Dolby atmos wild looking speakers?

[ultumax]

Is this like a wild evolution of surround sound?
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_714R625FA/Klipsch-Reference-R-625FA.html
I’ve not heard or seen them I’n store but I’m mad I got klipsch icon then next year bestbuy switched to reference line for same price .
Anyone hear these atmos speakers?
I assume it’s too hard to mount them on ceiling so there built it?

Isn’t atmos almost same as prologic z? Heights

 

[ultumax]

Anyone else hear about these atmos speakers?

 

[Shrugg]

They've existed for a while now, but no one pays much attention to them. In theory, they are supposed to provide a "true surround sound experience" by using ceiling mounted speakers pointing straight down at the listener and a specially mixed movie soundtrack. I've experienced a proper atmos system in a movie theater before, which sounded incredible, but having speakers suspended above your head at home is somewhat impractical. Thus, these home atmos systems came into existence, designed to bounce sound off your ceiling to the listener. Personally, i think they are inferior to proper ceiling mounted speakers, and getting them properly set up with the correct speakers and receiver is a PITA. There are also very few titles available that take advantage of atmos surround. In my opinion, if you really want to try it, you can get some add on speakers, instead of buying new towers, but for me, it is not worth it.

If you are still interested, Techmoan did a video on his atmos experience:

 

[Harvestor]

The ohm model I are Bi-amp able and could be used for Dolby Atmos

 

[swechsler]

The ohm model I are Bi-amp able and could be used for Dolby Atmos

Not really. Atmos signals are discrete and separate from the main signal, and the Ohms are made to work as a single unit (that is, if you tried to wire the fronts as one signal and the tops as another, you wouldn't get full range from either, plus, you'd need to modify the speakers to have one input for the top and one for the front - biamping terminals separate the low frequency drivers from the high). Also, if you look at the speakers linked to in the OP, you'll see that the top drivers are recessed, with additional sound insulation to restrict their dispersion to mostly straight up.

 

[Harvestor]

Not really. Atmos signals are discrete and separate from the main signal, and the Ohms are made to work as a single unit (that is, if you tried to wire the fronts as one signal and the tops as another, you wouldn't get full range from either, plus, you'd need to modify the speakers to have one input for the top and one for the front - biamping terminals separate the low frequency drivers from the high). Also, if you look at the speakers linked to in the OP, you'll see that the top drivers are recessed, with additional sound insulation to restrict their dispersion to mostly straight up.

Agreed

 

[EngineerNate]

It's a given that bouncing sound off the ceiling isn't as good as having dedicated speakers there. But I guess if you don't have the option of mounting speakers to/on your ceiling it's better than nothing if ATMOS is what you want.

 

[Ken Mitchell]

I have a new ceiling in my living room where my current 5.1 system lives. It was finished just a few months before I learned about Atmos, and I am NOT going to cut into it. My wife strenuously objects, and I'm very reluctant. It's a low ceiling too, only 7' 4". I'm sitting 13' from the screen, 12' from my main front three speakers. In my case, the "Atmos-enabled" reflecting type speaker makes a LOT of sense because of the low ceiling, it's reflectivity, and the distances.

So I picked up a pair of used KEF R50 speakers for relatively cheap, matching my R500 L-R and R200c center. When I get "a roundtuit", I just need to add the AM230 MDC (audio module) and with it the Dirac Live system to my NAD T758 receiver and I'll be finding out how well or crappy it all works. I'm in no hurry. Funds may allow in spring 2019. Until then I sit tight, but here's how they would look (with grilles off.)

 

[tcdriver]

They've existed for a while now, but no one pays much attention to them. In theory, they are supposed to provide a "true surround sound experience" by using ceiling mounted speakers pointing straight down at the listener and a specially mixed movie soundtrack. I've experienced a proper atmos system in a movie theater before, which sounded incredible, but having speakers suspended above your head at home is somewhat impractical. Thus, these home atmos systems came into existence, designed to bounce sound off your ceiling to the listener. Personally, i think they are inferior to proper ceiling mounted speakers, and getting them properly set up with the correct speakers and receiver is a PITA. There are also very few titles available that take advantage of atmos surround. In my opinion, if you really want to try it, you can get some add on speakers, instead of buying new towers, but for me, it is not worth it.

Good summary.

In regards to movie titles; most of the movies that do contain Dolby Atmos soundtracks are more recent releases. Here is a link to Dolby Atmos titles as of April 2018: https://www.dolby.com/us/en/experience/dolby-atmos/bluray-and-streaming/us.pdf

Note that although most of the Dolby Atmos encoded discs are 4k, there is a good number of Dolby Atmos releases that are available on standard Blu-ray.

 

[ultumax]

Good summary.

In regards to movie titles; most of the movies that do contain Dolby Atmos soundtracks are more recent releases. Here is a link to Dolby Atmos titles as of April 2018: https://www.dolby.com/us/en/experience/dolby-atmos/bluray-and-streaming/us.pdf

Note that although most of the Dolby Atmos encoded discs are 4k, there is a good number of Dolby Atmos releases that are available on standard Blu-ray.

Ahh 4K Discs are hit and miss , some don’t look so good . Others are amazing , I got ripped off by hhgreg sold a tv not hdr . And later backlight flickers, it looks best for Blu-ray or streaming Netflix.
Shoulda returned the tv they treated it like trash and it was stuck in my trunk hard to get out.

Really an disappointing Sony tv , wish I’d have waited for a better model.
How does atmos compare to prologic z heights?

 

[Ken Mitchell]

ProLogic height speakers are fed by extrapolating the channel from a traditional PCM multichannel soundtrack. In contrast, Atmos soundtracks are an object-based bitstream with specific sounds sent to each speaker. The difference can be subtle, or it can be profound depending upon how the soundtrack was recorded, mixed, and mastered.

 

[tcdriver]

How does atmos compare to prologic z heights?

Great question. Ken Mitchell's description is excellent. I have never heard a system with Prologic Z height channels. I have heard Dolby Atmos in a 7.1.4 system and based on that listening experience, the extra speakers enable sound placement within the height soundfield that the Prologic Z just would be unable to achieve. Of course, a lot depends on the specific movie or music disc. Some Dolby Atmos discs come off a lot better than others.

One other consideration is dts:X. My experience is that even though the setup I heard is optimized for Dolby Atmos, it seems to do pretty well when playing back movies that are dts:X encoded. There are quite a few movie titles that are being released with dts:X. I have not yet heard Auro-3D so, I cannot comment on that.

List of Blu-ray movies with dts:X sound: https://www.nextgenhometheater.com/dtsx-blu-ray-movies/