Rick,
I am no expert, but I am pretty sure the unit in ECO ON will run on Ethanol (which will be running hotter)!!!!!!
YMMV,
God Bless,
Wayne

Gentlemen, I am thinking about a different approach. If I dropped down to the Marantz SR-7009 (anybody here have a 7009?) vs. the 7010 it looks like I would be getting a receiver with almost the same specs. Minus the DTS:X and Atmos. In which I am again lacking sufficient knowledge. The main question I have, would a movie have to be shot with DTS:X audio and transferred to the Bluray disc in order for it to be processed by the AVR and then sent to the speakers? If that is a fact, then it will take some time for a plethora of movies to be done in that format, making it cost effective to upgrade or buy more expensive systems. Secondly, how much less effective (sound wise) would it be to have upward firing atmos speakers vs. actual ceiling placed speakers be? since I will be renting a house it's highly likely that the owner would not allow for any alterations be made to his ceilings/walls. Anywho, back on track. To save that money and by purchasing a 7009 at $1300 I could then afford a pair of GE T'7s for the rears or maybe even T'5s which I would think be a more perfectly balanced listening 2 channel stereo experience?

Hi Bambam841 (I have a friend named Bambam from Indonesia, you're not from Indo are you?),
I think you are really on the right track to back off from ATMOS. When you are just building a system, it is a great idea to keep it simple at first, and build up to what you ultimately want.
Great speakers, like the T 7s or T 5s are (this is just my opinion) WAY the heck better to have than ATMOS, at least for now, as you say, there are not many movies recorded in ATMOS anyway, it will be a long time before there are many. And PLEASE stay away from crapped up speakers where they point some ATMOS signal to the ceiling and bounce it back down. PLEASE NO.
A good system with good speakers and good amplification will run rings around a crappy ATMOS. I have 7.1 and it sounds so awesome I NEVER intend to go to ATMOS. Speakers in the ceiling, no thanks. And if you are renting then that is a NO NO anyway.
Try a great 5.1 system, then add two more rears for 7.1 when you can, or another sub to make it 7.2 You will love it.
I like the way you are thinking.
Happy hunting,
God Bless,
Wayne

I completely agree with Wayne... a great 5.1 or 7.1 system with the right speakers would be far better than a so-so ATMOS system, and if height ceiling speakers for ATMOS are not practical for you, the 7009 with out ATMOS, at a better price, sounds like a good deal. You could spend the difference on good speakers.

Re DTS:X, it's supposed to be backwards compatible and convert other formats like DTS HD to include ATMOS height channels, but the DTS:X upgrade for the 7010 has been delayed until 2016. So, obviously there are technical issues still being worked out. As for movies already formatted in ATMOS, you're right, there aren't many.

Sounds like a good plan to build around a good 5.1 system, expandable at some point if you want, to 7.1.

Rick

WayneWilmeth wrote: Rick,
I am no expert, but I am pretty sure the unit in ECO ON will run on Ethanol (which will be running hotter)!!!!!!
YMMV,
God Bless,
Wayne

I'll be sure to ask Marantz if I'm using the wrong type of Ethanol!!!

Rick

I am no expert, but I am pretty sure the unit in ECO ON will run on Ethanol (which will be running hotter)!!!!!!

I'll be sure to ask Marantz if I'm using the wrong type of Ethanol!!!

good stuff guys, we all need a little more humor.

@Wayne, Nope, sorry to say not from Indo. I got the nickname back when I was still in bodybuilding, and worked as a bouncer. (off topic, and maybe you/others here may have not heard of a movie called "The Raid" it was made in Indonesia, it's on blu ray, definitely watch it in Indonesian language, with English subtitles, and set audio to .5.1 DOLBY. Synopsis: a police squad is sent to a crime lords multi-level high rise to take him out. He in turn has his hit squad and gets the building tenants to stop the cops. It's simplistic in it's storyline, but great action sequences, and filmed without U.S censhorship its quite violent. Very much an audio treat as well, with guns, weapons, and martial arts)

Back on topic, I had a strong feeling that Atmos wouldn't be the avenue I should be concerned with. A powerful 5.1 system of T'5s, XL center, SVS SB13 @1000W RMS 3600W peak in an average room should have more than enough "ENVELOPING" sound. Thanks again guys for being here to keep me on a good path to great audio. I'll get there someday little by little. Hahaha