(With future expansion to 7.2.4 in mind)

I need some help with selection and placement of height speakers for an ATMOS system in my family room. The challenge is the 14' cathedral ceiling which is oriented left to right over the center of the room. I have attached 2 sketches showing the layout and dimensions of the space. Currently I have a pair of Triton 2's for L & R and a SCXL holding down the center.

I need to go with either wall or ceiling mounted speakers due to WAF. Fortunately GE has a lot going on here. Because of the room dimensions I'm think I should go with the 7000's mounted on the soffit faces, utilizing the 30 deg angle on the drivers to better position the signal to the MLP. If the 650's will do the job, I'm all about saving the coin for something else. I'm thinking that mounting them on the face of the soffit will be better than under the soffit for optimum angle to the MLP. Also undecided on the rears which will have to be mounted on the bottom or face of the soffits as well. Which will provide the best solution, 650's, 7000's, or MPX's?

The final decision depends on whether I can talk my wife into letting me add a pair of SS 3's at ear level on the side of the fireplace and tucked into a shelving unit under the lunchbar. One step at a time.

Primary question is where should the heights be place in relation to the MLP? The diagrams are a bit confusing as they show the rears to be slightly closer than those fwd of the MPL. Other diagrams in the same series (DOLBY) show the preferred angles of the speakers to the MLP to be equal. Has to be one or the other.

Given my room geometries what should I do? These questions are aimed at the Moderator Dude, but don't be afraid to chime in. I think we'll all learn from this exercise.

Thanks,

Brad

BluesSailor,
Excited for you with this project, sounds like you are building a sweet setup.
I can't help, others or the Moderator Dude will have to answer your questions.
I just want to ask you to please keep us informed on what you decide and how it turns out, how it sounds when finished?
You may convince us we all need an atmos system, or not.
Let us know please. I am sure it will turn out great if you use all GEt speakers.
Enjoy the music as you build too, as you already have a better system than a LOT of people do.
God Bless,
Wayne

Wayne,

Thanks for the encouraging words. This project has been, will be a lot of fun. The best part is that my wife, who never has been a big stereo enthusiast, is really enjoying the Triton 2’s and was blown away with the addition of the SCXL . On top of that, she is anticipating the addition of the surrounds for the HT experience. Her only criterion is no floor standing speakers (other than the L/C/R) hence the desire for a wall/ceiling solution.

Since I seem to be going all in at this time, I decided to investigate an Atmos configuration. I don’t see another major change/upgrade in my near future once this is done. The quandary that I currently find myself in is that the additional speakers will have to go into the soffits that run the perimeter of the room. The problem to overcome is that the soffits are located wider than optimum. Moving their location to the center of the room isn’t an option as we have a cathedral ceiling. The HTR 7000’s are interesting in that they have a 30 deg angled driver configuration, which in my interpretation, would allow me to direct the sound to the MLP if I mount them on the wall, up high.

I don’t fully understand and/or appreciate the intricacies of the Dolby Atmos requirements (does anyone?) and am trying to get input on the correct speaker selection, placement, and orientation for optimal results. If the room configuration will not yield an Atmos listening experience, I’m OK with that; I just would like to know this before going forward from this point. Getting back to the 7000’s, are they necessary for Atmos? Is it best to direct the signal at the MLP, or just in the general direction, or should it just be a straight down fire, or what? Diagrams I’ve seen (Dolby), at least for floor standing Atmos speakers, show the drivers at angles, bouncing the signal off the ceiling into the room, for a dispersed signal effect, rather than a directed signal. (And then there is the wide placement requirements mentioned above to contend with).

There is lots of information to process yet before proceeding. Yet to come is selecting an AVR to handle all this. My current AVR will provide 7.2. If I end up going the Atmos route, I’ll need a new AVR. Although I’m committed to spending what it takes for the speakers, I’m having trouble justifying a big budget for the source components. Not rational I know, but we all have our issues. Right now I’m leaning towards the Marantz SR7009 and possibly an additional amp for the fronts. Who knows what I’ll finally end up with when all is said and done.

Brad

Thanks Brad, sounds like fun!
Great that your wife is getting into the sound and really great that she is supportive!!!! You are blessed!!!!
No floorstanders in the rear is not going to be a problem for you. The GEt speaker line up will find a good fit for you, and Moderator Dude can sort out your questions.
I know nothing about atmos and am not going that way any time soon if ever.
But let's see what you come up with? If you and everyone else starts bragging about your new atmos systems, that could get me drooling.
Sometimes the room and WAF will not let us totally have exactly everything we want, but I have no doubt it will be close enough for great enjoyment.
And remember to enjoy the ride, getting there is a LOT of the fun.
God Bless,
Wayne

Hey Sailor (sorry, couldn't resist).

Without actually seeing the room it is difficult to visualize. The soffits seem (and maybe they aren't) too far to the sides for height speakers. You will want HTR 7000's to be just outside the left/right sides of your listening area, rears just behind the seating area and front heights about half way forward to the fronts, all pointed toward the MLP. The Atmos drawings we created for our article use the 7000's and there is a 7.1.4 system pictured. Invisa 650s are certainly fine, but they work best with very tall ceilings (say over 9 feet) to prevent "hot spotting". Do not mount the rears high, they need to be at or close to ear level, only the Atmos height channels should be up high. MPX's is the best choice for an in-wall rear and/or surround speaker (if it fits in your setup). SuperSat on-wall solutions are ideal for these applications as well.

Hope this helps a little. You might want to have your local dealer come to your home and eyeball stuff with you too.

Thank you for your advice.

When you say that the heights should be "just outside the listening area", could you be more specific? In my situation, the left would be positioned about 70" from the center of the room , while the right would be 96" from center, mounted on the face of the soffit, not the bottom, angled into the listening area. This puts them about 14" outside the left fronts and about 36" outside the right fronts.

Questions:

1- Does this meet your "just outside" criteria?
2- Does the design characteristics of the 7000's compensate for this type of situation?
3 -Should the speakers (7000's) be oriented towards the MLP or attempt to overlap with all the other heights in a general sense? -EDIT: Oop's sorry, you answered that one

Your description of location with respect to front to back placement for the front and rear heights help a lot.

Regarding the rear surrounds, unfortunately WAF isn't favorable to ear level positioning of towers or stands. Also, this being Florida, the rear wall is block construction, so in walls won't work either. Looks like another compromise is in the making.

Back to the heights, doing the trigonometry on the angles of the 7000's given the height and the distance into MLP, it works out pretty close to aiming directly to the MLP.

Regarding the local dealer, he's about 35 miles away, so that is asking a lot. Plus, I need to get a better relationship with him before just going with his opinion. More self education so that I can ask the right questions and know when I'm headed in the wrong direction.

I'll study the diagrams some more and see if they make more sense to me.

Thanks again for your help.

Brad