Why is everyone so jazzed about ATMOS?

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Atmos might be fun once we get more titles. I'm sure it's great for home theater when watching newer movies. Doubtful Atmos will be embraced by the music community if it's not backwards compatible with 5.1 surround.
It has been stated countless times in this forum that it is backwards compatible. If you don’t have Atmos capability, it will revert to Dolby True-HD.
 
It has been stated countless times in this forum that it is backwards compatible. If you don’t have Atmos capability, it will revert to Dolby True-HD.
Heck, all systems will down convert to 2.1 or 2.0 if someone is a stalwart for stereo. (even mono for those dinosaurs that are unwilling to evolve)
 
Our modest living room rig is primarily for TV and movies. It's a Denon-AVR2200 configured as 5.1.2; and all I had to do was add a pair of small ELAC ATMOS wedge speakers and flip a mode switch. It was exciting to hear R.E.M., INXS and Kraftwerk this way; and then the trail went cold for a while. The rig properly supports movies and if I can get more ATMOS audio, great.

The office/ man cave 5.1 system will likely stay the same for now, maybe 4k TV swap. The back room quad system now has the SurroundMaster plus laserdisc and soon VHS HiFi! There's a place for everything. ;)
 
I kind of get it regarding Atmos - I'm running a 7.1 setup and don't see the need to go further, especially in my listening space. However, since Atmos is a 7.1 TrueHD core with object-based cues added, I'm just treating it as getting more in 7.1
That's how I see it -and you can later upgrade your system
 
The best surround track I've ever heard was from an AC-3 laserdisc of Disneys " Beauty and the Beast" (in a showroom). I was ducking as the birds flew from different locations front to back and back to front. Sadly, I've never heard a bluray or dvd with a surround soundtrack that sounded that good. If Dolby Atmos can create surround in movies like this, please let me know!
 
I'm sort of glad that Bob started this thread. Good discussions going on here without a lot of side tracking.

Garry has come up with a really nice info FAQ for Atmos that will debut in the new Atmos section very soon
 
The only concern, really, is if a dedicated 5.1 mix is not included for a title, and "Atmos only" titles are released. It's hard enough to get a surround release, now we need two mixes. If a dedicated 5.1 mix is there also, as with the new Abbey Road release, then there's no issue at all.

It will be interesting to compare the Abbey Road 5.1 Atmos down mix, with the dedicated one.
 
The only concern, really, is if a dedicated 5.1 mix is not included for a title, and "Atmos only" titles are released. It's hard enough to get a surround release, now we need two mixes. If a dedicated 5.1 mix is there also, as with the new Abbey Road release, then there's no issue at all.

It will be interesting to compare the Abbey Road 5.1 Atmos down mix, with the dedicated one.

Yet more fun stuff to discuss on this forum!
 
funny story. 30 years ago I moved into a place where the previous owner had a 4 speaker quad setup that he left behind (but took the receiver).

I was like, what's "quad"?, 4 speakers, meh, I'm used to stereo and only have a stereo receiver so I'll just stick with that.

30 years later I have an 11.2 Atmos/DTS:X setup with an additional bi-amp receiver for the extra 2 channels.

Eddie Vedder Pearl Jam: "It's Evolution, Baby"
 


Wow! If someone builds a replica of this Blackbird studio (gratis :) ) for me at my home I will definitely convert to Atmos. Look at that acoustical treatment. The center speaker is the same as the two fronts and at the same level. Note also the four [Edit/Correction: six!] subwoofers and their locations.

Blackbird study.jpg
 
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Wow! If someone builds a replica of this Blackbird studio (gratis :) ) for me at my home I will definitely convert to Atmos. Look at that acoustical treatment. The center speaker is the same as the two fronts and at the same level. Note also the four subwoofers and their locations.

View attachment 42685
I've had a center identical to the fronts and at the same level for many years. It looks like 6 subs in a 9.6.4 system (four subs in front, 2 in rear ???) In the photo the R/L fronts are actually different from the center (note the location of the small driver), and the L/C/F are also different from the surrounds.
 
I've had a center identical to the fronts and at the same level for many years. It looks like 6 subs in a 9.6.4 system (four subs in front, 2 in rear ???) In the photo the R/L fronts are actually different from the center (note the location of the small driver), and the L/C/F are also different from the surrounds.

Yes, the write up with the article says that there are 6 subs. (The cost of this gift to me just went up. :)) I suspect that the L/R fronts are a set of mirror image pairs. Note that the center is the same as the right front. The monitors are those expensive ATC speakers that Elliot Scheiner is now using. That's a good thing because they are supposedly brutally honest...If it sounds good on these it will sound good on our mere mortal home speakers.
 
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I have yet to hear an Atmos demo but am certainly excited for the prospect. Thinking specifically about the (2 or 4) overhead channels, it would seem a no-brainer for movies as there are many ways that sound can come from overhead, but my question is about Atmos music mixes. It would seem that the overhead channels would primarily be for ambience / decay / reverb, and less about discrete musical information, correct? Having musicians seemingly playing all around you (front, back, sides) makes a lot of sense to me but I can't imagine having guitars or percussion or solo voices coming from overhead sounding natural in a music-only format. I wonder when music-only releases start to appear if we as a group will voice our displeasure at "not enough discrete information coming from overhead"? I'm curious as to what others expect will be an "ideal" music mix in, say, 7.1.4.
 
I have yet to hear an Atmos demo but am certainly excited for the prospect. Thinking specifically about the (2 or 4) overhead channels, it would seem a no-brainer for movies as there are many ways that sound can come from overhead, but my question is about Atmos music mixes. It would seem that the overhead channels would primarily be for ambience / decay / reverb, and less about discrete musical information, correct? Having musicians seemingly playing all around you (front, back, sides) makes a lot of sense to me but I can't imagine having guitars or percussion or solo voices coming from overhead sounding natural in a music-only format. I wonder when music-only releases start to appear if we as a group will voice our displeasure at "not enough discrete information coming from overhead"? I'm curious as to what others expect will be an "ideal" music mix in, say, 7.1.4.
Here is my perspective on your questions:

1) There are already Atmos and Auro-3D albums with discrete music in the heights. Kraftwerk and David Miles Huber are good examples. There are some others. For certain types of music, it's very cool.

2) There are albums that mainly or exclusively use the heights non-discretely, but just to "expand" sounds. This can also be very cool and, in my experience, a bit of an upgraded experience over a purely 5.1 mix. My example of this would be Automatic for the People by R.E.M. There are plenty of discrete moments in the surrounds (for my taste), but the music also sounds HUGE, expansive, vast and spacious, at times, in very cool ways. There's an organ during one song that sounds 20' tall, instead of 3' tall. There is something to be said for the Elliot Scheiner 5.1, but the Atmos is a uniquely different experience and one that I love.
 
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