[zybar]

I am in the process of updating my HT and I want to leverage Dolby Atmos/DTS:X processing to really take my HT to the next level.

My room is roughly 21' x 13' x 8' and I will have 7 speakers for surround + 2 subwoofers being controlled by a Denon AVR-X3700H

I want to add four (4) Dolby Atmos height speakers from SVS (Prime Elevation -  https://www.svsound.com/products/prime-elevation).

I can't do in-ceiling speakers because I have a drop ceiling in this room, so I need to decide if I mount them on the side walls or do front/back walls.

What are people out there doing?

George

[rklein]

Not sure how much space between your "real" ceiling and the drop ceiling but you might want to check into something like a ceiling mount.

https://www.amazon.com/SPS-506B-Horizontal-Adjustment-Stainless-Surrounding/dp/B08CC317QL/ref=sr_1_10?c=ts&keywords=Speaker+Mounts&qid=1644443708&refinements=p_n_feature_six_browse-bin%3A1265298011&s=electronics&sr=1-10&ts_id=297859

You could replace the existing bolt with a longer one if necessary.  You would need to cut a small hole in four of your ceiling panels to accommodate the bolt.   Just another possibility...

Another option to get the speakers mounted on the ceiling would be light speakers with a swivel bracket that can be mounted to a drop ceiling frame and tilted downwards.  Below is a possibility.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_091100OD6W/Focal-100-OD6-White.html

Of course, if none of the above is possible than the SVS are a pretty good choice 

Regards,

[Doublej]

In ceiling speakers here we come...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGf6jWlW_Xo

[zybar]

Thanks Doublej.

I decided to go with the SVS speakers and mount them on either the side or front/back walls.

George

[zybar]

Not sure how much space between your "real" ceiling and the drop ceiling but you might want to check into something like a ceiling mount.

https://www.amazon.com/SPS-506B-Horizontal-Adjustment-Stainless-Surrounding/dp/B08CC317QL/ref=sr_1_10?c=ts&keywords=Speaker+Mounts&qid=1644443708&refinements=p_n_feature_six_browse-bin%3A1265298011&s=electronics&sr=1-10&ts_id=297859

You could replace the existing bolt with a longer one if necessary.  You would need to cut a small hole in four of your ceiling panels to accommodate the bolt.   Just another possibility...

Another option to get the speakers mounted on the ceiling would be light speakers with a swivel bracket that can be mounted to a drop ceiling frame and tilted downwards.  Below is a possibility.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_091100OD6W/Focal-100-OD6-White.html

Of course, if none of the above is possible than the SVS are a pretty good choice 

Regards,

Great options, but I am going with the SVS speakers.

George

[Barry_NJ]

I'd go side walls, but a diagram of your room (similar to mine below) would be helpful to give best advice...


Media_Room_20220210_Atmos by Barry, on Flickr

[zybar]

Barry_NJ,

At this time, I don't have a room diagram.   

The room is roughly 21 x 12 x 8 with a drop ceiling.

A few distinguishing aspects of the room:

-  The back left has a small kitty corner (so the room isn't totally symmetrical)
-  The front left has a door to a good sized closet
-  There are three good sized rectangular windows on the right wall
-  The entry door into the room is on the left wall

I wound up mounting the (4) SVS Elevation speakers with a pair high up on the front and rear walls.

As of now, I have only run the speaker cable to the front pair (will get the rear pair wired this weekend).

So while I can hear an improvement, I am hoping it will be a good deal better once the rear pair is active AND once I run the Audyssey room correction software with the Atmos speakers in place (just did a manual setup for front pair).

Also, I still need to bring back into the room most of my GIK and Real Traps gear to help improve the sound.

George

[zybar]

I now have my (4) SVS Elevations speakers installed (2 front and 2 back) and I am happy to say that the impact was very noticeable!   

Whether playing Atmos or DTS:X demo material, movies, streaming, or Xbox games, it is quite easy to hear the difference and how much they add to the overall experience.   

Now that I know that it was worth making the investment, it's on to the next phase:

-  Further refining the speaker location (the front/rear left channel will be moved over a bit)
-  Hiding the wires in the drop ceiling/adding cable channels
-  Adding my ATI 1506 6 channel amp into the system to drive the (4) height channels + (2) surround back
-  Trying the Denon AVR-3700 in preamp mode (disables internal amps for better performance)
-  Adding (3) new theater seats (Valencia Tuscany - https://us.valenciatheaterseating.com/collections/premier-series/products/valencia-tuscany)
-  Building a platform for the second row of (2) recliners
-  Adding room treatments back into the room

Below are a few pics.  Please excuse the mess around the room...my goal was to test viability in this first phase. 

George

[Vince in TX]

Awesome.   Yeah, it's definitely one of those things that needs to be experienced to be believed, IMHO.   

EDIT:  Side note, do you have a PC with HDMI out that you can run to your receiver?   Microsoft's Dolby Access has the ATMOS demo tracks that you often see/hear in the ATMOS enabled theaters like the Dolby Cinemas.   Whenever I want to impress a guest, I just fire up one of those.   "Leaf" is my favorite.

[Barry_NJ]

Nice, glad you're happy with the results. I've really been enjoying my recently added Atmos receiver/speakers too!

[zybar]

Awesome.   Yeah, it's definitely one of those things that needs to be experienced to be believed, IMHO.   

EDIT:  Side note, do you have a PC with HDMI out that you can run to your receiver?   Microsoft's Dolby Access has the ATMOS demo tracks that you often see/hear in the ATMOS enabled theaters like the Dolby Cinemas.   Whenever I want to impress a guest, I just fire up one of those.   "Leaf" is my favorite.

I actually have both DTS and Atmos demos available on my Xbox Series X.

George

[Rjmartindale]

I have a nice little pair of up-firing Atmos Speakers, designed to throw the sound to the ceiling and bounce down on the listener, not perfect at all, however a reasonable solution if drilling/installing ceiling mounted speakers is not an option. Seem to work well with Atmos Surround Sound and DTS.