I Found the CHEAPEST Studio Dolby Atmos Speaker Setups.. But How Much?? 🤔

Mixing for ATMOS on a BUDGET | part 1 | Dolby Atmos speakers

My name is Paul Third and I am a Scottish youtuber / audio engineer / mixing engineer / audio geek. I mostly cover audio engineering related content ranging from audio plugin shootouts / plugin comparisons (acustica audio plugins, universal audio etc etc) to actual analog vs digital / gear vs plugins plugin tests via access analog and mix analog. I even include ddmf plugindoctor tutorials in my plugin reviews so you can be your very own plugin tester and experiment and understand whats actually going on under the hood. I also discuss digital music distribution from time to time and like to give my viewpoint on online music distributors such as onerpm and distrokid.

All of my audio blind tests involving music production software are conducted in avid pro tools 2021 which is my main daw and I also use HOFA blind test 4U as my blind test software. In terms of my audio interface I record and monitor through a universal audio apollo x6 through topping dx7 pro+ dac/amp and use an se dynacaster for all of my voice overs.

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📖 CHAPTERS
0:00 intro
1:30 ik multimedia iloud MTM immersive bundle
2:25 focal alpha
4:08 krk rokit
5:30 kali lp
7:13 doby atmos speaker stands
8:10 cheap TRS balanced cables
8:48 ceiling speaker mounts

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[PaulThird]

FYI even though I've asked in the video to leave out atmos politics in the comments section I'm still getting the same repeated shite I see on EVERY atmos related video now.

I'm all for contrast but I just can't have tin foil hat stuff on my channel. I'm too literal for that shite and I CANNOT have my channel resemble gearslutz and Facebook forums where its just a sea of misinformation coming from opinion completely devoid of any relevant experience.

If you want to give your opinion on my channel then I urge you to base it from a place of actual experience and fact, not just speculation and conspiracy. I'm so bored with the quadriphonic, 3d tv, bla bla bla references. It's just irrelevant.

You can dislike it all you want and refuse to watch the content but I'll still make it because it interests me and i couldnt give a fuck about what the popular opinion of the day is.

I stay true to myself and tbh I quite enjoy the hate towards atmos cause it reminds me what it used to be like on this channel. Making content on what I was consumed in and educating people on what I learned regardless if the main consensus was against what I was making content about.

That's called REAL content, not content that's made intentionally to please a large number of society to get more subscribers, views and likes.

If there's one thing I pride myself on, it's being able to stick 2 fingers to public opinion and believe in the decisions I make.

Also for extra context here are 2 documented setups mentioned in the video

Focal alpha


KRK rokit

[AquashiiMusic]

Really appreciate you putting this together Paul! To go through the setup in the first place is a task and a half... yet alone create videos, so thanks!

[arkarmoethouk]

Just the thing I was looking for. Thanks, Paul!
I've been thinking about an atmos setup with a budget around $ 4K .
Any thoughts on a setup with 7 Adam T8Vs, 4 T5Vs on the top and a T10S sub?
I'm already familiar with how Adam T series sound.

[andriskissproducer]

Fantastic job with the video Paul. You nicely explained everything 👌

[Dan_Corkery]

Thanks, Paul..excellent video as usual. Much appreciated. 😉👍

[richertz]

It’s not that it’s expensive (it is in some ways but that’s not my issue)- I just am not into the sound of Atmos - I don’t want music all around my head, I like stereo. However I do feel it’s a great thing for film so your advice will no doubt be useful for some.

[somedood]

Yesss been looking forward to this series! I’m looking to get an Adam Audio set up with their A series. Please can you cover the audio interface side of things, would love to see realistically what options there are.. Thanks Paul!

[andrewgoodwincomposer]

Thanks Paul! curious about the cheaper receiver options etc as well. Nice to know that there are reasonable options for speakers. Most every video i have seen are getting a genelec setup or something absurd lol

[jemwand]

Hey Paul, As someone who watches a fair few of your video's, I'm going to suggest that I am probably the "everyman". I am interested in what you have to say but I am not an expert mixer, nor am I having bottomless pockets.
I think what I am trying to say is, a Dolby Atmos set up is not what an audience who are still learning how to EQ, Compress, use effects effectively and understand how to mix in stereo are really in need of knowing.I understand that you are keeping up with the current trend but all the gear, with no idea is not the way forward.
Would it not be better to at least suggest that Dolby Atmos is not something to even attempt unless one has a solid grounding in already creating great stereo mixes.
The reason I say this is because I can see many people rushing out and spending a lot of money before they are able to reap the rewards of mixing in this new format.

[uselessoldman]

My advice from experience, if your on a budget buy a half decent Hi Fi surround and supplement it with a paid of Studio Monitors. I have two setups, one using a decent Atmos Receiver with Q Acoustics 3000 series speakers the other using a audio interface with ADAT extension into 6xCrown/QSC power amps (giving me 16 inputs and outputs) into a range of speakers/cabinets managed by Nuendo and DaVinci since both support Atmos natively. With the audio interface you just assign what channel does what, centre front surround subs etc with the Atmos amp I use ASIO since it picks up all channels available on the amp by default when the PC is setup for Atmos I even messed around with VA Audio software but seriously that will drive you bananas !! I started off with a simple 5.1 then added the second sub since it balanced the bass so much better and then the ceilings which I started by using JBL Studio One Monitors, there GOOD and finally added the second set of surrounds giving me in total, a lot of speakers and a spiders web of cabling !!! For the subs we ended up adding a 2x10 cab with Celestion BN10 300s inside cos subs/centre were never clear enough great for Booms/kick but not a bass guitar or floor toms.

I did all this during lockdown when I had plenty of free time and nothing much else to do cost me a small fortune and yes it was fun but also infuriating. Great for movie effects but for audio/music? naaa The plan was record a concert (visual and audio in multi channel I also have a big mixer with a audio interface built in back to my surface pro) and then master/mixdown the video in Atmos, in the end I asked myself, WHY YouTube only supports 5.1 as do most streaming services and in low quality so really you have to ask yourself who and how will anyone appreciate all the hard work and investment?

[akagerhard]

So if I was to go Atmos, I'd go with the IKM MTMs. Multiple reasons:
1. I know the MTMs and can work on them well
2. Setting up MTMs is a cakewalk - (rotable "wall-stands" by IKM FOR MTMs are available (~50 Bucks)
3. Would look less "invasive"

But yes, Kalis would've been my second choice for a budget atmos setup. Focals are great when you invest some money, I don't know how their budget products are. But I have the (discontinued) Focal Spirit One Professional headphones and that's as tight as it gets. The clarity and punch are hard to beat - I have headphones twice the price that are wider and maybe a tiny be more detailed (in perception, due to the wideness), but also muddier (Beyerdynamic). I'm not going atmos, but since I've already rambled about the whys under another video of yours, I'll spare you - this one time!

[MixedByDotRob]

I have a pair of little Genelec 8010 that I use for mobile work. They cost like 260 quid and could be a cool Atmos start. Maybe I should get another 9 of them and check it out ;-)

[athonygraham]

I think Atmos is a cool idea, I haven't heard it, but it seems great for different applications. I remember listening to Dark Side Of The Moon in surround for the 1st time, which was novel and interesting, but not anything I couldn't live without. I think it would be great to go to a listening room and pay to hear an album in Atmos. That would be just like going to the cinema really, or even like the days of my youth, going to the record shop and asking them to play parts of a record before buying. There's the whole social angle of that. I can't imagine hating it. I don't know whether I'd shelve out the money for an Atmos room, and I'm not sure the average punter would either, but yeah, going to an Atmos Music "event" sounds great, I could tell my wife it's a date!

What I don't like is the rumour that some platforms such as Spotify or Apple will only distribute Atmos mixes and not stereo, I don't know if that's true or not, but it seems to be exclusive rather than inclusive, but that's a business practice rather than a complaint against Atmos itself. Then again, I don't like Spotify or Apple Music that much anyway and wouldn't bother my arse subscribing to it, because, just like the old record company's, they exploit the artists.

[dirtyharry]

honest video. Unlike some commentators, I saw it to the end, so I am not gonna whine about Atmos. In fact, nobody knows if this will be the new standard in 20 years (although we can make predictions). Since we don't really know, it's good to have options.

Another response to some commentators: if you are a musician and not a professional mixer, just stay with your 2 speakers. If you are a professional mixer, you have some tough choices to make.

But I do have a comment about labels: 95% of the music that comes out nowadays from labels is trash! Pure, unfettered trash. And you professional mixers will have to listen to this shit for the rest of your lives. Now, immersively in 7.4.1 speakers!

I really don't understand people who choose this profession...

[PaulEubanks]

Atmos works great in movie theaters where you have a carefully crafted audio listening environment. For music, it's shite. I've not heard a single Atmos mix I thought was better than stereo when collapsed to 2-ch. stereo, which is what everyone has and uses. There's arguments that Atmos is still early in adoption, but I think that's a cop out when you have reference mixes and can easily compare the two. That said, I do encourage everyone to dive headlong into full Atmos setups, just because I look forward to getting a fantastic deal on liquidated Atmos studio monitors when everyone else finally comes to their senses and realizes Atmos is shite.

[TigroGumi]

The iLoud MTM's do make back some money with the cost and less effort mounting them... also with acoustics because they are easier to tame... but I also find I have to enjoy the sound on my speakers so my thoughts of a cheap Atmos setup is constantly going around and around, this helps narrow things down a little bit for me... currently looking at the kali's, but the IN models and the very cheap looking a the Tannoy golds because I like the way these sound and Atmos mixing is more about where to place something than how you cut and shape things together and might not need such critical listening

[damiendeedunne]

dolby atmos means that you, ll have to do 2 mixes otherwise dolby atmos collapse wont work well in stereo due to not having to the same spacing as you have to in a steroe mix

[gooshie]

How much extra is paid by a client for an Atmos mix? That's the big question.

[gopaljee]

What about presonus eris xt 5 monitor?

[mageprometheus]

There are many things I don't want you to speak about, Dolby Atmos isn't one of them. I won't be doing Atmos, but I love seeing new innovations. My hobby studio is about fun and there are so many better ways to spend money for personal fun when making music.