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Height speakers, type & placement question(s). (1 Viewer)

aceinc

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My room is 15' x 25'. My 7.1 system speakers are all floor standing of one sort or another. My ceiling is plaster, but it is the first floor with a second floor above. I will be adding 4 height channels.

The Atmos discussions I have seen show in ceiling speakers just in front of and just behind the main listening position or angled speakers mounted on the top of the mains. Towards that end I have ordered 4 in ceiling speakers. However as I re-evaluate the level of difficulty installing said speakers and their requisite wiring, I take pause.

I have in hand 4 KEF 101.2 Reference box speakers, which, I believe could be mounted in the 4 corners of the room with less aggravation, wiring wise.

As far as electronics driving these 4 channels;

Marantz AV7704 11.2 Sound Processor
Sherbourn 5/1500A Five channel 200 watt power amp. One channel unused.

The questions is, "Will Atmos work well with corner placed speakers?"

Does anyone have experience with this?
 

Type A

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No experience with corner mounted atmos. I do have experience with atmos, my system is 5.2.4.

No I dont believe it will work. Object-based sound requires, basically, speakers in the middle of the room. Atmos channels are the go-between between your front stage and surround channels. Think of them, in part, as transition speakers. Sound starts in the front stage, transitions to the seating (Atmos channels) and finishes in the surrounds (behind you). Then there is object-based sounds that put an object in a specific place in space, that requires the use of multiple speakers to put an object at a given distance from the listener. If your atmos channels are outside of the 7 channel soundfield you are already creating they will not be able to create their transition and location sound field. You are better off using upward firing speakers installed on your existing speakers and aimed up at the ceiling to bounce down towards the seating. Obviously this is vastly inferior to ceiling mounted in the correct location.
 

Type A

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Btw if you take your time and staple the speaker wires tight and paint over them to match the ceiling color you can conceal speaker wire pretty well if youre motivated. Heres a look up at my left front and rear atmos channels from my favorite seat on the couch, I think the wires do blend nicely.

20190319_210144.jpg
 

JohnRice

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As Ty said, Atmos speakers need to be overhead, both forward and back, not just higher. @John Dirk can attest to how much difference there is between just having them high on the walls and actually above you. My experience is that reflecting models are minimally effective. I wouldn't even bother with that option.
 

John Dirk

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As Ty said, Atmos speakers need to be overhead, both forward and back, not just higher. @John Dirk can attest to how much difference there is between just having them high on the walls and actually above you. My experience is that reflecting models are minimally effective. I wouldn't even bother with that option.

I had SVS Prime Elevation speakers [x6] mounted high and on the side walls in my HT until maybe a year ago. I now have RSL C34E's mounted in the ceiling and the difference is amazing and worth every penny.
 

aceinc

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Well my 4 ceiling speakers have arrived. Now I just need to work out the logistics.

No matter what, I will be putting the wires in the ceiling/walls. Even if it requires cutting holes, patching & painting.
 

JohnRice

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Be sure to use CL2 or CL3 wire in the walls. It's usually not a code requirement, but they're easier to pull through walls, and their insulation will hold up. Regular speakers wire insulation is likely to completely break down in time. Learned that the hard way.
 

JohnRice

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BTW, you know that you and us two Johns have the same line of processors. John Dirk has the 7702II and I have the 7703.
 

aceinc

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The deal I got on the brand new 7704 was too good to be true... I replaced an Emotiva XMC-1 for less than the cost to upgrade to Atmos & UHD, I then sold the un-upgraded XMC-1 for almost as much as I paid for 7704. I think the XMC-1 may have sounded slightly better, but the 7704 had the features I was looking for.

I am using older Emotiva XPA series amplifiers for power, XPA-1s, XPA-2 & XPA-3. I have the Sherbourn sitting in my garage which I bought a couple of years ago for this project.
 

Johnny Angell

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I had SVS Prime Elevation speakers [x6] mounted high and on the side walls in my HT until maybe a year ago. I now have RSL C34E's mounted in the ceiling and the difference is amazing and worth every penny.
I just bought the C34E’s and hope to have them installed, along with a new Denon X6500H AVR, within a month. I’m always happy to read of the wisdom of my choice. ;)
 

John Dirk

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I just bought the C34E’s and hope to have them installed, along with a new Denon X6500H AVR, within a month. I’m always happy to read of the wisdom of my choice. ;)

Congrats!!!

I don't think you can go wrong with these. Not saying there aren't more competent performers out there but not likely at this price point. The customer service experience is also top notch.

I certainly have not been disappointed
 

JohnRice

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I'm definitely tempted to go with those when I go whole-hog Atmos.
 

andySu

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I'm definitely tempted to go with those when I go whole-hog Atmos.
The whole hog, like what I done?
JBTHX3.jpg


I recommended JBL 8330A they are getting cheaper on ebay, and soundly they sound great! They are lighter-weight over the mkI mkII models that are on the side/rear wall. I tried slightly I guess edges of the room and that leaves maybe a possible x6 more on the ceiling but I think I'm done with this now.

The 9th JBL 8330A is laying on the floor for install on Monday at the rear back middle of the ceiling. I call the middle ones DOG Dolby Overhead God. Or DOG 1, DOG 2 and DOG 3, with extra signal steered at floor level though the matrix, Dolby SA10, that sort of creates a vertical circle sound field.

I use a three per Height 1 2 and 3 with a matrix decoder for each height channel to extract the centre-phantom and give a slightly better, wider overhead surround. So whole hog, Got use JBL! Jedi Blaster Lightsaber speakers. JBL was first chosen for THX.
 

Johnny Angell

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The whole hog, like what I done?
View attachment 69372

I recommended JBL 8330A they are getting cheaper on ebay, and soundly they sound great! They are lighter-weight over the mkI mkII models that are on the side/rear wall. I tried slightly I guess edges of the room and that leaves maybe a possible x6 more on the ceiling but I think I'm done with this now.

The 9th JBL 8330A is laying on the floor for install on Monday at the rear back middle of the ceiling. I call the middle ones DOG Dolby Overhead God. Or DOG 1, DOG 2 and DOG 3, with extra signal steered at floor level though the matrix, Dolby SA10, that sort of creates a vertical circle sound field.

I use a three per Height 1 2 and 3 with a matrix decoder for each height channel to extract the centre-phantom and give a slightly better, wider overhead surround. So whole hog, Got use JBL! Jedi Blaster Lightsaber speakers. JBL was first chosen for THX.
I need to show this pic to my wife so she knows she got off easy with my system.:D
 

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