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Dolby Atmos has a great sound aroma that can be felt in a home theater room. It creates a 3-dimensional sound bubble around the audience. But should you get separate speakers for it? Is it work getting Dolby Atmos speakers?
At A Glance: The Dolby Atmos speakers are worth it if you want to feel the rain in the movies falling over you, the warplanes, the bullets, missiles, and the tank fires passing by you. If you want to feel this 3D sound then yes Atmos speakers are worth it.
Keep reading as we will be discussing the recommended settings and speakers number for the Dolby Atmos. I will also answer some of the most significant related questions. Don’t forget to check the poll results that I have conducted in a Facebook group.
Do Dolby Atmos speakers make a difference?
In-Short: The Dolby Atmos speakers convert the directional sound into 3D dimensional. These speakers offer an extra dimension to the sound, so it can travel from many more angles.
In-Depth: You can run the Dolby Atmos music and movies without installing the Atmos speakers. But in that case, the Dolby Atmos content will be so directional. The sound of the flying object will come at you straight, and it won’t feel like they are flying over your head and passing you by in real time.
Here, without the Atmos speakers, the sound will be in two dimensions. The sound will go from left to right and from back to forward. There will be no 3D dimension, and that is from Top to bottom. The 2D sound will miss hitting many more angles in the theater room.
The Atmos speaker will offer the 3rd dimension to the sound.
Which Type Of The Atmos Speakers Are The Best?
There are three types of speakers used for the Dolby Atmos effects. Each type has the effect of creating this 3D sound bubble.
In-ceiling/on-ceiling Speakers
This type of speaker is recommended and the best one. In-ceiling speakers will better create the 3D sound. The rain will feel exactly like it is falling over the audience in the theater room.
The bullets hitting the area on the screen will be perfectly replicated by the speakers. You will feel its hitting spot in your theater room.
Your brain will be able to differentiate between the height of the two flying helicopters. You will feel like they are flying over you in the same manner as they are seen on the screen.
That’s why I recommend in-ceiling speakers for the Dolby Atmos.
Read my review guide about the best in-ceiling speakers for home theater. Few speakers are the best option for Atmos.
Height Elevation Speakers
These Atmos speakers are wall-mounted and above the head of the audience. This is the second recommended speaker type for the Dolby Atmos.
This will be able to create a 3D sound bubble, but it will lack many angles of the sound. This can’t create the perfect 3D sound that is needed for the Dolby bubble around the audience.
Know when should you use surround sound. I have answered the most significant answers in this guide.
Up Firing Atmos Speakers
These are speakers that will be placed on the ground or the top of another speaker. These speakers fire up the sound to the ceiling and from the ceiling, it reflects on the audience.
This is the 3rd recommended type. Because the sound quality depends on the nature of the material that the ceiling is made up of.
The sound will be affected greatly by the nature of the ceiling material.
Which Type of Dolby Atmos Speakers Are You Using? (FB Poll)
| Poll Options | Poll Stats |
|---|---|
| In-ceiling Speakers | 65.71% |
| On-ceiling Speakers | 31.42% |
| Height Elevation Speakers | 2.86% |
| Up-firing Speakers | 0% |
I conducted this poll in a Facebook group.
How many speakers are good for Dolby Atmos?
The minimum of in-ceiling speakers will be 2 for Dolby Atmos but the recommended number is 4 and the best is 6.
If you are tight with the budget then you can go with the 2 in-ceiling Atmos speakers to have that Atmos effect, but if you have the budget then go with the 4 speakers.
But if you want to feel the perfection of the Dolby Atmos, then 6 speakers will do their magic for you.
Know about these 13 tips that will improve the home theater experience. I have included tips both for video and audio.
How To Calibrate & Which dB Level for The Speakers Will Be Good For Dolby Atmos?
In-Short: The Atmos speakers should be level-matched with each other and should be a few dB higher than the rest of the speakers if you want the Dolby Atmos effects to stand out, and they should be calibrated with an SPL meter.
In-Depth: The Atmos speakers should be calibrated by an SPL meter. Sit with the SPL meter in the seating area and calibrate each speaker according to the seating area. Read my guide about the best SPL meter for home theater. You will also know how to calibrate the sound with an SPL meter.
The recommended dB level for home theater speakers is 75dB, but if you want to stand out the Dolby Atmos effects then up the Atmos speakers a few dB. They should be good with 77dBs. But keep them level-matched.
Did you get something out of this Atmos guide? Hold On We Have Something Exciting To Share.
FAQs
Is Atmos better than surround sound?
Atmos is 100% better than surround sound. The surround sound is just 2 dimensional, while the Atmos is 3 dimensional.
So many dots and angles will be missed by the surround sound. The surround sound will miss a whole other universe of an extra dimension.
The Atmos adds a 3rd dimension to the surround sound and hence gives it wings to fly all around and hit every dot, spot, and angle in the theater room.
Can you use Dolby Atmos without ceiling speakers?
You can use Dolby Atmos without ceiling speakers because the up-firing speakers and height elevation speakers don’t require you to install them in or on the ceiling to get Dolby Atmos effects.
These two types are the best alternatives for those who don’t want ceiling speakers or are not comfortable with them.
However, the ceiling speaker is the best option for proper Dolby Atmos.
Which is better, Dolby or Dolby Atmos?
The Dolby is an enhanced version of surround sound, and it is 2 dimensional, while the Dolby Atmos is more than surround sound because it is 3 dimensional.
The Dolby is just on the ground and fills the ground area of the theater room, while the Dolby Atmos brings it to the ceiling and covers the ground and also the top to the bottom area of the theater room.
Dolby Atmos is more satisfying than Dolby.
Is Atmos noticeable?
The Atmos is noticeable when the movie is encoded in the Dolby Atmos, flawless. If there are faults in the Atmos encoding, then it will not be noticeable 100% of the time.
The movie’s post-production team sometimes doesn’t focus enough on encoding the Dolby Atmos properly, and that’s why in many movies there will be flaws in the Atmos effects.
Like many bullets and a few helicopters flying will miss getting the Atmos effects.
But if you watch the Dolby Atmos YouTube video, the Atmos is noticeable 100% of the time. Because that video is encoded very well.
Helpful Resources For The FAQs To Read More
- This was my opinion and pretty brief. Know in detail from TomsGuide Blog. (Resource for the first answer)
