought should be placed in the development of this type of equipment not the one size (industry determined size) fits all. Playback options should be fully user programmable, and dependant on the source ie 4.0 vs Atmos.

Additionally when ripping (4.0/5.1) discs some produce back channel outputs and other side. In another thread I rant a bit about that, I was scratching my head for awhile as my computer is set to play back channels while some rips were coded as sides! Oddly everything (side or back) wants to play via the side outputs of the Oppo.

Note: I might have set my Oppo's up for side speakers when the back didn't work; both side and back 4.0 coded files now play, via the side outputs. SACD in DSD mode can not be remapped, that must have been the source of my side vs back problem, ultimately requiring the use of the side outputs.

 

[paligap]

I have 2 subs in a 7.1.4 system and voted ‘7.1.4’ because in home Atmos there is only 1 LFE channel. Any additional subs are just duplicates of the source LFE channel.

Okay, I changed my vote to 5.1.4. Were the vote choices about listening on non-Atmos systems originally included in the poll, or were they added after some members began indicating they listened to Atmos on non-Atmos systems? I'm not challenging anybody or anything; I'm just curious.

 

[ar surround]

I live in a perfect triangle, 7' between right and left. 7' from center to head.
Don't forget I have studied this for years.

You should be getting excellent stereo imaging, depth, sound stage, etc with that configuration.

So the next question is, are those bass traps doing something to your room response other than smoothing out the bass? I would think not, but stranger things have happened.

 

[mandrix]

My system was built up over many years, and was started for watching Dolby surround TV (Twin Peaks was the first as I recall) and then movies. I missed out on quad and my only 5.1 music albums were concert DVDs. As I recall they sounded much better with Dolby ProLogic - makes me miss my old Sunfire Ultimate AVR.

What drives me nuts now on my physical system is that my Denon won’t use my rear speakers for 4.0, only my side surrounds. There are some albums, for example the E. Power Biggs Bach organ pieces from the church in Germany with an organ in each physical corner, that are meant for rear surrounds.

Of the media in my Atmos collection, there are few that really demand more than 5.1. But it’s nice to have the option for those that benefit.

Yeah I was pondering this today. I had listened to a 5.1 flac file and it had the sound coming from the surround back speakers. Then I listened to the DVDA of PT's Fear of a Blank Planet (with foobar both listens) and the surround speakers carried the sound. Madness. lol.