Atmos speaker setup

FrankGrimes

We ran in cables for an Atmos installation in two living rooms in our new build...I’m now trying to determine if we can afford to install speakers or need to blank them off.

Speaker cables all go back to plant room. Room A has two low front speaker cables, a centre, two high front and two low rear. Thinking something like Onkyo SKSHT588 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos Speakers could work: use only the front low pair and upfire off ceiling, so 5 speakers giving effect of 7. Need to mount the rears on stands beside the couch as it’s a glass wall behind it.

Room B has a pitched ceiling on left as you look at TV. Two mid height front speaker cables, a centre, and a high rear left and right. Also has cables in middle of the room, one left where vertical wall meets pitched roof (so needs to be a small speaker) and one high on right side. Both rooms also have line level cable for sub.

Not sure if one Denon 7.1.2 receiver in plant room can cover both rooms or if individual would be required?

Also not sure if it’s best for room B to go with a package or buy individually? Was planning to buy speakers and amp for room B at a later point as build went over budget but electrician suggested it’s neater and less labour for me to just run the unfinished cables directly into speakers rather than terminate into plates.

Tight on budget so ideally can only do 1000eur to cover the lot, 1200 tops.

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

FrankGrimes wrote: »

We ran in cables for an Atmos installation in two living rooms in our new build...I’m now trying to determine if we can afford to install speakers or need to blank them off.

Speaker cables all go back to plant room. Room A has two low front speaker cables, a centre, two high front and two low rear. Thinking something like Onkyo SKSHT588 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos Speakers could work: use only the front low pair and upfire off ceiling, so 5 speakers giving effect of 7. Need to mount the rears on stands beside the couch as it’s a glass wall behind it.

Room B has a pitched ceiling on left as you look at TV. Two mid height front speaker cables, a centre, and a high rear left and right. Also has cables in middle of the room, one left where vertical wall meets pitched roof (so needs to be a small speaker) and one high on right side. Both rooms also have line level cable for sub.

Not sure if one Denon 7.1.2 receiver in plant room can cover both rooms or if individual would be required?

Also not sure if it’s best for room B to go with a package or buy individually? Was planning to buy speakers and amp for room B at a later point as build went over budget but electrician suggested it’s neater and less labour for me to just run the unfinished cables directly into speakers rather than terminate into plates.

Tight on budget so ideally can only do 1000eur to cover the lot, 1200 tops.

Hi FrankGrimes.

Thanks for the post.

For Room A. The Onkyo SKSHT588 fronts have the Atmos speaker attacked to the top firing upwards but you still need to connect both the front left and right and the Atmos left and right into the back for them (Each speaker has four wires running to it). Are you front low and front high wired to the same position or are the highs wired to the ceiling or higher up the wall for wall mounting speakers?

Room B.
A standard 5.1 system would use up the mid height fronts, centre, rear left and right and the subwoofer.
I'm not sure what you could use the cables wired to the middle of the room other than side rears. I not 100% sure if they could be used as Atmos due to their positioning. 
Where is the seating area in relation to the middle wires?
It may be possible to use wall mounted speakers and point them inwards to the room but again this would depend on the seating arrangement.

The Denon Atmos A/V receivers would only be able to run one room meaning you would require two separate receivers.

For Room A the Denon AVRX2400 is priced at £299 and the Onkyo SKSHT588 coming in at £379.00. The SKSHT588 is at the moment totally out of stock but is due within the next week.

For Room B you could go with another AVRX2400 at £299 then add something like the Tannoy Mercury 5.1 pack priced at £289.00 - This would allow you to then purchase two separate speaker for the 7.1 setup of 5.1.2 Atmos setup (Depending on speaker wire location).
https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/speaker-packages/tannoy-mercury-7-2-x2-7c-w.html

Total would then be £1266 coming in a little over budget.

FrankGrimes

Thanks for that. As it's a non-standard room setup, using some visuals from our 3D model I've shown the details of the cables in a PDF here. In Room A, front and high are wired separately so sounds like the Onkyo set with upfiring built into the fronts won't work? So what options does that leave? 

Meant to say, I have a decent subwoofer I bought from you a few years ago, may be Cambridge. 

Hopefully the PDF makes the Room B layout a bit clearer - I had thought that while not perfect, having any form of high speakers in place would get the bulk of the Atmos benefit, is that the case or should we not use our High Left and High Right at all?

In terms of form factor, I'm fine with fronts and centre being the size of the Tannoy set you linked, but want to go as small as possible for the highs, and for the rears (sub being big is fine). So are the best value options here going to be getting a full package or getting a 5 speaker set and then adding in 2 others for the highs?

Thanks. 

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Thanks for that. As it's a non-standard room setup, using some visuals from our 3D model I've shown the details of the cables in a PDF here. In Room A, front and high are wired separately so sounds like the Onkyo set with upfiring built into the fronts won't work? So what options does that leave? 

Meant to say, I have a decent subwoofer I bought from you a few years ago, may be Cambridge. 

Hopefully the PDF makes the Room B layout a bit clearer - I had thought that while not perfect, having any form of high speakers in place would get the bulk of the Atmos benefit, is that the case or should we not use our High Left and High Right at all?

In terms of form factor, I'm fine with fronts and centre being the size of the Tannoy set you linked, but want to go as small as possible for the highs, and for the rears (sub being big is fine). So are the best value options here going to be getting a full package or getting a 5 speaker set and then adding in 2 others for the highs?

Thanks. 

Hey FrankGrimes.

Unfortunately it says the link is no longer available.

The Onkyo's will not work with your current wiring setup as both fronts and front highs would have needed to come out at the same point.
You could wall mount speakers and point them downwards into the room and this too can give the Atmos effect.

For Room B the link would not open.
In theory what you are saying is correct regarding any high mounted speaker will give an Atmos effect but to get the best Atmos feel it is recommended to have downward firing or upward firing speakers.
The link below shows examples of the setup and explains how it works.
https://www.dolby.com/us/en/brands/dolby-atmos.html

You can mix and match pretty much any speakers together for 5.1 (Keeping ohms the same rating) so there would be no issue using different rears and highs and using the Tannoy fronts and centre.

Tannoy Mercury 7.2 speakers priced at £119.00
http://www.richersounds.ie/p-203041-black-400627.aspx

Tannoy Mercury Centre priced at £79.00
http://www.richersounds.ie/p-203045-walnut-400631.aspx

For the rears you could perhaps look at the Mordaunt Short M10 priced at £59.00
http://www.richersounds.ie/p-200629-black-200629.aspx

If you wanted to look at something different their is the NEW Monitor Audio Monitor range which sound excellent.

Monitor 100's for fronts priced at £200
https://www.richersounds.com/moni-audio-monitor-100-blk-pr.html

Monitor C150 Centre priced at £140
https://www.richersounds.com/moni-audio-monitor-c150-blk.html

For the rears there are the Monitor 50's which are pretty small priced at £160
https://www.richersounds.com/moni-audio-monitor-50-blk.html

Let me know what you think.