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Home Cinema Improvement - Atmos vs 2x Sub

Mr.PePe

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Hello All,
I am a new member of this community. But following ASR from many years.

As I am building new home I thought to improve my Home Cinema system. But cost are limited. So as for now it's around 500$.
Currently I got Yamaha 1070 AVR and 5.1 speakers. I thought wchich of adds will improve system better?

1. Add second REL HT 1205 sub. I got already one.
or
2. Build Atmos with 2 incells Monitor Audio Atmos speakers.

Just one option allowed depends on budget.

Probably will not change AVR for some time. So 4 Atmos is not solution here...

Room arround 30m2.

What do you thing?
 

AdamG

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Hi Mr.PePe,

First off, Welcome Aboard.

Imho, a second sub will give you the biggest return in enjoyment. More enveloping and powerful bass is something you can enjoy with movies and music. Atmos is also a great upgrade but secondary to good room filling bass. Get the second sub. Best of luck with your Theater buildout project.
 

CyrusTheGreat_600BC

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Hello All,
I am a new member of this community. But following ASR from many years.

As I am building new home I thought to improve my Home Cinema system. But cost are limited. So as for now it's around 500$.
Currently I got Yamaha 1070 AVR and 5.1 speakers. I thought wchich of adds will improve system better?

1. Add second REL HT 1205 sub. I got already one.
or
2. Build Atmos with 2 incells Monitor Audio Atmos speakers.

Just one option allowed depends on budget.

Probably will not change AVR for some time. So 4 Atmos is not solution here...

Room arround 30m2.

What do you thing?
How tall is your ceiling? 5x6m room is not that big. I’ve a REL 12” SHO in the corner of about the same sized room, and it has plenty of bass. I went from 5.1 to Atmos 5.1.4 and it was incredible if you have the content.
 
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Mr.PePe

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Hi AdamG247,

Thank you for interesting in my topic.
To be honest, my top was the same.
As most of streaming (Netflix, HBO) contain Atmos from DD+ i may live with that. But second sub is something that I really like to taste. :)
 
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Mr.PePe

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How tall is your ceiling? 5x6m room is not that big. I’ve a REL 12” SHO in the corner of about the same sized room, and it has plenty of bass. I went from 5.1 to Atmos 5.1.4 and it was incredible if you have the content.
Home is build now. But standard i suppose 2,7-3m. Than we will need to add suspended ceiling. So maybe i will provide cables for future? Just marks dots :) on cell :)
 

Vacceo

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My personal order for multichannel upgrade starts with good stereo, then a subwoofer. Once that's well-adjusted, a center. Then the rears and a second subwoofer.

When that is set, the it's the icing on the cake: sides first and then, height. If the room is large, then more subwoofers (four).
 

Bren Derlin

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Hi AdamG247,

Thank you for interesting in my topic.
To be honest, my top was the same.
As most of streaming (Netflix, HBO) contain Atmos from DD+ i may live with that. But second sub is something that I really like to taste. :)


Sounds like you answered your own question...
 

Triggerhappy

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Hi, first of all congrats on the enjoyment of a new build.
the dual sub would mostly depend on the sub behaviuor in the new room, so rather a enhanced capability.
while atmos speakers is a ”new” adition to your system capability.

id opt for a 3rd option, prep room for atmos and dual sub if hidden cabling decision is need at build etc
start of with one sub, and if it works satisfactory go for atmos. If the single sub is sub-par (ta daa), add a 2nd sub.
 

AdamG

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Hi Mr.PePe,

First off, Welcome Aboard.

Imho, a second sub will give you the biggest return in enjoyment. More enveloping and powerful bass is something you can enjoy with movies and music. Atmos is also a great upgrade but secondary to good room filling bass. Get the second sub. Best of luck with your Theater buildout project.
I should have put this into context the first time. A little late,…

I say this from my own personal journey down the multichannel home theater rabbit hole. I now have a 9.2.6 setup. Love it every day. Best Audio investment ever. But the single biggest upgrade in enjoyment across the board was getting multiple capable Subs. Feeling the slam and punch in a movie is far more impactful than having celing speakers. If I were to do it again. I would get a solid 5.2 system setup first. Room filling Bass is epic and memorable. Are you a Basshead? Maybe you just don’t know yet that you are? ;)
 

Vacceo

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I should have put this into context the first time. A little late,…

I say this from my own personal journey down the multichannel home theater rabbit hole. I now have a 9.2.6 setup. Love it every day. Best Audio investment ever. But the single biggest upgrade in enjoyment across the board was getting multiple capable Subs. Feeling the slam and punch in a movie is far more impactful than having celing speakers. If I were to do it again. I would get a solid 5.2 system setup first. Room filling Bass is epic and memorable. Are you a Basshead? Maybe you just don’t know yet that you are? ;)
Only 2 subwoofers and all those speakers? Aren´t they feeling lonely? ;)

Now more seriously, do you also use the bass capabilities of the speakers or do you apply the crossovers at the usual 80hz?
 

AdamG

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Only 2 subwoofers and all those speakers? Aren´t they feeling lonely? ;)

Now more seriously, do you also use the bass capabilities of the speakers or do you apply the crossovers at the usual 80hz?
I have very powerful subs. They produce reference level SPL @ 10-hz and usable output down to 6-8-hz. I do use the bass capabilities of 6 speakers as they have dual 8” drivers. But only normally for Music content. My Front L&R are set to 60-hz crossover for Movies and 40-hz for Music in 2 channel configuration. 2 channel can be separately configured with its own crossover settings. The Subs are 40” x 21” x 24” D/W/H. Or almost 12 Cubic feet each, ported.
 

Vacceo

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1 meter tall subs? Are we talking something like a JL Gotham? Jeez, Edge of Tomorrow must be fun on your system! :D
 

Dj7675

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Hello All,
I am a new member of this community. But following ASR from many years.

As I am building new home I thought to improve my Home Cinema system. But cost are limited. So as for now it's around 500$.
Currently I got Yamaha 1070 AVR and 5.1 speakers. I thought wchich of adds will improve system better?

1. Add second REL HT 1205 sub. I got already one.
or
2. Build Atmos with 2 incells Monitor Audio Atmos speakers.

Just one option allowed depends on budget.

Probably will not change AVR for some time. So 4 Atmos is not solution here...

Room arround 30m2.

What do you thing?
Home theater/multichannel is great fun. Will you be able to mount your atmos speakers pretty much overhead or slightly forward of your main listening position? If you can mount them properly with and have them aiming roughly at the listeners, I would do that before the second sub.
 

Vacceo

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Home theater/multichannel is great fun. Will you be able to mount your atmos speakers pretty much overhead or slightly forward of your main listening position? If you can mount them properly with and have them aiming roughly at the listeners, I would do that before the second sub.
The second sub is very dependent on the room modes you get. If they are not terrible, I agree, the heights go first.
 

AdamG

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1 meter tall subs? Are we talking something like a JL Gotham? Jeez, Edge of Tomorrow must be fun on your system! :D
This one, in the lowboy configuration. Same output.

F89D4319-D7B0-4409-8833-FF45C5B197BB.jpeg
 
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Mr.PePe

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Sounds like you answered your own question...
Correct :) Just want to hear that I am making good decision.
Hi, first of all congrats on the enjoyment of a new build.
the dual sub would mostly depend on the sub behaviuor in the new room, so rather a enhanced capability.
while atmos speakers is a ”new” adition to your system capability.

id opt for a 3rd option, prep room for atmos and dual sub if hidden cabling decision is need at build etc
start of with one sub, and if it works satisfactory go for atmos. If the single sub is sub-par (ta daa), add a 2nd sub.
I suppose that i will be happy with one sub. The case is that HT1205 is no longer on production. Do not want to mix series I with II. That's why i need to make decision now. I can not check it in room :(
Are you a Basshead? Maybe you just don’t know yet that you are? ;)
I am :)
 

Adi777

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This one, in the lowboy configuration. Same output
How big is your cinema room?
I'm trying to find information on how many speakers I could install in my modest 4m x 6m.
 

AdamG

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How big is your cinema room?
Approximately 35’ x 25’ x 12’ L/W/H. However, it’s an open floor plan that extends into the Dining Room and Kitchen area that includes a large breakfast bar area. All connected (not included in above dimensions) All this extra cubic footage was calculated into sizing the subs. There is a Room calculator for sizing the subs you need to reach various levels of spl and pressurization over at AVS Forums. It’s a great tool for figuring out some of this.

Best of luck with your project. One piece of advice. Get the biggest subs you can fit and not travel the upgrade train. The money I could have saved buying my end game subs first. I went through 4 sets of Subs.
 

Willem

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There is no reason not to mix different subwoofers. See here for a pretty extreme example: http://archimago.blogspot.com/2020/05/musings-measurements-subwoofers-to.html See here for a first introduction to multiple subwoofers:
. This video for how to equalize multiple subwoofers:
Floyd Toole's book also has extensive discussion. At the same time, with a new house, I would certainly prepare for wiring additional speakers etc.
Your current sub is not that large, so you may want to consider getting a larger one as a second sub. There are cheaper options than REL, so for the same money you could get rather more subwoofer.
 
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