rear speakers at ceiling height (still 5.1 or 3.1.2?)

[ypan07]

Guys, if I mount surround speakers at the ceiling (ie not ear height due to some restrictions on the wall) and point them down to the the viewing position, will it still be okay as 5.1 setup? Or configuring it as 3.1.2 makes more sense since AVR supports 5.1.2?

 

[ajuvignesh]

Guys, if I mount surround speakers at the ceiling (ie not ear height due to some restrictions on the wall) and point them down to the the viewing position, will it still be okay as 5.1 setup? Or configuring it as 3.1.2 makes more sense since AVR supports 5.1.2?

In my understanding, 5.1 is the base for everything and this x.x.2 are mostly for objects in the sound. They might not necessarily work Everytime as the rear surrounds unless the height channels have significant number of objects encoded. Besides, availability 5.1 content is more than Atmos content, as of today. I would stick to 5.1.

You can play a 5.1 movie which a strong rear presence, set the avr to 3.1.2 config and check if the the height speakers reproduce the surround sound or the avr just skips it. If it reproduces the sound, may be you can stick to 3.1.2.

But, in my humble opinion, sticking to a full fledged 5.1 is better than partial half baked atmos with 3.1.2.

 

[elangoas]

Guys, if I mount surround speakers at the ceiling (ie not ear height due to some restrictions on the wall) and point them down to the the viewing position, will it still be okay as 5.1 setup?

I hope, you mean where the side wall meets ceiling.. Should work fine (if it is 5.1 only), but the height may be too much..

If you have 5.1.2 set-up, then fixing the surrounds near ceiling and having height speakers, you may not be able to distinguish if there isn't spacing between heights & surrounds..

Or configuring it as 3.1.2 makes more sense since AVR supports 5.1.2?

Am not sure if the AVR would allow a height speaker without surround speaker.. Which AVR do you have?.. Think Pioneer 832 (5.1) is an AVR that allows height without surrounds..

 

[prateekatasniya]

Frankly speaking
Rear sound coming from above will not provide the immersive experience.
Imagine a movie scene with car approaching from behind. Your system will sound as if the car is coming from sky.

 

[prateekatasniya]

Its better to have a properly setup 2.2 channel or 3.2 instead of a having a 5.1 with surrounds placed at wrong locations.