The sound producer in his studio places sounds and their movements at exact points in the space around the viewer. Dolby Atmos technology can produce up to 118 simultaneous sound objects. And it supports up to 400 speakers.
The AV receiver in your home theater applies this positioning, using those speakers that are in your system, regardless of their number.
Of course, the more speakers there are around you, the more accurate the placement and movement of the sound will be, and the more immersive you will be in what is happening on the screen.
Most modern AV receivers support Dolby Atmos, so the choice is up to the number of speakers around you and the quality of the sound itself.
The leaders of the home cinema AV receiver market are Denon and Marantz. This equipment has been tested for operation and works well without issues. And since the AV receiver is the heart of the home theater system, and it does a lot of work, reliability is the main parameter for a good AV receiver.
This could be a setup for a living room, game room, or separate room for a home theatre. We need:
I would initially take on the 7.1.4 system. This looks like a good Dolby Atmos system that will bring a lot of fun — seven speakers around you, four on the ceiling, and one or two subwoofers. You can start with 5.1.2. This will be a pretty good system too, with its subsequent improvement.
It should be 11 (7 + 4) amplified channels. And my leaders are:
Denon AVR-X6800H
11 channels amp · $3499
Marantz CINEMA 30
11 channels amp · $4500
Here is a quote from a comparison of these AV receivers on Whathifi.com:
There are other suitable options that are cheaper, but I don’t know how durable they are:
This is harder because of the variety of options we have in the market. It is better to set up one brand of speakers for all the channels, because they always have their own specific sound. The ideal scene is speakers standing on the floor or mounted on the wall — they sound much better. We can do in-ceiling / in-wall speakers, but they have a less intensive sound flow.
Martin Logan Motion Series
My choice of speakers by quality level:
Of course, for some rooms it is impossible to install so many speakers around and on the ceiling. Here you can install speakers that use the effect of sound reflection, or even a soundbar that uses the same effect. This will give you a less clear placement of sounds in space, but will definitely fill your room with good sound.
Sony HT-A5000
Modern TVs are a good source of good sound in themselves, using your favorite streaming service application. You can also use an Apple TV or Roku player with your TVs or projector. Here it is up to you to decide which interface you like best.
For a real home theater with lossless audio and full reference video quality, the choice is definitely Kaleidescape — The Ultimate Movie Platform.
Now more and more movies, shows, and music support Dolby Atmos, and it is truly the future of cinema sound.
