Question on Atmos and surround speakers (1 Viewer)

[Jeff1125]

Greetings all. Long time member, first time poster.

In the next few months we will be moving in a house that has a dedicated media room. The room is 14'-11" x 17'-6" in size. By default, the room comes prewired for 7.1 sound, which originally included two front wall speakers, a center channel speaker, a sub, and four ceiling speakers. I will be using tower speakers in the front, so I have asked for the front in-wall speaker wiring to be moved to the back of the room, which will put them on the side walls at a height of about 6'. My question is, will the two rear in-ceiling speakers be sufficient for surround (leaving the other two for Atmos), allowing me to eliminate the two in-wall speakers on the side walls? I'm all for more speakers, but I don't want to overdo it in a room this size. If two of the four in-ceiling speakers will be sufficient for surround, I can save the money and put it towards other hardware. I have attached simple diagram of the room to give an idea of the layout. Thank you in advance for the advice!

 

[JohnRice]

Can you put the sub in the front? I know people claim you can put a sub anywhere, but it really is best if it's in the front of the room.

 

[Jeff1125]

Can you put the sub in the front? I know people claim you can put a sub anywhere, but it really is best if it's in the front of the room.

Hi John...I can place the sub anywhere in the room, the location noted on the pic is just where they run wiring by default.

 

[Todd Erwin]

My question is, will the two rear in-ceiling speakers be sufficient for surround (leaving the other two for Atmos), allowing me to eliminate the two in-wall speakers on the side walls?

I do not think so. Dolby's speaker placement recommendations basically call for rear surrounds to be either wall-mounted or elevated on stands. I'm not saying you can't set up your speakers in the way you indicated, but you may not get a truly immersive Atmos environment/experience.

 

[Jeff1125]

I do not think so. Dolby's speaker placement recommendations basically call for rear surrounds to be either wall-mounted or elevated on stands. I'm not saying you can't set up your speakers in the way you indicated, but you may not get a truly immersive Atmos environment/experience.

Thanks! I'm going to keep the two wall speakers as the rear surrounds. Based on what you shared that looks to be the best option.

 

[Todd Erwin]

Thanks! I'm going to keep the two wall speakers as the rear surrounds. Based on what you shared that looks to be the best option.

I would recommend using the ceiling speakers closer to the front for Atmos rather than those that are almost parallel with the rear wall speakers.

 

[JohnRice]

So, you're aiming at a 5.1.4 system. Ideally in that configuration the surrounds would be to the sides of the viewing area, not behind it. The Atmos speakers would have the two pairs of speakers roughly the same width as the front speakers, with each pair roughly 40 degrees in front of and behind the viewing area. A lot of people think the first pair of surround speakers are "rear" surrounds, but they really aren't. They are to the sides.

 

[Jeff1125]

So, you're aiming at a 5.1.4 system. Ideally in that configuration the surrounds would be to the sides of the viewing area, not behind it. The Atmos speakers would have the two pairs of speakers roughly the same width as the front speakers, with each pair roughly 40 degrees in front of and behind the viewing area. A lot of people think the first pair of surround speakers are "rear" surrounds, but they really aren't. They are to the sides.

That's exactly where they will be. I stated they were "rear surrounds" but they will actually be on the side walls directed towards the viewing area. I'm also going to relocate the sub to the front of the room, as you mentioned earlier.