Who has a 7.1.4 Atmos setup?

[Newman]

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

Probably less than 56 voters, as multiple votes are allowed.

 

[antcollinet]

So checking 7.1.4 would have been alright.

OK - done that.

 

[Dal1as]

I had a 7.1 system for a long time and now a 7.3.4 that I just upgraded. Love it now that the room is fully optimized.

 

[Thighsofsteel]

I currently have a 5.1 system. However after extensive research and auditioning I am about to drop an obscene amount of money on a Lyngdorf MP40 and add 4 Dynaudio ceiling speakers to match my 5 other Dyn's. It will be a 5.2.4 system as I have a second sub in my computer room which isnt used much.

 

[Talisman]

With the recent purchase of a Denon AVC-X3800H I am also approaching atmos, my room is very small so the configuration will be 5.1.2 (5.4.2), I have always been fascinated by cinema sound systems and being able to have those sensations on a small scale is something that stimulates me a lot and I am really curious to try what two ceiling speakers and an object-based sound system can offer me more than a classic 5.1 (5.4)

 

[klettermann]

I've got 7.1.2 Atmos setup, but I chose the 7.1.4 choice since that's the closest. Room is H7.2 x W12.2 x L22 ft and somewhat treated. Frankly, although it sounds good, I'm not very impressed by the whole Atmos thing. It's not that it can't be immersive and impressive, it can. My gripe is more with the source material. I'm streaming 99% of the time and the most content simply doesn't take advantage of it. Indeed, most of my streaming stuff seems to be plain vanilla Dolby Surround, not Atmos. And I greatly doubt that 2 more height speakers would make a world of difference. If I had to do it over I'd stick with 5.1.2. I've come around to the view that Atmos is more marketing than substance. To be clear, my viewing doesn't include much roar-and-boom stuff like Top Gun Maverick. If it did I might think differently. Cheers,

 

[Rob63]

I've got a 5.1.4 system (2 subs) with front/rear height speakers. Atmos got me hooked for home theater / multichannel but have recently switched to using the Auro-3D upmixer even for dedicated Atmos mixes. Switching back and forth on Atmos mixes I've found Auro-3D is more consistently immersive, i.e. activates height speakers.

 

[Frank Dernie]

I have messed about with "surround" since the difference channel rear addition published and discussed many decades ago and have had both a Meridian DAC with multiple different possible synthesised or real multi channel outputs and the Yamaha DSP1 (I still have both somewhere) surround gadget but have rather segued back to stereo since 99% of my music source material is stereo.

I do have a centre speaker, sub and 2 rears which I fire up on the rare occasion I see video with more than 2 channels and it adds something, though it is a by no means matched system just FR computed by Audyssey. I have some surround music recordings but not always in performances I prefer (I mainly listen to classical music)
I am too old to bother remodelling my room to satisfactorily take more speakers without cables festooned everywhere given I am not disappointed by the sound I get now on the music I play hours per day.

On reflection I am going to tick stereo even though the 5.1 bodge I have is better on films.

 

[jcarys]

Thanks to my excellent history of keeping notes in my Electronics spreadsheet, I completed a 7.1.4 setup on 11/23/19. That was with a second set of SVS Elevation speakers, which I think sat around the house for a few months until I was up to the task of more wiring. My height speakers could be placed a bit better in the room, but I doubt I will ever move them. Tweaks in MultiEQ-X and lately A1 Evo have got the sound dialed in about as good as it's going to get. I just replaced the rear surround bookshelves with small used towers and was amazed that it actually did make a noticeable improvement. For now I'm going to spend money sampling other people's equipment (at Axpona) and try to keep my setup static. Unless something blows me away at the show...

 

[anotherhobby]

I've had a 5.1 system in my life since 1998, one way or another (several systems in different homes), but never beyond that, other than adding a second sub. Until now!

In the last week, I've just completed building a dedicated/soundproof/treated 7.4.4 listening/movie room, but I'm still waiting for my 4 Atmos speakers from Philharmonic Audio (True Minis), which will be sometime in May/June. The 4x True Minis will be ceiling mounted in the proper locations. I think I've only actually heard true Atmos maybe once or twice in a movie theater, so I can't wait to fire it up at home!

I did check the 7.1.4 checkbox on the poll even though I'm not quite there just yet, and I'm still hovering at 7.4 for another two months or so.

 

[Wolf11Man]

Most content seems to make not much use of Atmos on a first listening session. You expect a drastic change, that only happens with some movies or demo clips. On the other hand, the longer you use it, the more you realize some positive changes. I can't really differentiate if it is Atmos or only the upmixing, but sound often has lost the typical left/ right orientation. It is absolut impossible to locate the speakers as sound source. Voices and effects have percise locations. With most streaming and TV material the sound is more like a wall instead of a horizontal stereo presentation. Birds seem to twitter up in the trees, helicopters fly above, the whole atmosphere is more realistic. It is no shocking experience, just an improvement. My room is quite high, the effect speakers far up. They use the same drivers as the main speaker, so sound is about identical. I have a nice 5.1 system in another room. While it was compareable to the main system before Atmos, it now is disapointing, missing the natural touch of the large installation.
The worst mistake may be to use mediocre speakers for the surround channels. If they match the main speaker, the whole "sound picture" develops much better.

 

[masterhw]

Several users comparing streaming and disc releases of the same films have found streaming mixes often have reduced Atmos effects. On some releases its quite a prominent difference. if you're able, try getting some UHD BluRay discs to demo with - obviously only some movies take full advantage of this format.
the consistent reports of disappointment in how little most streaming releases use Atmos has me questioning whether I should bother.
and if you're hesitant to go through the hassle and expense of physical media again, you're not alone. be nice if you could have the convenience & catalog of streaming with the bitrate of physical media. and no I don't have a spare $5000 for Kaleidescape.

 

[jhenderson0107]

I have a 7.3.6 system. I think the overhead Atmos channels are worthwhile and employing full range surrounds is beneficial. But in retrospect, 5.3.6 would have been virtually indistinguishable in my space.

 

[Thighsofsteel]

Several users comparing streaming and disc releases of the same films have found streaming mixes often have reduced Atmos effects. On some releases its quite a prominent difference. if you're able, try getting some UHD BluRay discs to demo with - obviously only some movies take full advantage of this format.
the consistent reports of disappointment in how little most streaming releases use Atmos has me questioning whether I should bother.
and if you're hesitant to go through the hassle and expense of physical media again, you're not alone. be nice if you could have the convenience & catalog of streaming with the bitrate of physical media. and no I don't have a spare $5000 for Kaleidescape.

Interesting article about the Storm AVR. But page 6 is the important part about atmos releases. https://www.stormaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Widescreen-Review-MayJune-24.pdf

 

[Multicore]

Couldn't find the poll option "I don't know what Atmos 7.1.4 even is."

 

[Blumlein 88]

Couldn't find the poll option "I don't know what Atmos 7.1.4 even is."

7 surround speakers, 1 sub channel and 4 height speakers.

 

[klettermann]

Interesting article about the Storm AVR. But page 6 is the important part about atmos releases. https://www.stormaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Widescreen-Review-MayJune-24.pdf

The author seems to nail the root cause of my observations. I had this conversation about lack of Atmos content several times over at AVS and came away amazed at how much effort many of those guys are willing to put in for such a narrow slice of all the titles out there. Moreover, it seems like much (most?) of the Atmos stuff is of the style illustrated on the magazine's cover, LOL. But to each his own.

 

[Oddball]

The author seems to nail the root cause of my observations. I had this conversation about lack of Atmos content several times over at AVS and came away amazed at how much effort many of those guys are willing to put in for such a narrow slice of all the titles out there. Moreover, it seems like much (most?) of the Atmos stuff is of the style illustrated on the magazine's cover, LOL. But to each his own.

There are many conspiracy theories floating around as to why Atmos does not sound as good as it could for home release version of the movies. There is a common denominator and it seems that effort (read budget as well) is not that significant.

But on the other hand streaming services and their bigger production shows are, at least IMO, getting better.

There are more shows nowadays and less movies, so it might still be worth getting a solid HT for the ones that want to put in the effort.

 

[klettermann]

There are many conspiracy theories floating around as to why Atmos does not sound as good as it could for home release version of the movies. There is a common denominator and it seems that effort (read budget as well) is not that significant.

But on the other hand streaming services and their bigger production shows are, at least IMO, getting better.

There are more shows nowadays and less movies, so it might still be worth getting a solid HT for the ones that want to put in the effort.

I'd be curious to know what's "conspiratorial" about any of this. Regardless, the salient point is not that Atmos doesn't sound good, it's the disconnect between the Atmos hype and relative lack of content on streaming. Cheers,

 

[Fidji]

The author seems to nail the root cause of my observations. I had this conversation about lack of Atmos content several times over at AVS and came away amazed at how much effort many of those guys are willing to put in for such a narrow slice of all the titles out there. Moreover, it seems like much (most?) of the Atmos stuff is of the style illustrated on the magazine's cover, LOL. But to each his own.

“Lack of Atmos content” seems to be one of those urban myths, that just refuse to die. You can watch [or listen to in case of Atmos music] to reference quality content for next 2 years and there would be still lot of stuff that you will miss. There is also lot of crappy atmos content and lot of great DTS 5.1 content, no doubt. But Atmos has become industry standard and there is hardly any new release, that does not include atmos [and most of 4k re-issues too]

I think there are not that many great immersive audio setups out there. To put 2 or 4 in-ceiling speakers and to expect some extra difference is naive. Thing with immersive setups is - they are just much better in everything - so also DTS HD MA content will sound better on high-performance system [as per RP 22] https://cedia.org/smart-home-profes...ersive-audio-design-excellence/?langchanged=y You can use upmix for 5.1 content and this makes the extra effort pay off, if done properly.

So it is not about atmos, it is about the fact that average living room 65 inch TV system, is just not good enough to show all the strenghts of good atmos content. Home Theatre is not a cheap hobby, if done seriously. No payback, probably cheaper to go to cinema every day for the rest of your life.