Worth going for Atmos?

Sparky · 25 May 2023 at 20:48

I'm thinking about a little upgrade and maybe going down the atmos route. Currently I have a 7.1 Denon Receiver, KEF Q500 fronts, KEF Q200 centre , KEF Eggs as rears and a KEF Q400B Sub.
Budget wise I'm allowing £500 for the receiver [2nd hand probably] but have no idea regarding the atmos speaker requirements. Do I need 4 or is 2 sufficient?

Cheers

rare · 25 May 2023 at 20:51

I’ve got 4 in ceiling speakers that I use for Atmos and I think is amazing. Really pleased with it. 2 is probably fine, guess it really depends on the layout of the room, listening volumes all that kind of thing.

hornetstinger · 25 May 2023 at 21:19

You could buy more kef eggs or size up to kef q8s.

To get a avr with all four atmos plus 7 amps for base channels you'll probably have to step to Denon 4700 check how many amp channels that has not just the processing

I'm using a 9.2.4 system

tom_nieto · 26 May 2023 at 13:32

Which Denon have you got currently? It would seem a shame to step down a couple of product levels just to get atmos. You’d potentially sacrifice the quality of the amplifier for the front soundstage.

Ayahuasca · 26 May 2023 at 13:40

hornetstinger said:
I'm using a 9.2.4 system

pics?

hornetstinger · 26 May 2023 at 13:47

Atmos is more of a subtle experience. It's not like going from a £100 subwoofer to £1000 one.

The Atmos speakers shouldn't draw attention to themselves

200sols · 26 May 2023 at 13:49

Pics or it only exists in your head.

hornetstinger · 26 May 2023 at 13:52

200sols said:
Pics or it only exists in your head.

Rofl so much jealousy.

KEF q8s are bigger drivers than the kef eggs and quite affordable.

Agree with earlier poster no point getting a newer bit lower quality avr just to get Atmos

200sols · 26 May 2023 at 14:09

hornetstinger said:
Rofl so much jealousy.

You haven't shows us anything to be jealous of.

Sparky · 26 May 2023 at 15:15

tom_nieto said:
Which Denon have you got currently? It would seem a shame to step down a couple of product levels just to get atmos. You’d potentially sacrifice the quality of the amplifier for the front soundstage.

It's the BT540 so needs upgrading regardless

hornetstinger · 26 May 2023 at 16:54

I'd move the kef eggs to ceiling heights then buy higher quality ones where the eggs were

VincentHanna · 27 May 2023 at 11:46

I replaced a 5.2.1 Atmos system paired with a Denon 4700 with Sony's HT-A9 wireless speakers/subwoofer with Atmos, and am really happy with the results.

It helps that my main TV for movies is a Sony A90J which works with that system as a centre channel.

I've also got a lot more space now I don't have tower speakers and a massive cylindrical subwoofer.

hornetstinger · 27 May 2023 at 15:54

VincentHanna said:
I replaced a 5.2.1 Atmos system paired with a Denon 4700 with Sony's HT-A9 wireless speakers/subwoofer with Atmos, and am really happy with the results.

It helps that my main TV for movies is a Sony A90J which works with that system as a centre channel.

I've also got a lot more space now I don't have tower speakers and a massive cylindrical subwoofer

Don't you miss the pressuratuon he room with the svs cylinder?

Sparky · 27 May 2023 at 22:13

I have 2 subs a 8" B&W and a 12" Kef. Bass I have covered. Looked at a couple of atmos receivers today from Denon and Onkyo. The Onkyo looked nice but I'm used to the Denon layout so a hard choice.

hornetstinger · 27 May 2023 at 23:04

Sparky said:
I have 2 subs a 8" B&W and a 12" Kef. Bass I have covered. Looked at a couple of atmos receivers today from Denon and Onkyo. The Onkyo looked nice but I'm used to the Denon layout so a hard choice.

Not a good idea to have two different subs. Also you would need to time align each subwoofer

Sparky · 27 May 2023 at 23:46

It's done me ok for the last 5 years.

hornetstinger · 27 May 2023 at 23:52

Sparky said:
It's done me ok for the last 5 years.

It may work but it might not be ideal or optimised correctly.

If you get a new AVR make sure it had two subwoofer outputs, and seperate ones.

aoluffy · 28 May 2023 at 17:46

hornetstinger said:
It may work but it might not be ideal or optimised correctly.

If you get a new AVR make sure it had two subwoofer outputs, and seperate ones.

Why? Most AVRs don't do much in regards to time aligning subs and essentially still treat the two separate subs as one when it comes to measuring.

Most people are fine with one subwoofer output from their AVR and if they do fancy going for multiple subwoofers, should buy a MiniDSP2x4HD or better. This will allow to increase sub count to 4. You can then time align and calibrate the subs together via RoomEQ and the MiniDSP app. Once dialled in to the best of your ability, connect to the single output subwoofer and its all good. To limit distortion, try to manage levels of the sub outputs manually rather than adjusting gain on the MiniDSP (being a bit of a perfectionist).

I know a few AVRS do deal with both subs as individujal speakers but they're rare and expensive - and still won't give better results than a miniDSP (DIRACT live new bass management and Trinnov's new stuff might prove this wrong but doubtful to come to mid-range and introductory AVRS for a few years).