Who has a 7.1.4 Atmos setup?

[DavidMcRoy]

I have a 6.0.4 system for Dolby Atmos...but it's complicated for the sake of minimalism, if you will.

I don't uses Dolby digital bass management, because my system is wired as a 2.0 system with the front left and right channels of the Dolby processor available as a "second stereo source" when I'm listening to surround material:

Stereo digital sources > DAC > passive selector/attenuator > active left and right speakers and two subs

Dolby Atmos processor surround and height channels > active surround bed and height speakers,
Dolby front left and right channels available as a second "stereo input" on the passive selector/ attenuator.

In this arrangement the Dolby processor is not in the signal path for 2-channel stereo listening. So I guess you could call it a configurable system for 2.0 "or" for 6.0.4.

I don't have any issues with using bass management, I just haven't gone the extra step of introducing a bass-managed signal to the subs for application for surround material only. I just derive bass from the front left and right channels. I set the Dolby processor as "6.0.4," i.e., no subwoofers.

 

[Oddball]

I clicked the 7.1.4 button but in fact have a 7.5.6 system, with the caveat being that I run my fronts full range thanks to A1 Evo Maestro MJ. So does that make it a 7.7.6 system?


My (hopefully) final tweak arrives tomorrow in the form of a Revel C426CE center to replace a C208 in the hopes it will blend better with my Studio 2s, although my suspicion is it won't make much difference. We shall see

Looks like a great system. How low do your fronts extend in the room? While LFE+Main is controversial setting, did you perhaps try that with at least 40 or 60hz pass to subs?

Revel C426 is the best center I ever had, but it all depends how much of improvement are you expecting from it. It should definitively add to clarity as well as dynamics. In my room it extends to 30hz flat at 85dB (same as my towers), which is great, but that I would not really consider it full range.

 

[middlemarch]

Looks like a great system. How low do your fronts extend in the room? While LFE+Main is controversial setting, did you perhaps try that with at least 40 or 60hz pass to subs?

Revel C426 is the best center I ever had, but it all depends how much of improvement are you expecting from it. It should definitively add to clarity as well as dynamics. In my room it extends to 30hz flat at 85dB (same as my towers), which is great, but that I would not really consider it full range.

I'd never done lfe+main before for all the reasons typically given. And I think it's probably a bad idea generally. But Evo 1 integrates them properly (or at least positively in my case). The Studio 2s go to below 30Hz, but their primary contribution in my case were to the mid bass region (60 to 100 or so), no idea why, but happy to take it. Bass is uniformly smooth, strong, tight! and impactful now, house shaking when needed but very good on acoustic bass as well.

I stopped taking REW measurements once I listened to this configuration, since it so obviously "clicked in" that I stopped. Listening to the music from here on out.

My bass journey was pretty ad hoc, kept adding subs and tweaking to gradual improvement. Each individual sub's in room response is pretty dreadful, adding them all together is where the magic happened. It's possible that fewer better subs could get the job done but I worked with what I had. One 18", one 15", five 12" and four 8" drivers, some ported, some sealed, hardly a scientific design.

I figure with the C426 I'll at least be Revel Berylium for the front five, all I can do, and I'll be happy to live with it.

Back to the main topic, properly mastered Atmos music is truly a revelation and worth the effort, a real step up in many cases. Not all. But there's a lot of crappy sounding stereo music out there as well. The journey continues....

 

[Oddball]

Sure - if your are happy that's all it matters. Doing anything outside the regular TXH crossover concept is a bad idea apparently, but did not stop people from experimenting and still getting "somewhere".

More broadly, can't really count large LR as subs - as they are not unless you are able to route LFE to them, which I don't think you are able to do with 6700H that is a great AVR, but does not have that capability. But that is a good point, i will need to give it some thought to fixing my signature to more properly reflect what's going on with various LFE support and other subs that are not strictly LFE:

9.4(.8+1).4. Looks really odd though . Wonder if anyone would understand the oddball in the brackets.

 

[middlemarch]

Update. C426be arrived today. Three day UPS Freight turned into 8 days. (rant: I can see downtown Seattle from here, but on west side of Puget Sound. Unit took 3 days to get here from Seattle. We're on a peninsula, might as well be another state for shipping purposes. rant off)

Got it unpacked, hooked up and volume adjusted (more efficient than C208). And.... Wow!. No doubt this was a clear upgrade from the C208. Question as to whether the up-mixers were at fault for lack of clarity is resolved. Not the up-mixers. And the C208 is a killer center! Just completed six hours listening to everything I can think of. Just like Amir when he gets a good one, just listen to the music for hours...

Everything I can say is subjective and sighted, but blending with mains is now seamless. Clarity and sense of space is a big step up. Entire front stage now presents as a unified space. I could go on, but you get the picture. I am now done, this was a positive outcome.

 

[Ellebob]

I have a 7.2.4 system.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

I have a 5.1 system which uses JRiver on a Windows box and an Octo Dac 8 Pro as a substitute for an AV receiver to render streaming 5.1 movies on Netflix, Prime and Hulu as well as multichannel Tidal music streams. It employs the Octo, a Kef HTC-3001 SE center channel, four LS 50's (front two are Meta, surrounds are OG), and two SVS SB 2000 subs.

My other system is a headphone system based around the Smyth A16 Realiser. The Realiser renders a virtual 24 channel 15.1.8 Atmos layout based on the personally captured HRTFs of Dutch and Dutch 8C's measured in a professional recording studio, together a Paradigm subwoofer which was also captured. The Sennheiser HD 800s and Audeze LCD X's play back the virtual 24 channel Atmos and other formatted streams (Auro 3d, DTS-X) which are output first to the Octo, and then to my Topping A70 Pro, and then to the headphones.

 

[middlemarch]

That Smyth Realizer sounds like a really interesting piece of kit. If I needed to do more headphone listening I'd be really tempted.

 

[jhaider]

Early adopter of 7.1.4 here, after reviewing a 1st gen Marantz Atmos/Auro AVP (kludging a height layer using KEF 3005 eggs on their stands atop my front speakers for FH and IIRC the KEF R800ds I had been using as rears for RH).

Hearing music upmixed with Auro sold me.

Currently on my 3rd 7.1.4+multisubs channel system - one change due to upgrade and then some changes due to a move+upgrade that substantially kept the bones of #2.

 

[Madlop26]

So 27 of 56 voters have ATMOS system, quite unexpected high.

 

[Hayabusa]

5.2.4

 

[Open Mind Audio]

5.2, works great for me. I used to have a 5.2.4 atmos and might go that route again, but my main interest is occasional multi-channel music. For movies, the 5.2 works more than adequately. Also, my living room looks nice now, and not sure I want to go through the hassle of putting 2 or 4 speakers in the ceiling of our old Victorian home.

 

[Blumlein 88]

5.2, works great for me. I used to have a 5.2.4 atmos and might go that route again, but my main interest is occasional multi-channel music. For movies, the 5.2 works more than adequately. Also, my living room looks nice now, and not sure I want to go through the hassle of putting 2 or 4 speakers in the ceiling of our old Victorian home.

Don't have a Victorian home, but that is sort of where I am. I'm not that picky about appearances in my listening/theater area, but even I cannot figure out a good way to incorporate ceiling speakers. Optimum might be mounted in the ceiling, but I also have ceiling fans and all of that isn't going to work.

 

[Blumlein 88]

So 27 of 56 voters have ATMOS system, quite unexpected high.

I wandered how many had ATMOS which was the reason I put this up. I too am surprised at how many do have such a setup. So that is encouraging.

 

[antcollinet]

Unfortunately none of the answers is exactly appropriate for me

Nor me

I have 5.1.4 Atmos. Which doesn't fit any of the alternatives.

 

[Mr. Widget]

I wandered how many had ATMOS which was the reason I put this up. I too am surprised at how many do have such a setup. So that is encouraging.

Since my system is a 5.1.2 ATMOS system, I checked the 5.1 or more category as opposed to the 7.1.4.
I am actually using 10 channels as I have 3 discrete subs, but they are still in a XX.1.XX configuration since I am feeding them the LFE channel from Dolby or DTS.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Nor me

I have 5.1.4 Atmos. Which doesn't fit any of the alternatives.

It was my understanding that the ATMOS standard really calls for 7 "bed" channels even though you can set it up with 5. So checking 7.1.4 would have been alright. Part of the reason I didn't include 5.1.4 is a number of soundbars have a couple rears and claim 5.1.4 without actually being that.

 

[D2013]

So 27 of 56 voters have ATMOS system, quite unexpected high.

Given the number of users on the forum and the general orientation of the forum userbase, all the numbers seem low to me.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Given the number of users on the forum and the general orientation of the forum userbase, all the numbers seem low to me.

Matter of perspective and no way to know for sure. I imagine those who have ATMOS are most interested, and many others won't bother with the thread. I had in mind the ATMOS was a very niche market. I still think that, but there are at least a few dozen here with ATMOS rigs which is a bit more than I anticipated without any good data on it at all.

I suppose I was wondering is it 1 or 2% or maybe hardly anyone at all. This thread doesn't answer that question definitively of course. If there were only 5 people saying they had ATMOS that would be telling. 2 people did vote mono.

 

[Fidji]

Matter of perspective and no way to know for sure. I imagine those who have ATMOS are most interested, and many others won't bother with the thread. I had in mind the ATMOS was a very niche market. I still think that, but there are at least a few dozen here with ATMOS rigs which is a bit more than I anticipated without any good data on it at all.

I suppose I was wondering is it 1 or 2% or maybe hardly anyone at all. This thread doesn't answer that question definitively of course. If there were only 5 people saying they had ATMOS that would be telling. 2 people did vote mono.

This is not a forum, where Atmos users would come for advice. i perceive ASR more in 2ch/DAC/D-class/bookshelves focused. if you frequent e.g. avsforum then there are 2 main topics - “1 or 2 subs” amd “where to place my atmos speakers”

My estimate - majority of HT fans with dedicated rooms will have Atmos in some shape or form, living room setups - anything would be just a guess.

What helps, is that it looks like format wars are over and Atmos is the new standard, with content coming in also on streaming, so not a big risk, that it will become obsolete. in year’s time.

BTW - I had my first Atmos/DTS:X 7.4.4 kind of turnkey in our weekend/summer house and 2ch in dedicated listening room at home. When Covid kicked in, I started to build HT at home - and from 5.2 i went pretty quickly to 7.4.2 until I ended with 9.8.7 that I have now. Not a single component is the same as 5 years ago, some upgraded more than 1 time.