I Used Upfiring Dolby Atmos Speakers for 2 Weeks...It SUCKED‼️😡

[GB-jetc]

Hey Kyle...
You're mostly right here. Elevated is not exactly like "from above", its a close compromise when you have no-choice at all. I too have SVS Elevs x4, I agree that they sounded weak at ear-level for the reasons you mention: too low, locatable, small, far away etc etc
My compromise was to put them up on stilts (2 ft high speaker stands on top of my towers) which gave me more height-locatable sound, yet allowed some diffuse quality which mimics an array of height speakers for things like thunder. You hear thunder at a "corner" vs a single speaker, that moves to a central phantom location as its transitioning to the next corner. There's more of a corner location effect, vs "discreet"-speaker location effect. Atmos isn't always discreet from what I'm hearing/ reading.

I now get both height & semi-difuse quadrants, all in this particular compromise. Can't wall/ceiling mount in my unit.
Its the best of both worlds as there is separation between lower bed layer drivers and upper Atmos drivers by 3 ft.
Atmos layer is now at 5 ft mark in my 8ft ceiling room. Again the upper speakers now sound at-height, and are not too locatable so it sounds like 6 Atmos or > speakers, vs just the 4 corners.
Try this experiment, mount your Atmos enableds high up ( even on either wall, if no towers), but point at the ceiling to add that multi speaker array "feel". You might discover you like it too.
Peace.

[Jb]

Just wanted to say thank you. My system has never sound as good as it does right now after watching your calibration video going back in and tweaking things. The sound is unbelievable. I have a 7.2.4. All Klipsch reference with a Pioneer elite sc-Lx 704 and I cannot be more happy with it so thanks again

[FisherCatProductions]

Your experience flies in the face of a lot of professional sound critique articles on upfiring speakers. A few conclude they are just shy of in-ceiling units, and many find the bounced effect more realistic. Even the Dolby Installation Guidelines state that the upfiring effect is often more immersive. and more satisfying Sound does not bounce around sporadically, as you suggest. It travels along very defined geometric paths. If you've ever test-positioned absorbing sound panels along walls, you would well aware of how distinct and predictable those paths are that sound reflections take. It is as predictable as banking a pool ball. As long as the angle of the speaker, the ceiling height/composition, and distance to the listener are correct, the Atmos effect WILL immerse you. Flat, residential height, drywall ceilings are perfect reflectors. The subtle dispersion effect is often more realistic than a ceiling speaker (especially an angled ceiling unit) hitting you square in the face, giving away it's position. This is a great video for getting thought going.
EDIT: if you have popcorn ceilings as some have pointed out, it may disburse the sound too much and make the effect difficult or impossible to achieve.

[TheReverendSlim]

The Elevations are not designed to be upfirers, as they don't have Dolby's HRTF built into their design. They could be used that way with Audyssey since it can actually add the frequency changes in with EQ if a speaker is designated as Dolby enabled, but ARC and other auto-EQs don't do that to my knowledge.

[docify]

I think the best atmos positioning is in the ceiling for the right effects but i dont want to cut holes in my new ceiling in case i mess it up.

[pastaman]

My vaulted cieling is too high, and the front wall is too far, so the best thing I did was set up some satellite speakers on the side walls as close to 45 degrees above, left, and right as possible. First I only set up front heights, and it already sounded like it was coming from pretty high, and I loved it! Next, I had another pair of the same satellite speakers and did the exact same setup again but for the rear heights. I only have a 7 ch receiver so I wired the left top heights in parallel and the right top heights in parallel. That seriously made the height immersion significantly better! Now all the height stuff feels like it's directly above me! I know that's not safe for the impedance but those speakers have a very small wattage rating and I don't listen to stuff too loud anyways so that's not a big deal in this case. Plus if I ever upgrade to a 9 ch, then I'll already have the speakers set up correctly.

[garyfelder]

Yeah, but you forgot about the wife factor so no speakers on the ceiling or wall. I'm using upfiring sitting on top of my entertainment unit (11 feet high) cranked up and they work okay given that I have a pitched 18-foot ceiling. Honestly, I even don't want speakers hanging on the wall and in-ceiling would be great but I don't have a crawl space and I'm not ready to do a wall-wired fishing expedition yet. So I'm thinking about adding another pair on top of my rear surrounds to switch to a 5.2.4. I have a Marantz SR5015 (which I love for music) and will experiment with setting the speaker/amp assign setup from "Front Height" to "Top Middle" for fun.

[chrisminnoy]

The height of the ceiling is important, plus the hardness of the surface of ceiling, and of course the angle of the upfiring speakers, related to the distance ofyour listeni position. Then you also have toing of the front speakers...in the end a lot of factors that play a role. Two speakers also can not produce a sense of location of height objects (this is partially simulated by your surround speakers, but it is a bit weird).

[jamiet]

Upfiring speakers vs inceiling/front height Atmos placement is a minor problem compared to having your left speaker pushed right up against a sidewall, while the right side has a few ft to its sidewall. This will really mess up your stereo image/width and phantom center

[ubacow]

I think more r&d needs to be done on top firing speakers. I think what companies are doing are just sticking one of their common drivers used on their tower/bookshelves rather than one more directional and efficient. Hitting the ceiling will diffuse the sound a lot but if you have a more directional speakers then it will diffuse less. I think using "pro" speakers like the kinda used in concerts would probably result in better Atmos top firing sound

[andrewcraig]

I think the problem you are seeing is related to our ceiling which has a texture. I am running Klipsh Atmos speakers in the up firing Atmos method and they work great. Klipsh has specific guidelines for setup and one of them "rules" is that it will not work well with stucco or textured ceilings as it deflects the sound and diminishes the effect. with that ceiling I would wall mount and do down firing height mode. Your ceiling height may also be playing a lessor role in these not working.

[Shiftg]

Upfiring can be QUITE convincing...if everything about the whole setup is absolutely perfect! The science is sound (no pun intended), it's just the window of success is too small for 98% of people to enjoy it which is not what's is communicated to them.

[Justeric]

7.3.4 My Atmos are Def Tech di8r in ceiling and man I could not be happier. I have a few short videos that do sweeps around the room and I cannot hear a gap throughout. I used the angles from the Dolby sites recommendations for them all best I could with a few compromises. Thanks for the video man!

[michaelerickson]

If your going to bounce the sound off of the ceiling they shouldn't be on top of tower speakers. There sitting too low at that point. Instead try mounting them higher towards the ceiling on a stand or shelf or bracket. We tried this and it worked alot better.

[kaiserbillxiv]

I recently bought a Denon Atmos HT receiver and plan on buying Atmos speakers. I live in an apartment and will wall mount them using speaker mounts which are adjustable as my stereo is in the corner of the living room. Thanks for the tips.

[tek]

this is more for the EU market, where almost all buildings are made from concrete and steel. still a huge fail to not have mounts for ceilings across all brands. i have the canton vento series but no speakers which can go on the ceiling. now it's fusion360 time, designing ceiling mounts for vento 10 for 3d printing. 5kg weight should be no issue. will publish on printables within the next weeks. purchased them cheap for 250€/piece but still waiting for delivery.

[stevies.]

You might have noticed that even Dolby has actually gone quiet on Dolby enabled up firing speakers and to a lesser degree in ceiling. Using in ceiling also limits the use of the like of Auro 3D, which if used as an up mixer on those weak Dolby Atmos tracks is way better. The solution is to have an arrangement such as the Yamaha presence speakers but possibly on a narrower alignment than in corners as Yamaha used to espouse. It’s also important to have the HEIGHT speaker settings (don’t use TOP settings if you have the option in your AVR, unless you are using a Voice of God) and the speakers angled to your ears as if you are STANDING at your listen position. You need that so that your ear level surrounds are separated directionally from the Heights.

[bagheera]

Your ceiling material and having a fan makes a huge difference too, I have been using up-firing for a few years now and am moving to a house with with higher ceilings so I think I am going to have to have them firing down due to the higher ceiling height.

[vinylmonster]

Yeah Ive been a bit frustrated with the whole Dolby Atmos setup. I bought a pair of Pioneer upward firing Dolby Atmos speakers and then read or heard that 2 pair was best so I bought another pair. I have since replaced 1 pair and swapped for a Polk Audio S35 Center Channel and a pair of S20's to improve my front stage - Ive been trying to avoid cutting holes in the ceiling since i dont own my home....and Ive also wrestled with the placebo question. Ive also added another subwoofer which creates a nice rumble - but the atmos thing still seems to struggle at moderate volume..

[beenasty]

I have an up firing system in my lounge of the bedroom and in-ceiling downstairs...if the point is having a total immersion...a sense of being there...then my PioneerT22As do the job...submarine creaks, bullets flying, planes overhead, roof collapses, rain, singing, etc....all sound for real...and well places me in the environment...it doesn't sound much different than my dedicated home