AVR 5.2.1 or 7.1 installation tips

[roxor]

hello,
i am setting new room for AVR but i am still not clear which way to go ie. 5.2.1 (atmos) or 7.1

I read that atmost might be problematic ... bc almost each atmos source is mixed for diff number of atmos speakers... what makes me into the conclusion... maybe instead of 5.2.1 its better to go 7.1?


Also based on the setup... Is there some nice documentation how to place hardware in the room? the room is living room, shared with 2.0 audio etc ... so compromises will need to be done. Just need to start somewhere and feel a bit lost.

thanks

 

[staticV3]

Dolby has nice setup guides for all sorts of Atmos setups: https://www.dolby.com/about/support/guide/speaker-setup-guides

 

[roxor]

@staticV3 i dont see it anyhow useful... these are generic guides saying how many speakers/ideal position...
once you want to do that in the room which is not dedicated solely for an AVR - its problematic... and requires more knowledge / experience etc., ie thats what i am looking for.

 

[napfkuchen]

You can also use the One-for-all-Setup which is based on Auro3D but is also good for ATMOS playback. In this case you should choose a 5.1.4 configuration.
If an elevation angle (height angle measured from the listening position between the lower and upper loudspeaker levels) of approx. 30° can be achieved on the front/back wall, it is also possible to avoid placing loudspeakers on the ceiling. For me the elevation angle is about 25° at the front and 35° at the back, which ensures a smoother transition between the height levels than with Dolby ATMOS. If you have a receiver with Auro3D capability (my Denon x3800 is currently the cheapest you can get new I think for about 900 Euro, but you can also look for older Denon x4700 models) you can also use the upmixer which has very good results with 5.1-source-material oder even stereo. This makes sense when you look at pictures of recording studios where 3D sound is mixed, 99% of them use this setup and not the arrangement promoted by Dolby.

 

[Golfx]

@staticV3 i dont see it anyhow useful... these are generic guides saying how many speakers/ideal position...
once you want to do that in the room which is not dedicated solely for an AVR - its problematic... and requires more knowledge / experience etc., ie thats what i am looking for.

? Guess I have a different view of these generic guides. They are giving you placement guidelines for where to put your new speakers. Also being blunt when it is you who is asking for advice seems rude. Perhaps English isn’t your language.

7.1 will give you a more enhanced bed layer than 5.1 and more active sound than atmos—which tends to be sparse if the source was cheaply done.

 

[roxor]

@napfkuchen thanks! i almost forgot about auro3d, and it seems my avr marantz 6012sr doesnt have it
From the attached pdf i figured out that maybe the best would be to go with 5.4.1 setup? Not sure... I have pretty high ceilings 3.4m

@Golfx i dont see it that way... placement is generic... no acoustic calibration etc etc... just how many speakers/and angles... no height/ no details in case the room is not solely for cinema.

Thats why i was initially thinking about 7.1 instead of 5.2.1, i think for height layer 4 is required ... so 5.4.1 or just 7.1

Still many questions... confusion etc...


For example most of the diagrams as referenced dolby page... put center beneath tv/screen, even forums says the tweeter of center and FR/FL should be in the same height - i cant do that bc of the room ...




Other thing are speakers /hw itself...
i have 6x B&W m1 (old version)
center is B&W htm7
sub BK 400
avr marantz 6012 sr


Thanks