1. It's real E-AC-3 Atmos with discrete base channels and objects. It sounds far better than Atmos for Headphones.
2. Yes, even on non-Atmos speakers, since the surround channels are discrete. The next best thing is upmixing Atmos for Headphones from macOS / iOS instead of upmixing plain stereo...
Apple TV is the only way to bitstream E-AC-3 Atmos to an AVR. The next closest thing you can do is play 2-channel Atmos for Headphones from iOS / macOS to an AVR and upmix it with Dolby Surround Upmixer. iOS / macOS downmixes the E-AC-3 Atmos track using Atmos for Headphones, and the AVR upmixes...
Kernel Streaming is the lowest level audio interface on Windows. It sends I/O requests directly to the WDMAud kernel-mode driver for the hardware. There is no benefit unless you're writing highly optimized code that needs minimum latency.
All the current spatial sound solutions on Windows are designed for headphones, not speakers. The last speaker virtualization solution on Windows was Creative CMSS3D. Spatial Sound in Windows works only when the game or application uses WASAPI shared mode and requests a surround format while...
You can use a HDMI audio extractor to get surround for speakers. If you extract HDMI to optical then you need to set the PS5 to output Dolby Digital to get 5.1 surround. I don't recall whether 2-channel speaker surround with a HRTF is supported yet.
It looks like the A1H does not come with a learning IR remote like the X8500H does. I use the learning functionality and extra buttons at the bottom extensively to switch inputs and eARC source on my HDFury VRROOM box.
Can this use all 15 channels for Atmos when using the combined Atmos / Auro3D height speaker layout (Front Height / Center Height / Top Middle / Top Surround / Rear Height)? Or is the Atmos decoder restricted from using the Center Height / Top Surround Auro3D channels like the 13-amp X8500HA...
I don't like the Harman target either. The treble is painful if I EQ a headphone to meet the Harman target. I like only the sub-bass shelf. The stock treble tuning of the Aeon is just the right amount.
Since you even mentioned sub-bass, I would skip the Aeon. The closed back doesn't make much...