I installed four HTR-7000s as top fronts and top backs and also bought two HTR-8000s thinking I was going to install them in my kitchen, but that may not be happening and I have hearing good things from people with 6 Atmos speakers. Is it OK to mix in the 8000s with the 7000s and if I do would it be best to put the 8000s in the top middle or somewhere else? Also, if my ceiling is 7'10" where is the optimal placement for three rows of Atmos speakers in front of and behind the MLP? Is it best to keep them as wide as the floor standing speakers?

Anyone with any thoughts on this? Moderator could you help me out? Thanks in advance!

Hi Samwise, First, it is quite acceptable to mix and match the Invisa HTR8000s and Invisa HTR7000s as your Atmos speakers. These two models are considered tonally balanced or timbre matched. Overall, the Invisa HTR8000s produce more bass and sound fuller and richer in the lower midrange tones when compared to the Invisa HTR7000s. When setting up your Atmos speakers, ideally, you'd want the Invisa HTR8000s in the location (or position) where they'd receive the most information. In theory, this would normally be considered the front Atmos speakers - however, whether the Invisa HTR8000s were to used as the front, rear, or center Atmos speakers would not have a great difference in the sound quality of your system.

Next, since the Invisa HTR7000s and Invisa HTR8000s play at a 30 degree angle from the floor, they work better when placed a bit further away from the main listening position than conventional downward firing in-ceiling speakers. With this in mind, I would recommend placing the front and rear Atmos speakers approximately 4 feet (or so) in front of (and behind) the main listening position. I would then recommend placing the "middle Atmos speakers" directly to the left and right of your main listening position. Placing the front, rear, and middle/central Atmos speakers roughly the same distance apart as you main speakers (or maybe a bit closer together) normally works well. I presume this would place them roughly 10 feet apart from each other. When mounting these in-ceiling speakers, you can rotate them so they're directed toward (or directly facing) the main listening position. Happy Listening!

Thank you so much!

So I haven't pulled the trigger on installing the HTR-8000s yet and I'm still thinking about installing them in my kitchen.
I currently have a 5.4.4 speaker layout with Triton Ones as my bed layer and the HTR 7000s as my ATMOS speakers. I have two rows of three seats and my theater is about 19 feet long and 17 feet wide by my first row and 13 feet wide by my second row. My ceiling is 7'10", about 5'3" above my ears when fully reclined. The fronts and surrounds are about 5-10 degrees above ear height when reclined.

When I initially installed the ATMOS speakers I pretty much followed the Dolby recommendations with them 45 degrees in front and back and in a line from the front and where my rear surrounds will be when I upgrade to 7.6.4 in the future. I have been watching Youtube videos and seeing what Dolby recommends for studios and theaters and how they are different from what they recommend at home. Also just in my general experience it feels like the ATMOS speakers are too far away from my listening position and there isn't enough separation between the bed layer and ATMOS speakers. They are currently a 5'6" feet in front and behind the MLP and the fronts are about 11 feet apart in width and the rears are about 9.5 feet apart.

The problem is cutting new holes and filling in the old ones would be a hassle. The other option would be to keep them where they are and adding a middle row of ATMOS for an eventual 7.6.6 setup as described in my above post. The problem with this is I feel the current ATMOS speakers will still be too far apart in width. Any thoughts or recommendations?

I just got another idea from Gene at Audioholics. He is using in ceiling speakers with angled baffles as his front wides. The current location for my front Atmos speakers is pretty much exactly above where I would put front wides. Should I keep them where they are and use them as front wides and add my HTR-8000s at about 55 degrees from MLP as front Atmos?