Speaking of Dolby Atmos and DTS-X, I think it's an opportunity for Outlaw to introduce an affordable group of speakers to address these new "immersive" sound field technologies. There will demand for the speakers, either floor or stand mounted with upward firing drivers, or on-ceiling or in-ceiling speakers, and offering Outlaw affordability might garner some decent sales volume. My 1 1/2 cents.

Hey Hank

I for one don't believe that DTS-X will be setup to work well with overhead reflecting speakers. In fact Audioholics is not overly fond of this approach. It would have to be a discreet set-up to be any worth given the cost and re-wiring.

I was thinking of a cheap way to make the overhead speakers from existing units I already have or could obtain very cheaply. Seeing how they are meant for ambient sounds and not necessarily music I decided to get 4 dayton audio B-52s and add some wooden strips around the periphery of the speaker far enough back from the front to allow them to rest in a cutout in some of my dropped ceiling panels and be flush with the ceiling Once my HT is setup I should be able to move them around in the ceiling to get the best effect. I think the reflected speaker idea is a waste of money and buying purpose built speakers for the ceiling is way too expensive for ambient sound. The Daytons seem to fit the bill as they are sealed and cheap enough that I can afford to be wrong.

Reading up on the Dolby Atmos page, they recommend at least an 8' ceiling for ceiling mounted speakers (which I don't have) or a flat, reflective ceiling for the up firing speakers (which I also don't have).

So I'm thinking I'll go the ceiling mounted speakers (Should I choose to implement Atmos) and live with the performance. I have self installed ceiling mounted speakers in two of my rooms and the install is not too difficult unless you have to tear into drywall to run wires. I have a drop ceiling in the theater (i.e. basement) so running the wires isn't a problem.

There are all price ranges of ceiling mounted speakers available. Outlaw has had some in the Annex from time to time. I'll be keeping my eyes open for some good deals since there's no immediate need to buy.

I will use a drop ceiling in my HT so I want to use speakers that are sealed enclosures. My HT is in the basement and directly under the master bedroom. WAF is pretty high since she will likely be awake when the HT is in use but I want to avoid having to sound proof as much as possible.

I wouldn't get too wrapped up in the numbers. If speakers mounted above you or upfiring speakers give you localization overhead, then Atmos is working as it should.

I'm an engineer, I always get wrapped up in numbers. You should see me at an art museum.

But I get your point. The sweet spot might not be as big with the speakers down lower but that doesn't mean it just stops working.

Thanks.

Right, and you can widen the sweet spot by doing a little energy trading (point each overhead speaker to the listener furthest away).

Every interview I've seen with Dolby reps keeps pushing the same message: it's hard to make Atmos not work. They keep using the word "robust" to describe their technology. The idea being that if you can tell the difference between sounds around you vs sounds above you, then you're hearing what Atmos intended to deliver. Doesn't require an 8-foot ceiling to achieve that.

It seems there might be some market in the development of a way to mount small speakers to the ceiling vice going the path of reflecting sound. Do either of the formats give any clues as to whether the ceiling mounted speakers should be aimed toward the listeners or just straight down. Since it is primarily ambient sound I would think aiming might help localize the sound somewhat. It would also seem that reflecting the sound off the ceiling will serve to diffuse it a lot and would make it harder to get the timing correct.

None of the formats change the way sound is reproduced. If your speakers sound better on-axis, then that's how you should aim them. If they sound better slightly off-axis, then that should be considered when aiming them. There are parts of the movie 'Gravity' where Sandra Bullock's voice is coming from behind you and George Clooney's voice is coming from your left side. Those voices shouldn't sound different compared to when they're coming from the L/C/R speakers.

The sounds coming from the heights are similar to what comes out of the surrounds. It might have been "primarily ambient" back in Pro Logic era, but these days it is combination of direct and ambient sounds; even more so on Atmos soundtracks, as object-based audio has had the side effect of making movie mixers a little more aggressive and adventurous when it comes to how they mix off-screen sounds.