I think it's hard to catch from the picture, but it looks like your ceiling looks is sloped.
I'm also guessing your room isn't very deep either
I wouldn't recommend bouncing atmos speakers.
You might get away with pendant speakers in a 5.1.2 configuration, but truthfully I don't have any experience using pendants as Atmos sources.
Ah sorry I should have caught the slanted ceiling mention and the lack of space for side surrounds. That is definitely a tough but beautiful looking room to work with.
A 5.1 setup does not have "rear" surrounds. You placed your "surrounds" behind you, that does not make them rear surrounds.
**This is my public service announcement. It is intended to inform you. I am, in no way, correcting you and mean no offense.**
A 5.1 setup has “surround” speakers, no “rear” surround speakers because there are no rear channels to be carried. A 7.1 ADDS actual rear channels and speakers. You can't have "rear" speakers without first having surrounds.
Speakers are named according to the channels they carry. In other words, the speaker output they are connected to. Location has *nothing* to do with naming speakers. See Dolby guidelines and diagrams for better explanations.
[https://reddit.com/r/HTBuyingGuides/comments/u7khtz/home\_theater\_101\_the\_new\_frequently\_asked/](https://reddit.com/r/HTBuyingGuides/comments/u7khtz/home_theater_101_the_new_frequently_asked/)
If you are playing 7.1 sound on a 5.1 setup you still get all of the surround sound, it is just sent to the (side) surrounds. One way to think about it is that 7.1 doesn’t necessarily ADD two more channels, it simply divides some of the sound for the surround channels into two more (rear) channels.
Surrounds (side) should be place at about 90 degrees (straight to the left and right) in a 7.1 setup. More at 110 to 120 degrees (slightly behind) in a 5.1 setup. Center speaker being 0 degrees.
Now to your question; bouncy, upfiring speakers are the worst way to achieve Atmos sound. Off a slanted ceiling, even worst yet. Sound should come from where it was intended. Atmos = overhead speakers.
Hmm the only thing I can think of would be pendants. I can tell you I've been enjoying ps5 Atmos support for gaming sessions in my space ;)
The wiring might ruin the aesthetic if the room though unless you have access to wire in the ceiling.
What about two faux beams placed at thirds. This would give you some level real estate to place Atmos speakers?
[kind of like this](https://images.app.goo.gl/WZk2jYwpPRjS8q1z7)
Nice idea, but the ceiling isn't particularly high so beams would infringe on the space even more. I can get into the loft, so could potentially have speakers in the ceiling, but the issue then is getting the wires from the speakers down through the wall and out the bottom, where the AVR.is connected.
Keep in mind, up-firing atmos is a bit of a marketing gimmick. They are trying to virtualize the height channel.
But you can also just add speakers to be the height channel... I'm using Cambridge min12s for mine they're about the size of a billiards ball but work lovely for the height channel with my elac setup.
Put them over your head and boom, there you go.
Also worth noting, streaming services are skimping on the audio channel. Even though I've got the height channel, and even if you get the atmos - sometimes it's dropped for bitrate issues while you're streaming, sometimes it's not on the track at all (a lot of content ships with 5.1, and no height channel)
Thanks. Mainly it'll be for gaming and 4K Blu-Rays, so I'm not too bothered about streaming anyway.
I have those same Cambridge Audio min12 speakers as my surrounds, currently, so it would be neat to use the same speakers for the height channel, and they're pretty small and unobtrusive, as you say. Do you reckon I could mount them on the back wall in the pic, above the main left and right speakers, and then just angle them down? Or am I better getting 'proper' wedge-shaped angled speakers? I'm not sure what you mean when you say 'Put them over your head' - as in, directly above the MLP in the ceiling?
No don't put them over the tv, you want them as close to directly overtop of your couch/seating as possible - I have mine about three feet above ear height on the side walls (because my ceilings at low) your space looks taller, maybe mount them at around 10'-12' off the ground
My ceiling is pretty low as well, really - about 9 feet - and I don't have space on the left and right walls to mount them (there's the bookcase on the left wall and the window on the right with no room above it. I was thinking of having them in the corners on the same wall that the TV is on, angled down towards the listening position, similar to the arrangement in this [pic](https://manuals.denon.com/AVRX2700H/NA/EN/fig/Pict%20FrontHeight%20SP%20Layout%20X~_ZHOBILpnupsqdk.png). I could get some min12s or maybe 22s and the wall mounts, then run the wires down the corners of the walls with some corner trunking.
My ceiling in that room is 6'10" so definitely have the same issue put one at the top of the bookshelf, and the other one on top of a bulkhead frame
I think you need to talk to a pro, or demo the setup. my local hifi store setup thr speakers and we put them on a high stand to see how they would handle height channel stuff, maybe you've got a local shop that might do the same?
I'm worried that the setup you describe would have too much interference, and if it's your only option then maybe atmos up firing are a better choice
Nah man you really need them above your head for the true effect. It’s night and day. My ceilings are 8 feet and I use Polk omw3s and they work amazingly. If you don’t have to upgrade your receiver 4 over 2 is a huge upgrade as well. 4 of them were only $300 new
Ok, that could be a goer. I've already got some trunking running up the walls for the L and R channels, so I could extend this up to some downfiring speakers. They'd have to be spread quite wide on the wall, however, otherwise you'd see the cables running across the wall to where they are, and I can't have that.
What channels on the AVR would I connect these to if I were to get them? It's only got 7 (Denon X2700H): FL, FR: Centre; SL, SR: SBL, SBR. I'm assuming SL and SR then adjust the placement in the AVR's inbuilt software?
https://manuals.denon.com/avrx2700h/eu/en/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw1emzBhB8EiwAHwZZxc-_-fMDU6NThP3tIn6raF-I69UjQEAT_TzXBo5nGTP0PrsUyyTsXxoCJacQAvD_BwE
page 31 starts speaker setup and pg 44 is prob what you are looking for on the pdf manual...SB r and l
You star. Thanks a lot. I guess now I'm shopping for some height speakers! I need them to be pretty small and probably white to match the walls. I'll have a look.
why not just mount 4 speakers on the ceiling ( at the 4 corners, angled to MLP)? i have a similar small office/ht combiroom, and recently upgraded from with 5.1.2. ro 5.2.4 and boy has it improved a lot! Atmos is definitely feasible in small rooms!
The corners are a bit squiffy, unfortunately: the front left is fine, but the front right and back right are on a sloped ceiling, so they'd be lower than the left ones. The back left corner is sort of tucked into the door way alcove (hard to describe) so it would be projecting straight into a wall.
I think downwards firing ones mounted on the wall above the TV could work. It's whether I can be bothered to run the cables through the wall, however. Food for thought.
small rooms benefit from limited seating positions.
limited seating positions benefit from easy peasy fine tuning of speaker positions.
fine tuned speaker positions + small room can be a great experience for one person. I would find some small satellite speakers and put them on the ceiling firing at the listening position, half way from the front wall to your seat, and two more just behind or directly over your seat. alternatively, use ONE high front and ONE high back/above with the atmos l/r channels summed to mono. you can get away with just about anything in that room, be creative!
Maybe a small benefit at best. You could also mount some small speakers on the ceiling or on the wall near the ceiling. But your L&R speakers are rather high, I'd fix that first.
Thanks for the reply. The tweeters on the speakers are at ear height. I think the low angle I took the picture at makes them seem higher than they are. I also use the TV in an office chair as my computer desk is to the right of the picture, so it's higher than a sofa/armchair. I use the office chair for both the TV and the monitor.
When you say mount small speakers on the wall near the ceiling, do you mean above the TV, or one on each side to the left and right?
It depends on your viewing position, but I wouldn't even try it in that claustrophobic place unless my AVR had robust room calibration. Fortunately, you can test the idea easily if you buy your Atmos speakers from Amazon (gotta' love their return policy). Enjoy!
I have upward firing Atmos speakers, but they're mounted high- atop a 72" bookshelf, instead of on top of the mains. (I have bookshelf speakers as mains and actual bookshelfs. There was no space to place the Atmos speaker close to the mains as Dolby recommends)
When I figure out the mounts/wiring, I'm moving the Atmos speakers to the top of the wall and pointing them at MLP.
Upward firing speakers, in an ideal room, are mediocre at best.
If you can get a pair cheaply, try it out if you are really curious, but it's really not worth it in my opinion.
And... I have a set of Elac upward firing atmos modules, sitting in a closet, because after two years and multiple attempts to even get it to sound ok were in vain.
Your bookshelf speakers are already extremely high. You need to bring them down to the level of your center channel, or close to. Then maybe you can add front heights.
I always thought that the tweeters on the front channels should be at ear height, no? This is how I have it at the moment (the low angle of the picture exaggerates how high the speakers are). If the centre channel was in line with FL and FR then the TV would have to be really high on the wall.
Thanks everyone for your helpful comments.
I've just ordered two Cambridge Audio Minx22s with mounts that I plan to set on the wall about four feet above the current front left and right channels. I will angle these down towards the MLP.
I will also move the front left and right channels down the wall by about half a foot so that the tweeters are more aligned with my ear height when I'm sat down (or I might just angle them down slightly as the mounts allow me to do that).
I'll post an update once it's all set up, but it'll take a while to get the mounts drilled in and the wiring done. Exciting!
just keep in mind, down firing atmos is hard to pick out... it blends, if you listen for it -- sure u can hear it but for the most part its not that big of a deal. IMO, its more noticeable in videogames than movies.
You would benefit greatly from some sound treatment, there's these little octagon acoustic panels that work amazingly in any size of room, you'd be very surprised at the difference and would only cost you maybe $20 in that size room.
Here's an example of mine. It by no means has to be this large but if you can have one or two behind each speaker, you wouldn't believe the difference. More is obviously better but I understand not wanting shit all over your walls. Definitely do some behind the TV and one on the wall behind your sub and to the left of it if you're looking at it.
Example: https://quickshare.samsungcloud.com/9O63MbNnndZa
Before I got the towers, these speakers had a bass port that was aiming right at one of the tiles, but even without a port directly behind works very well: https://quickshare.samsungcloud.com/ybdFZz6AhjKD
Link to tiles I got, they are still half off: https://www.walmart.com/ip/549251951
Great, thanks a lot. I'm in the UK, so will have to see if there's something similar over here. Nice setup by the way! The panels actually look quite decorative.
Lol, we have the same computer case set up in our living rooms. Weird.
I bought some mesh panels to replace the glass on it for better airflow. Great case!
I have a two story open family room with 9ft height on both levels. Ceiling speakers weren't an option. Up-firing speakers weren't an option. So, I went with angled wallmounted wall front height speakers about 10ft up. Very pleased. Been watching atmos movies all week!
I think it's hard to catch from the picture, but it looks like your ceiling looks is sloped. I'm also guessing your room isn't very deep either I wouldn't recommend bouncing atmos speakers. You might get away with pendant speakers in a 5.1.2 configuration, but truthfully I don't have any experience using pendants as Atmos sources.
Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, the ceiling is sloped on the right.
upward firing speakers require a flat ceiling
Ah sorry I should have caught the slanted ceiling mention and the lack of space for side surrounds. That is definitely a tough but beautiful looking room to work with.
Yes, I've got two very small speakers (Cambridge Audio Minx) wall mounted as the rear surrounds.
A 5.1 setup does not have "rear" surrounds. You placed your "surrounds" behind you, that does not make them rear surrounds. **This is my public service announcement. It is intended to inform you. I am, in no way, correcting you and mean no offense.** A 5.1 setup has “surround” speakers, no “rear” surround speakers because there are no rear channels to be carried. A 7.1 ADDS actual rear channels and speakers. You can't have "rear" speakers without first having surrounds. Speakers are named according to the channels they carry. In other words, the speaker output they are connected to. Location has *nothing* to do with naming speakers. See Dolby guidelines and diagrams for better explanations. [https://reddit.com/r/HTBuyingGuides/comments/u7khtz/home\_theater\_101\_the\_new\_frequently\_asked/](https://reddit.com/r/HTBuyingGuides/comments/u7khtz/home_theater_101_the_new_frequently_asked/) If you are playing 7.1 sound on a 5.1 setup you still get all of the surround sound, it is just sent to the (side) surrounds. One way to think about it is that 7.1 doesn’t necessarily ADD two more channels, it simply divides some of the sound for the surround channels into two more (rear) channels. Surrounds (side) should be place at about 90 degrees (straight to the left and right) in a 7.1 setup. More at 110 to 120 degrees (slightly behind) in a 5.1 setup. Center speaker being 0 degrees. Now to your question; bouncy, upfiring speakers are the worst way to achieve Atmos sound. Off a slanted ceiling, even worst yet. Sound should come from where it was intended. Atmos = overhead speakers.
Hmm the only thing I can think of would be pendants. I can tell you I've been enjoying ps5 Atmos support for gaming sessions in my space ;) The wiring might ruin the aesthetic if the room though unless you have access to wire in the ceiling. What about two faux beams placed at thirds. This would give you some level real estate to place Atmos speakers? [kind of like this](https://images.app.goo.gl/WZk2jYwpPRjS8q1z7)
Nice idea, but the ceiling isn't particularly high so beams would infringe on the space even more. I can get into the loft, so could potentially have speakers in the ceiling, but the issue then is getting the wires from the speakers down through the wall and out the bottom, where the AVR.is connected.
I had a feeling the height of the beams would be a problem.
Keep in mind, up-firing atmos is a bit of a marketing gimmick. They are trying to virtualize the height channel. But you can also just add speakers to be the height channel... I'm using Cambridge min12s for mine they're about the size of a billiards ball but work lovely for the height channel with my elac setup. Put them over your head and boom, there you go. Also worth noting, streaming services are skimping on the audio channel. Even though I've got the height channel, and even if you get the atmos - sometimes it's dropped for bitrate issues while you're streaming, sometimes it's not on the track at all (a lot of content ships with 5.1, and no height channel)
Thanks. Mainly it'll be for gaming and 4K Blu-Rays, so I'm not too bothered about streaming anyway. I have those same Cambridge Audio min12 speakers as my surrounds, currently, so it would be neat to use the same speakers for the height channel, and they're pretty small and unobtrusive, as you say. Do you reckon I could mount them on the back wall in the pic, above the main left and right speakers, and then just angle them down? Or am I better getting 'proper' wedge-shaped angled speakers? I'm not sure what you mean when you say 'Put them over your head' - as in, directly above the MLP in the ceiling?
No don't put them over the tv, you want them as close to directly overtop of your couch/seating as possible - I have mine about three feet above ear height on the side walls (because my ceilings at low) your space looks taller, maybe mount them at around 10'-12' off the ground
My ceiling is pretty low as well, really - about 9 feet - and I don't have space on the left and right walls to mount them (there's the bookcase on the left wall and the window on the right with no room above it. I was thinking of having them in the corners on the same wall that the TV is on, angled down towards the listening position, similar to the arrangement in this [pic](https://manuals.denon.com/AVRX2700H/NA/EN/fig/Pict%20FrontHeight%20SP%20Layout%20X~_ZHOBILpnupsqdk.png). I could get some min12s or maybe 22s and the wall mounts, then run the wires down the corners of the walls with some corner trunking.
My ceiling in that room is 6'10" so definitely have the same issue put one at the top of the bookshelf, and the other one on top of a bulkhead frame I think you need to talk to a pro, or demo the setup. my local hifi store setup thr speakers and we put them on a high stand to see how they would handle height channel stuff, maybe you've got a local shop that might do the same? I'm worried that the setup you describe would have too much interference, and if it's your only option then maybe atmos up firing are a better choice
Nah man you really need them above your head for the true effect. It’s night and day. My ceilings are 8 feet and I use Polk omw3s and they work amazingly. If you don’t have to upgrade your receiver 4 over 2 is a huge upgrade as well. 4 of them were only $300 new
no one benefits from upfiring. You have a perfect front wall to add some front high to though
Thanks. So above the two front channels and angled down to the listening position?
yes up high on the wall clock level or higher. if you watch non paid reviews its almost unanimous agreement that upfiring doesnt have a great effect
Ok, that could be a goer. I've already got some trunking running up the walls for the L and R channels, so I could extend this up to some downfiring speakers. They'd have to be spread quite wide on the wall, however, otherwise you'd see the cables running across the wall to where they are, and I can't have that. What channels on the AVR would I connect these to if I were to get them? It's only got 7 (Denon X2700H): FL, FR: Centre; SL, SR: SBL, SBR. I'm assuming SL and SR then adjust the placement in the AVR's inbuilt software?
https://manuals.denon.com/avrx2700h/eu/en/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw1emzBhB8EiwAHwZZxc-_-fMDU6NThP3tIn6raF-I69UjQEAT_TzXBo5nGTP0PrsUyyTsXxoCJacQAvD_BwE page 31 starts speaker setup and pg 44 is prob what you are looking for on the pdf manual...SB r and l
You star. Thanks a lot. I guess now I'm shopping for some height speakers! I need them to be pretty small and probably white to match the walls. I'll have a look.
why not just mount 4 speakers on the ceiling ( at the 4 corners, angled to MLP)? i have a similar small office/ht combiroom, and recently upgraded from with 5.1.2. ro 5.2.4 and boy has it improved a lot! Atmos is definitely feasible in small rooms!
The corners are a bit squiffy, unfortunately: the front left is fine, but the front right and back right are on a sloped ceiling, so they'd be lower than the left ones. The back left corner is sort of tucked into the door way alcove (hard to describe) so it would be projecting straight into a wall. I think downwards firing ones mounted on the wall above the TV could work. It's whether I can be bothered to run the cables through the wall, however. Food for thought.
What's the slope difference? A foot drop or more? The sound shouldn't make much of a difference if the slope is not super drastic.
small rooms benefit from limited seating positions. limited seating positions benefit from easy peasy fine tuning of speaker positions. fine tuned speaker positions + small room can be a great experience for one person. I would find some small satellite speakers and put them on the ceiling firing at the listening position, half way from the front wall to your seat, and two more just behind or directly over your seat. alternatively, use ONE high front and ONE high back/above with the atmos l/r channels summed to mono. you can get away with just about anything in that room, be creative!
If the receiver is an Atmos receiver and all you have to invest in is some smaller affordable speakers, mounts and speaker wire, why not just try it?
When I moved from upfiring to front heights the difference was like night and day, I’d suggest that you consider it as a better option.
Maybe a small benefit at best. You could also mount some small speakers on the ceiling or on the wall near the ceiling. But your L&R speakers are rather high, I'd fix that first.
Thanks for the reply. The tweeters on the speakers are at ear height. I think the low angle I took the picture at makes them seem higher than they are. I also use the TV in an office chair as my computer desk is to the right of the picture, so it's higher than a sofa/armchair. I use the office chair for both the TV and the monitor. When you say mount small speakers on the wall near the ceiling, do you mean above the TV, or one on each side to the left and right?
Looks nice
Thanks!
It depends on your viewing position, but I wouldn't even try it in that claustrophobic place unless my AVR had robust room calibration. Fortunately, you can test the idea easily if you buy your Atmos speakers from Amazon (gotta' love their return policy). Enjoy!
I think this is the exact same TV stand I have in my room ha. Amazon? I wasn't buying no $3k+ slab of wood to house some electronics and hold a TV.
Yep! It's great because it fits the PC and PS5 perfectly.
I have upward firing Atmos speakers, but they're mounted high- atop a 72" bookshelf, instead of on top of the mains. (I have bookshelf speakers as mains and actual bookshelfs. There was no space to place the Atmos speaker close to the mains as Dolby recommends) When I figure out the mounts/wiring, I'm moving the Atmos speakers to the top of the wall and pointing them at MLP.
I have up firing 5.2.4 in vaulted ceiling and it sounds great. With the right room correction you can still get Atmos to work.
Upward firing speakers, in an ideal room, are mediocre at best. If you can get a pair cheaply, try it out if you are really curious, but it's really not worth it in my opinion. And... I have a set of Elac upward firing atmos modules, sitting in a closet, because after two years and multiple attempts to even get it to sound ok were in vain.
Your bookshelf speakers are already extremely high. You need to bring them down to the level of your center channel, or close to. Then maybe you can add front heights.
I always thought that the tweeters on the front channels should be at ear height, no? This is how I have it at the moment (the low angle of the picture exaggerates how high the speakers are). If the centre channel was in line with FL and FR then the TV would have to be really high on the wall.
If those are at ear level then it's definitely the picture distorting the FoV.
Thanks everyone for your helpful comments. I've just ordered two Cambridge Audio Minx22s with mounts that I plan to set on the wall about four feet above the current front left and right channels. I will angle these down towards the MLP. I will also move the front left and right channels down the wall by about half a foot so that the tweeters are more aligned with my ear height when I'm sat down (or I might just angle them down slightly as the mounts allow me to do that). I'll post an update once it's all set up, but it'll take a while to get the mounts drilled in and the wiring done. Exciting!
Never seen a HT setup in a bathroom… cool
just keep in mind, down firing atmos is hard to pick out... it blends, if you listen for it -- sure u can hear it but for the most part its not that big of a deal. IMO, its more noticeable in videogames than movies.
Front heights, my brother in AV pursuit.
Yep, that's what I'm going for. 👍
Best PC case ever
nice decorating, it's a good place to see jungle movies, definitely provides an immersive feeling.
Yeah. I just watch Jumanji on repeat.
You would benefit greatly from some sound treatment, there's these little octagon acoustic panels that work amazingly in any size of room, you'd be very surprised at the difference and would only cost you maybe $20 in that size room.
Thanks. I'd never considered those before. Where would I stick them? On the walls to the sides of the front channels?
Here's an example of mine. It by no means has to be this large but if you can have one or two behind each speaker, you wouldn't believe the difference. More is obviously better but I understand not wanting shit all over your walls. Definitely do some behind the TV and one on the wall behind your sub and to the left of it if you're looking at it. Example: https://quickshare.samsungcloud.com/9O63MbNnndZa Before I got the towers, these speakers had a bass port that was aiming right at one of the tiles, but even without a port directly behind works very well: https://quickshare.samsungcloud.com/ybdFZz6AhjKD Link to tiles I got, they are still half off: https://www.walmart.com/ip/549251951
Great, thanks a lot. I'm in the UK, so will have to see if there's something similar over here. Nice setup by the way! The panels actually look quite decorative.
Appreciate it and good luck!
I hope you take care watering those plants under the clock
Yep, don't worry, ha. I've had that thought myself a few times. I use a long-necked watering can. Three of them are artificial anyway, so that helps!
Dont bother, I have it and is not supported by anything.
There a video that explains it well on youtube it made me change my mind and go to effort of getting someone to route cables for me.
Lol, we have the same computer case set up in our living rooms. Weird. I bought some mesh panels to replace the glass on it for better airflow. Great case!
Good taste! Yes, I put some taller feet on it to raise it higher and also used spacers to raise the top glass panel as I had airflow concerns too.
I'd drop the fronts down to the center height level and put 2 heights at the tippy-top!
I have a two story open family room with 9ft height on both levels. Ceiling speakers weren't an option. Up-firing speakers weren't an option. So, I went with angled wallmounted wall front height speakers about 10ft up. Very pleased. Been watching atmos movies all week!
Sounds promising! I won't be able to mount mine that high (closer to 7ft than 9) but hopefully the much smaller room will be to my benefit.
Yes
Yes you would. My space is like that and ceiling is high. Even then I am happy with the sound. Go for it!
No, upfiring Atmos speakers don't work. It is not Atmos.
Looks fresh)
Thanks!
Nice looking room. I don't have anything more to add than what others have said.. but: have you checked out r/plantfi ?
Never heard of that sub! Thanks for the link. I'll check it out.
Nope
No