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5.1.5 or am I just dreaming (1 Viewer)

aard

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OK, I have my 5 channel DD. Dolby Atmos and DTS:X has been out for a while. I have some left over amplifiers so I have 5 x 2 channel amps that I can use, but all the configurations I have read about have an uneven number of speakers (discounting the SW). How would you use 10 channels? 5.1.4 plus a "voice of god" or just leave 1 channel out and go for a 5.1.4?

Also, my 2 spare amps are different to my main 3 amps, so would this be an issue with mismatched voicing? I would get speakers from the same manufacturer.

(Question for those who are married): Is it acceptable to have speakers hovering over your head or is this a pipe dream.
 

Dave Upton

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@aard - Atmos pretty much always comes in even increments. So you can do .2, .4 or .6 overhead channels in a standard setup.

I would go for 5.1.4 in your case.

I'm married myself, and my wife had no problem adding 4 overhead speakers in the ceiling of our theater room, but it is a dedicated space after all. Do you have a theater room or are you using a common room/area?
 

JohnRice

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To add to Dave, due to the center channel speaker, there's basically always an odd number of speakers, since all the others are added in pairs. That's why there tend to be a lot of 3, 5 and 7 channels amplifiers.
 

aard

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Yep. its the 5 that makes it an odd number. I was hoping not to waste one of my channels, as stereo amps come in pairs :) I was toying with the idea of 6.1.4 with a single rear channel.

I am currently designing a new house to live in and I cant afford a separate listening room, so it will be going into a largeish open plan living room. I actually prefer this configuration as it gets used and enjoyed by both of us.

As I am starting the design process it is the right time to decide if I put in ceiling speakers etc etc.
 

JohnRice

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If you want Atmos, you definitely want some in-ceiling speakers. Be sure to locate them correctly. Then there’s usually side and rear surrounds.

I strongly suggest you get away from using Class A amps all the way around. Maybe you use one for the L&R, but that is a total waste for the rest of them. You’re wasting an enormous amount of power.
 

aard

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Thanks @JohnRice. So you think in ceiling is better than mounted speakers for the high level speakers or just looks tidier.

My other amps are old Linn LK100's so dont use much power in comparison. The other option is to get an AVR and do hybrid external amps and AVR amps.
 

JohnRice

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In-ceiling should only be used for the Atmos speakers. So, the basic setup is, three in the front, then a 5.1 has two on the sides (not the rear) of the room at or a little behind the main sitting position. Those should be a couple feet above seated ear level. When you go to 7.1, you add two speakers on the rear wall, at about the same height as the sides.

Then you get to Atmos, which adds overhead (in or on ceiling) speakers. Also, ideally you have the side and rear speakers a little lower, closer to seated ear level. So, a 5/7.1.2 (Atmos) setup has two in/on-ceiling speakers about 30 degrees ahead of the seating position, and a 5/7.1.4 would add another pair of in/on-ceiling speakers about 30 degrees behind the sitting position.

There are a lot of possible variations, depending on the room. Dolby has a pretty good breakdown of most options HERE. For example, their suggestion for a 7.1.4 setup with in/on-ceiling speakers is HERE.
 

aard

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Thanks John, but my question was specifically about the Atmos overhead speakers. ceiling vs mounted.
 

JohnRice

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As long as they are overhead, out in the room and not just high on the side walls, it makes no difference if they are surface mounted or in the ceiling.

is that your question?
 

ManW_TheUncool

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As long as they are overhead, out in the room and not just high on the side walls, it makes no difference if they are surface mounted or in the ceiling.

is that your question?

I imagine it might make some diff if the ceiling is unusually high or low -- maybe more so the latter.

Even regular 8ft ceilings might not be so good for hanging bookshelf-style speakers that end up w/ drivers only 6.5-7ft high, if that's what one tries.

I'm thinking maybe going w/ something similar to the ELAC (low profile) height speakers (designed to sit on top of others for ceiling bounce), but installed firing down from the ceiling instead since I only have 8ft ceilings.

_Man_
 

John Dirk

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Totally your decision but I would only recommend installing in-ceiling speakers in a dedicated room. If this is an open and shared living space it could be a real detractor when it's time to sell. Mounting them to the ceiling may not be as neat & clean of an install but it is easily undone when the time comes.
 
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aard

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I am planning on fairly high ceilings (up to 4m at the highest point). I currently have full size Monitor Audio Gold series speakers Front/Centre/Rear and reading their website they are recommending their C265-IDC in ceiling speakers.

I think it would make sense to stay with something from the same manufacturer and series.

I have been doing a lot of reading the past few days on the subject. I have fallen behind.
 

aard

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Totally your decision but I would only recommend installing in-ceiling speakers in a dedicated room. If this is an open and shared living space it could be a real detractor when it's time time sell. Mounting them to the ceiling may not be as neat & clean of an install but it is easily undone when the time comes.
Totally understand where you are coming from and I have been there. The new owners weren't happy with holes in ceiling.

I hope the new owners of the house I am selling atm don't mind (find) the big hole in the wall to my office for the thick wad of cables.
 

JohnRice

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I imagine it might make some diff if the ceiling is unusually high or low -- maybe more so the latter.

Even regular 8ft ceilings might not be so good for hanging bookshelf-style speakers that end up w/ drivers only 6.5-7ft high, if that's what one tries.

I'm thinking maybe going w/ something similar to the ELAC (low profile) height speakers (designed to sit on top of others for ceiling bounce), but installed firing down from the ceiling instead since I only have 8ft ceilings.

_Man_
I didn't spell it out, but I was referring to surface mounting something like the SVS Elevation or ELAC Debut OW4.2, which are only a few inches thick and can be surface mounted to a ceiling as well as wall mounted.
 

aard

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Ahh.. surface mounted speakers. Sound like a nice option. I dont intend to ever sell though as this should be my last house, so I feel like I can sort of go for gold.
 

ManW_TheUncool

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No idea about many other parts of the country, but plenty buyers here in NYC metro area (and some others I've heard of) would probably have little problem w/ needing some basic reno work. Plenty (like my new neighbors) even do gut renos it seems... in part to save on the home purchase cost and in part because one often can't find exactly what one wants and will wanna renovate at least somewhat anyway.

And patching a few holes is usually the least of such work and can often be a simple DIY project.

Of course, NYC metro is essentially always a seller's market compared to most everywhere else in the country, so...

_Man_
 

aard

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A new house isnt yours until you have done some work on it I rekon. A few holes in the ceiling might be a good thing :) ... But I'm not going to move from this one.. really.
 

aard

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anyway... after lots of reading, I am looking at doing a 5.1.4 + VOG (for future proofing)
 

ManW_TheUncool

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Hehheh... if I install in-ceiling, I might just leave them in place for the next owners to do as they please.

I don't imagine in-ceiling speakers should be so expensive to compel me to reclaim them -- might not be worth the hassle at all, especially since there's fair likelihood they won't work well, if at all, in my next home, if I move again. Most don't even seem to have enclosures, which makes me wonder how good they can really sound anyway. Plus you end up w/ the ceiling as a giant, likely poor quality baffle unless you go all out w/ your ceiling perhaps, so...

I suspect low profile, surface-mount might indeed be best in general if one doesn't want to actually turn large parts of the ceiling into an acoustically well-designed, giant speaker system w/ multiple independently driven groups of drivers, haha...

OR maybe I'm just over-thinking this, hehheh...

Anyhoo, I'm thinking I'll probably want some ceiling treatments for my Thiel 5i's anyway (since they're so tall and seem to "need" the extra breathing space), so I'll probably end up doing some for the Atmos speakers as well, but of course, I'm planning a dedicated room, so...

_Man_
 

aard

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How do you see yourself using a dedicated room? Really interested. I only know one person that had one and it was on his 3rd floor. He said that he hasn't been up there for a few years as after a glass of wine he cant be ar$$ed going up the stairs to listen.
 

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