How to setup your atmos speakers?

Complementary to 4K and HDR bringing more stunning and realistic visuals to the screen, Dolby Atmos delivers captivating sound that disperses and moves audio anywhere and everywhere in the room, including overhead, to bring entertainment to life, all in the comfort of your own home.

Why do you Want it?

Dolby Atmos ® speakers are here to revolutionise the way we hear sound for films and television in general. Atmos has an object-based attitude to sound design, rather than just channels, enabling filmmakers the creative freedom they’ve always desired in terms of surrounding the audience.  Over 80% of cinemas support Dolby Atmos ®, and now your home theatre and television can too. Typical surround sound devices deliver captivating sound with speakers which are placed all around your room. Here enters Dolby Atmos ® to take it to another level, quite literally. The Atmos creates a ‘height’ layer of sound above the audience, for the ultimate acoustic experience your ears are going to love.

What do the Numbers Actually Stand for?

When you’re shopping for Dolby Atmos® speakers, you will see numbers alongside the name. These numbers are simply describing the speakers’ configuration. Let’s take the 7.2.4 version for example. The first number (7), refers to the number of traditional speakers, such as the front, centre and surround. The middle number (2), tells you how many powered subwoofers can be connected to the receiver. The last number (4), refers to how many ‘upward-firing’ or ‘in-ceiling’ speakers you can connect in the Dolby Atmos setup. The last number considers the extra ‘height’ layer of sound we highlighted earlier.

What do I need before purchasing?

How to Set up Dolby Atmos® speakers in your home

Once you have your Atmos capable receiver, such as the Pioneer VSX-LX302, and your special Atmos speakers, what do you do next? The first step is to decide on which Atmos configuration is the one for you. The space you have and the number of channels of amplification that your receiver has, are obvious factors to consider, and could even make the decision for you.

Here's a run-down of some options available to you. If you happen to have the 9 channels of amplification, you could choose between either the 5.1.4 or 7.1.2 speaker configurations optimising Dolby Atmos-enabled speakers.  The 5.1.4 option is based around the traditional 5.1 layout however adds the sound upgrade of four overhead Dolby Atmos speakers. The 7.1.2 configuration becomes quite self-explanatory now as a traditional 7.1 speaker with 2 overhead Atmos speakers.

5.1.4

7.1.2

11 Channels of amplification gives you the ultimate experience of what the Dolby Atmos speakers can truly do. You have the choice of going as high as a 9.1.2 configuration, consisting of two overhead Dolby Atmos speakers along with two width speakers, or the more modest but powerful configuration of 7.1.4. Of course there is the full 32-channel configuration with speakers, if money is no object, that is.