Hey, Dwight

So glad you're enjoying your system!!! We all keep exploring best settings, etc. I too keep fine tuning surround and height settings to enhance that sense of complete immersion. How ears, pointing forward, and how mic's register sounds, are some different.

If you are any kind of a fan of ABBA music, the play, Mama Mia ( which we saw in Boston), got made into a movie which is now on Blu-ray. I've played this Blu-ray before, prior to Atmos/height channel additions. I love the music in all cases! Well, I've been playing that Blu-ray up mixed with height channels today. Wow. Oh, Wow. Room filling, goose bump causing, total and complete immersion in the music!! Man, while I love live performances, I'll take the amazing GEt extraordinary experience I got today any time!

Happy listening!

Rick

Man, I've been busy of late, and just logged in... wow, lots of posts on lots of threads to catch up on, and I will.

Had to report on this. I've just gotten several new Blu-rays I want to play (Les Miserables, and Arrival). Before trying them, the Roy Orbison Blu-ray, "Black and White Night" was still in the Oppo player from awhile ago, and I decided to try something before ejecting it. I usually play it either in DTS Master Audio HD 5.1 as digital feed to the Marantz, or as analog feed, using the Oppo's DAC. I prefer the Oppo analog feed usually. Well, I wanted to hear it with heights added (DTS HD+ Dolby surround setting).

Well, it was like walking from my living room, already just full of great sound, into a concert hall!!!! We use terms like "lifestyle speakers" to describe less than full range speakers. Those top front HTR 7000's, set at 60 HZ crossover, plus the top rear Invisa's 525's, set at 80 HZ crossover, just rocked! I could feel the bass, and sound, all around me. Those GEt height puppies can PLAY with the big boys! The bass presence, already so amazing, just took on a whole new demension. More than anything, it was the sense of the sound opening up even more, like a concert hall sound. Wow.

For any Roy Orbison fans, I've said it before on other posts, "Black and White Night" is THE recording I would most want. Play it on anything and it's great. Play it on GEt's and it brings you right to the concert.

Rick

This is more a review of the new object based formats (DTS:X and Atmos) and height channel effects than any particular movie or disc.

I now listen almost exclusively to 9 channel sound, heights included whether it's native Atmos or DTS:X formatted stuff, or recoded/up mixed 2 channel, tv surround, Netflix/Hulu, or prior format Blu-rays.

I had originally expected that only the new material, already encoded in Atmos or DTS:X would sound "authentic", and that up mixing of older formats would sound some artificial. What I have found is the older the recording, the less the new recode/up mix firmware can do to reformat it. 2 channel music from say the 50's or earlier tends to be played mostly center channel, some front L/R, sometimes surround channels, sometimes NO height or surround (at least as streamed in FLAC format). Older DVD's in surround, like "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" play with surround intact, but heights aren't added.

But for newer NON Atmos or DTS:X encoded formats, including 2 channel music, the recoding/up mixing seems to work pretty darn well to make them seem more object based, with APPROPRIATE height channel use. So the new up mix firmware is finding SOMETHING in the newer audio tracks to help it "place" sounds. 2 channel music seems well placed, with solo voices tending to be center and front channel oriented with some surround and height help, choruses and instruments blended in... it just sounds natural, like being there. For Blu-rays, formats like DTS HD Master Audio seem to be well up mixed, again with sound types appearing in appropriate places. For instance, the helicopters in "Arrival" sound as though they are flying right OVER you! And even for sound tracks that seem to lack much surround content, the addition of the height channels really brings the sound more forward..it isn't always an upward sense, sometimes just more forward, more immediate.

I'll definitely give the nod to pure Atmos or DS:X formatted audio for realism, but the degree of backward integration to also realistically "present" prior audio formats as though they are object based with height channels included just amazes me. I keep learning, liking what I'm hearing!!!

Rick

Bro Rick,
So glad you are enjoying your setup and the newly placed sounds.
Let me throw this into the mix, just because it is something that I keep noticing and do not know where to put it.
I have a few blu-rays that might be encoded ATMOS, or not, but at least they are Dolby True HD 7.1 and have an ATMOS demo sound check at the beginning, like most DTS have a sound check.
And I have to say the sounds go flying all around me in that ATMOS sound check, similar to, and if someone did not know, they might very well think that I have an ATMOS system. (Which I don't and don't intend to). But that sound check SEEMS to be very immersive!!!
Just sayin'... they are doing SOMETHING.
Not sure how this fits, just wanted to say.
Happy listening, I know I am happily listening.
God Bless,
Wayne

I just finished watching, for the second time, "Deepwater Horizon".

It's been thoroughly reviewed on the "Which Blu-ray did you watch last night" thread. Great flic. I concur with all who reviewed it, and thanks, Wayne, for adding your insight as a guy who lived and worked in that world!!

I don't want to make a comment on every ATMOS or DTS;X encoded movie I ever watch in this thread, but several comments on this movie, and Invisa speakers:

This is the BEST sound mixing using heights I have heard to date!!!! When the camera pans into the depths, following the drill stream all the way down, even the gas bubbles floating up past me seemed so real (Wayne can comment on whether that may really have happened). Throughout, the sense of being in an environment with sound content all around was so real. And when rigs/equipment collapsed, methane gas explosions came roaring towards and past, debris flying over my right or left shoulder, well, sometimes I just said, out loud, "HOLY ****". Sound mixing has come a long way since the early attempts. This one is first class!!! If you want to give your Atmos/height set-up a real and thoroughly enjoyable workout, this one is highly recommended. PLUS, it's a great movie!!!

Re Invisa speakers as heights: there is absolutely NOTHING wimpy about what they add to the sound envelope!!!! I have the 525 top rears at 80 HZ crossover, and the top front HTR 7000's at 60 HZ crossover. And when the debris starts flying, the methane gas explosions just come flying at/over you, I keep thinking, "how can that be?", the sound effect of the overhead component is just plain awesome! Multiple times during the movie, I thought, how can those speakers DO that??? Anyone wondering about whether Invisa's can hold up their end as height channels, well THEY SURE CAN!!!!

Happy listening!

Rick

I wanna hear!!!
I wanna hear!!!
Next time I come to Austin!!!!
Happy listening, glad you are having fun with it,
God Bless,
Wayne