So, as well as fire sound towards you, they also fire upwards too. Some manufacturers build upfiring units into their left and right bookshelf or floorstanding speakers. Several brands, including Onkyo, offer speakers that you place on top of your existing left and right floorstanders, or nearby on an AV stand. These are dedicated to Dolby Atmos and are angled slightly to bounce the sound off the ceiling and back down to your sitting position. And, this is the form adopted by many speaker, AV receiver and soundbar manufacturers today.įor those with traditional separate speakers - like a home cinema sound system - this might just mean the addition of upfiring modules. However, not everyone is able to facilitate them, so the more common approach at home is to get upward firing Atmos speakers to fire the sound up to the ceiling and reflect back down to the listening position. What do I need to get Dolby Atmos?įor the best possible Atmos experience, in-ceiling speakers are the way to go. That's a line used by Dolby and supporting brands as a wider range of Dolby Atmos-enabled devices are made available. If you want some extra low-end grunt, you can also add an extra subwoofer into the mix.ĭolby Atmos isn't defined by the number of channels, per se, but by the enhanced ability to deliver this more immersive sound experience. It introduces new speaker configurations, such as 5.1.2, where there are five speakers around the room, one subwoofer and two height channel speakers. Rather than have sounds of raindrops, or a helicopter moving around the same height as your ears with 5.1, for example, Atmos means you'll be able to hear rain falling from above or a helicopter moving from over your head and into the distance. No longer are we confined to 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound systems, we can have fully encompassing, cinema-like experiences thanks to the proliferation of Dolby Atmos.Īvailable on movies, sports broadcasts, and even games these days, Atmos is doing for sound what Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD did for video performance.īut, what is Dolby Atmos? Why is it exciting? And, what do you need to get the most from it? What is Dolby Atmos?ĭolby Atmos takes the longstanding surround sound, home cinema concept but adds extra height channels to provide a more enveloping sound effect in your room. (Pocket-lint) - Home cinema isn't just about the picture, sound is equally as important, and there have been significant advancements in that area in recent times.

Best speakers for dolby atmos