Dolby atmos decoder?

sansuibutch

Super Member
I want to put together a 9.1 speaker setup in my theater room. There is no chance I'm going to purchase one of these high dollar atmos receivers. Did Dolby make a decoder for the atmos? Is ther any other options that come to mind? Thanx
 
Dolby or DTS for that matter, do not make decoders for the consumer market. What do you consider high dollar?
 
Dolby or DTS for that matter, do not make decoders for the consumer market. What do you consider high dollar?

Most of the receivers I see that fit the bill are around $2500. I would consider that high dollar for a receiver that will be outdated in 2 years and has more options that il never use or care to use.
 

Exactly...i read the features on these and It must be in some other language. I can't understand 98% of it. I don't know who can possibly use all the features. It's just to confusing for me. I'd just stack a few amps and wire the decoder to the inputs via rca and voila. Maybe that's why they don't sell decoders. To busy trying to push these receivers with days worth of menu settings and confuse people with the worthless to me features.
 
Most of the receivers I see that fit the bill are around $2500. I would consider that high dollar for a receiver that will be outdated in 2 years and has more options that il never use or care to use.
State your budget.. this could narrow down the suggestions.
 
Exactly...i read the features on these and It must be in some other language. I can't understand 98% of it. I don't know who can possibly use all the features. It's just to confusing for me. I'd just stack a few amps and wire the decoder to the inputs via rca and voila. Maybe that's why they don't sell decoders. To busy trying to push these receivers with days worth of menu settings and confuse people with the worthless to me features.
No, you can purchase a preamp/processor if you have the amps.
 
Yeah, one can buy a pre/pro but for similar features as a receiver they are often about the same price, in some cases more $$.

As far as standalone decoders I have not seen one of those for quite a while (other than occasionally the old DD/DTS decoders like Technics SH-AC500). Back in the day they were pretty expensive too.
 
I want to put together a 9.1 speaker setup in my theater room. There is no chance I'm going to purchase one of these high dollar atmos receivers. Did Dolby make a decoder for the atmos? Is ther any other options that come to mind? Thanx
I feel your pain. I just went through the same thing. I was looking for a 7.1.4 setup to play Dolby Atmos programs. And yes; I do not need a bunch of useless to me "features".

I ended up getting a receiver, Denon AVR-X6300H, after looking at various options. Since it is near the end of the model year, I was able to score considerable discount. Shop around, you may find that a receiver is the best option and the prices are not quite as bad as you would think.
 
I feel your pain. I just went through the same thing. I was looking for a 7.1.4 setup to play Dolby Atmos programs. And yes; I do not need a bunch of useless to me "features".

I ended up getting a receiver, Denon AVR-X6300H, after looking at various options. Since it is near the end of the model year, I was able to score considerable discount. Shop around, you may find that a receiver is the best option and the prices are not quite as bad as you would think.

Ya it looks like my only option. Maybe Il head to some local stores and see when the newer ones come in. I'm definetly looking for a considerable discount. It's kind of hard to pay decent money for something you don't really want. So I'm in no rush. Obviously I want the Dolby atmos possessor. It does look to be cheaper in the receivers so I will most likely go that route.
 
Those marketing people are at it again. So if you want the latest technology you're going to pay!

I was looking for a new Network AVR for my rec room with the best reliability and SQ for the money, While keeping the price reasonable (Under CDN $1,000). All I wanted was Dolby 7.1 and perhaps Bluetooth. It seems I got the timing right because Yamaha just released it's latest Rx-A X70 series of Aventage Dolby Atmos HT receivers.

https://ca.yamaha.com/en/products/audio_visual/av_receivers_amps/index.html#d145652

So I bought the Rx A770 which has pretty much all the latest features including Yamaha's Music Cast that's lets me play up to 9 Wi-Fi wireless speakers anywhere in my House, Garage or Yard I see fit, and control it all from using the Music Cast App. I couldn't be happier. If you want to go with a one box solution for both music and HT that does it all, And it does it right, I highly recommend Yamaha's Aventage line of Dolby Atmos AVR's. If you want 9.1 channels, then you must go with their 2070 or 3070 AVR's, Which are much more expensive. IMO their best value AVR's today are the 7.1 channel RX-A770 & A870, or for 9.1 channels the A2070.

The only reason I bought this was because I moved my 16 year old Onkyo DD/DTS 5.1 AVR upstairs. But I must admit, I do like the network receiver, Yamaha's YPAO room optimization feature, and the Music Cast wireless speaker and App controller.
 
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I want to put together a 9.1 speaker setup in my theater room. There is no chance I'm going to purchase one of these high dollar atmos receivers. Did Dolby make a decoder for the atmos? Is ther any other options that come to mind? Thanx

Have to buy the high $$$ Atmos capable receiver or Preamp-Processor and separate power amplifiers.
 
Those marketing people are at it again. So if you want the latest technology you're going to pay!

I was looking for a new Network AVR for my rec room with the best reliability and SQ for the money, While keeping the price reasonable (Under CDN $1,000). All I wanted was Dolby 7.1 and perhaps Bluetooth. It seems I got the timing right because Yamaha just released it's latest Rx-A X70 series of Aventage Dolby Atmos HT receivers.

https://ca.yamaha.com/en/products/audio_visual/av_receivers_amps/index.html#d145652

So I bought the Rx A770 which has pretty much all the latest features including Yamaha's Music Cast that's lets me play up to 9 Wi-Fi wireless speakers anywhere in my House, Garage or Yard I see fit, and control it all from using the Music Cast App. I couldn't be happier. If you want to go with a one box solution for both music and HT that does it all, And it does it right, I highly recommend Yamaha's Aventage line of Dolby Atmos AVR's. If you want 9.1 channels, then you must go with their 2070 or 3070 AVR's, Which are much more expensive. IMO their best value AVR's today are the 7.1 channel RX-A770 & A870, or for 9.1 channels the A2070.

The only reason I bought this was because I moved my 16 year old Onkyo DD/DTS 5.1 AVR upstairs. But I must admit, I do like the network receiver, Yamaha's YPAO room optimization feature, and the Music Cast wireless speaker and App controller.

I'm also a yamaha fan. There receivers are all ways pretty decent.
 
Atmos is not cheap!

I see that. I guess I'm going to get a receiver. Are some of the models more atmos speaker dependant. I want one that I can use any speakers I want. I guess as long as it has the tuning microphone I can tune it to the room regardless of the speakers I use? Does this sound realistic?
 
I see that. I guess I'm going to get a receiver. Are some of the models more atmos speaker dependant. I want one that I can use any speakers I want. I guess as long as it has the tuning microphone I can tune it to the room regardless of the speakers I use? Does this sound realistic?

Have a look over at the Dolby website to see what they recommend for ATMOS setup.
 
The cheapest 9 channel Atmos A/V receiver at Crutchfield, is the $800 Denon AVR-X4300H. If you could stick to 7 channels, that price drops to $400. Again, a Denon receiver.

Atmos Receivers

Also, I guess since my Yamaha RX-A3030 will drive front Presence speakers, I don't find Atmos to be that big of an upgrade. But, I could be wrong? Still, I like my Yamaha, and won't be upgrading any time soon. It's 9.2, with 11.2 capability (with external amplification) is enough for me.
 
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Yeah, ATMOS is a different thing than height and or width speakers in other versions of Dolby processing.

Dolby Atmos soundtracks use two distinct sound fields to achieve these effects. The "bed" consists of stationary sounds such as background sound and music. "Objects" are assigned specific locations in the three-dimensional listening space, which the in-ceiling or Dolby Atmos enabled "top" speakers help bring to life with depth and realism.
 
Oh yea, a 7 channel A/V receiver can support Dolby Atmos. It would use this type of speaker layout, with the ceiling mounted (side array) Atmos speakers.

GET_Atmos_5_1_2-Configuration.jpg
 
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