Anyone Tried 3D Immersive Sound (Dolby Atmos etc) at Home?

[mawnansmiff]

In May last year I decided to upgrade my ~12 year old Yamaha AVR with a new model. The old one worked just fine, I just fancied a newer model and so bought their Aventage A-3060 which was their flagship model upon release. The problem was that to install it properly meant I had to go about some serious furniture rearranging that I’d wanted to do for some time and didn’t look forward to actually doing.

Fast forward to June this year. After gathering dust in its crate in a spare room I decided it was time to get my finger out & unpack it & get it installed….13 months after purchase

The specs on this 42lb behemoth are quite something: 150 Watts into 8 Ohms, 24 DSP programs with uncountable permutations of sound options by combining other trickery built in. There are 9 channels of amplification (11 channels of processing) and a whole host of other features, most of which I’ll never use. I believe it will power up to 3 subwoofers....who would want 3 subwoofers?

Anyway, one particular feature set interested me and that is the Dolby Atmos, Cinema DSP HD3 and DTS:X three dimensional sound capabilities. I can only wonder what total surround or 3D sound sounds like though I’m never likely to find out as I have no desire to install speakers in my ceiling but by all accounts that I’ve read, it really makes certain music and most films really come to life, particularly ‘action’ films.

Thus far I’m only set up for 7:0 (that is 7:1 minus the subwoofer, I get plenty of bass through my MA floorstander/tower speakers) though I do plan on upping that to 9:0 when I get my finger out to wire up my rear surround speakers.

So folks, anyone here tried Dolby Atmos or other type of 3D immersive sound at home? Did the earth move for you?

Jay.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Strictly 2 channel, here, but there are benefits to using a subwoofer—certainly ones if used with full range speakers; the crossover and filter can allow the tweeter, midrange, and woofer to really shine at what they do because they’re not also dealing with the much lower frequencies. You might actually get better sound by hooking up the .1.

 

[fireground_piper]

I commissioned our Atmos production suite at work. It can be an incredible experience for the proper type of content. It can also ruin the experience for improper content or a poorly thought out mix.

The right mix of the right content played back in the right context is a really, really nice listening pleasure.

 

[mawnansmiff]

they do because they’re not also dealing with the much lower frequencies. You might actually get better sound by hooking up the .1.

I can alter the PEQ to my heart's content via the YPAO, but as my system currently puts all the LFE into my front towers with twin bass woofers each, I'm quite content with it.

If I can feel the bass in my bum and feet, that's good enough for me .

I do also have those pesky things called neighbours to consider

Jay.

 

[PLANofMAN]

I picked up a Nakamichi Atmos/DTS:X surround sound setup a few years ago. It's currently on the fritz, as I think a transistor is burned out in the processor. I keep meaning to take it to an electronic repair place, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

If you don't have a 4K player and 4k discs, it's not worth it. Streamed video audio is frankly, awful.

If you have high ceilings, that can be an issue.

The biggest improvement a person can make to their surround setup is to have dual bass subwoofer speakers, imo. A really good 5.2 or 7.2 setup will be a better choice than a cheap Atmos setup.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I used to have a Kenwood rack system back in college, and I would always have to warn my roommates... if you turn the volume above 6, it automatically alerts the police. It was a built in safety feature.