[Frans]

Anyone know what these up firing speaker drivers will work like? Is this going to heavily rely on timbre-matching to existing soeakers? Read: how can I match the Salk RAAL/Accuton awesomeness?

"For those that don't want speakers dangling from the ceiling (read: spouses of sound-obsessed home theater enthusiasts everywhere), Dolby has said that manufacturers will soon offer Atmos-enabled speakers that fire sound upward, creating the experience of an overhead sound field from the ground. Those speakers will be offered in full speakers with both front- and up-firing drivers and as add-on modules that augment existing front-firing speakers with up-firing capabilities."

[Phil A]

I've read about demos.  Seems to be a mixed bag.  Some people find upward firing speakers almost as good, others have indicated they don't like them.  Speakerwise, I'm ready to go in one spare system (already have in-ceiling surrounds which I'll convert to Atmos and have speakers sitting around for the normal surrounds). 

Still no word on DTS UHD in receivers.  Denon and Marantz have announced upcoming availablity (in addition to Atmos) of Auro 3D for a fee.  Also, current crop of receivers is half-assed for 4k video.  For the moment, I'm at least waiting until I see a DTS UHD announcement (perhaps CES in January) and I'll make my decision after that.  I have an attic above the living room in the main system (which is currently 9.2) and may before the end of the winter get in-ceiling put in for an eventual 11.2 Atmos system. 

In my opinon, the important thing is the front soundstage with HT.  I won't say that timbre matching makes zero difference for the other channels but to me it is less important.

[Big Red Machine]

I would never try to match speaker brands for the rears.  Not needed.  Nice to have nice speakers back there but then they get so little use it is overkill to me.  Now whether upfiring is going to work is TBD.  I'd rather have ceiling speakers for the effect myself than use up floor space.

[Frans]

Atmos closely relies on speaker voicing matching for the ceiling speakers. Much more so than the preceding dolby digital requirements where the rears were less important. Also, for 5.1 surround music it certainly helps to have similarly voiced speakers.

The more I look into this the more obvious it becomes that I need ceiling speakers that are built around the Accuton mid.

Ps. My rears are used quite heavily as I play lots of surround music and video. Most of the time actually.