Is 5.1.2 Atmos worth it in a small room?

[RSTurboPaul]

gangzoom said:

Sounds like up firing ones might be worth trying before I start cutting holes in the celling. The Denon 4310 cannot do Atmos, and I'll need to upgrade to something like a X4500, so total costs will be £1kish I suspect.

You can move the sofa forward and just lay them on the floor behind it and then run Audyssey or whatever DSP you have (if you have it) - the software will sort out the timings for you.

If it is not good to your ears, no money wasted

[RSTurboPaul]

Douglas Quaid said:

Panamax said:

gangzoom said:

The room isn't massive 4×4.5m, with a 100inch projector screen and 55inch OLED.

Whatever floats your boat. Seems odd to me but that's just personal taste.

gangzoom said:

I have no complaints about the 5.1 setup

I should think not.

gangzoom said:

Atmos, is all the faff worth it?

IMO, no. Unless your kick in life is "boom, boom, shake da room".

Quantity of equipment isn't really the point, it's quality of the overall experience (picture and sound) that counts.

If having a dedicated room with projector etc ‘seems odd to you’ then why on earth are you bothering to comment? Why don’t you let people that are into that talk about it?

I sit about 8 feet from a 55" screen - Panamax's mind would be blown if he ever visited

It seems he might be 'one of those' people who run a 2.0 setup that cuts off at 50hz and think subs make no difference to how music sounds

[Chilly for June]

Following my thread on here regarding my cinema room I have Atmos speakers that are in ceiling with a 5.1.2 configuration.

I have still to watch Top Gun Maverick but when the wife wanted to watch Wicked which is also Dolby Atmos encoded I would say there was only one instance (a train whistle while pulling out a station) where I thought that has specifically came from an Atmos speaker. The rest of the time it feels like they are just adding to the surround immersion which is no bad thing. This was a blu ray as well so uncompressed audio.

I have the Denon X2800 and I know Tekno is a big fan of these entry level Denons but when I switch to music and listen in stereo I think it has a lot more power so maybe it's just struggling run all 7 speakers.

[gangzoom]

Chilly for June said:

I have the Denon X2800 and I know Tekno is a big fan of these entry level Denons but when I switch to music and listen in stereo I think it has a lot more power so maybe it's just struggling run all 7 speakers.

I had an old Denon 1400 that really struggled to drive the speakers, and an entry level Yahama was also the same. So I think I need the equivalent of the 4100 that can do Atmos to ensure enough power to the speakers. So I think I need an used 4200 or above. Don't mind going with used.

[Panamax]

RSTurboPaul said:

It seems he might be 'one of those' people who run a 2.0 setup that cuts off at 50hz and think subs make no difference to how music sounds

Which of my two main TV rooms has upset you? The 5.1 Anthem/Focal surround system or the 2.0 Moon/Kef Reference that paints a full soundstage and doesn't need a sub?

[TEKNOPUG]

gangzoom said:

Chilly for June said:

I have the Denon X2800 and I know Tekno is a big fan of these entry level Denons but when I switch to music and listen in stereo I think it has a lot more power so maybe it's just struggling run all 7 speakers.

I had an old Denon 1400 that really struggled to drive the speakers, and an entry level Yahama was also the same. So I think I need the equivalent of the 4100 that can do Atmos to ensure enough power to the speakers. So I think I need an used 4200 or above. Don't mind going with used.

It depends how loud you want it! 25wpc is plenty to fill a room. The wattages on AVRs are misleading as they are usually rated for 1 channel, 6ohm @ 10%THD. So the reality is that they are more like half that figure for a true 8ohm RMS figure @ 1%THD.

The 3000 series and up Denon's have pre-outs for all channels, so you could use a separate power amp for the fronts and leave the receiver to power all the surround speakers. That may work out cheaper than a 4/6000 series, given the price of Class D amps now.

[RSTurboPaul]

Panamax said:

RSTurboPaul said:

It seems he might be 'one of those' people who run a 2.0 setup that cuts off at 50hz and think subs make no difference to how music sounds

Which of my two main TV rooms has upset you? The 5.1 Anthem/Focal surround system or the 2.0 Moon/Kef Reference that paints a full soundstage and doesn't need a sub?

Called it




Sound choices are personal preference. Not having a sub makes most stuff sound 'thin' and lacking weight to me, but it seems many 'purists' or 'audiophiles' think that having a sub is some form of insanity that makes things sound bloated, and as inferred previously, that 'a lot of speakers' somehow means the quality will be lacking (rather than meaning the system is less stressed for a given volume level at seating position, meaning a 'cleaner' sound with less distortion when pushed).

There is no replacement for displacement, to use a PH-related analogy


Some measurement graphs in REW would show whether a system was 'flat to <5Hz' and therefore reproducing everything entirely accurately or not, but ultimately the listener has their own preferences and prejudices which will be informed/influenced by regular listening to the listener's own system. (Recency bias?)

Each side of the debate seems resolute in their beliefs of what is best, so some gentle ribbing either way seems unavoidable but there is a line between suggesting a person might like to join the other camp and actively suggesting a setup 'must be' crap for X reason.

Edited by RSTurboPaul on Tuesday 22 April 12:31

[gangzoom]

Just found some pictures of pipe works that's running through the celling.....I think it's safe to say there is no chance I'll be going to x4 incelling speakers, unless I want to make really good friends with the plumber, but that's assuming SWMBO haven't kicked me out of the house first!!! No water/heating due to me messing around with trying to install Atmos speakers......

Edited by gangzoom on Wednesday 23 April 14:00