All I am going to say is I will not even give Atmos a sniff due to the resident spokesman's overzealous wagon peddling here. This is truly a modern example of a snake oil salesmen. If Dolby Labs is paying him it is not in gear, must be beer.
Do NOT Blow Your Entire Budget on Two Channel Audio
Yes, two channel audio is here, and is not going away. However, object based audio is delightful, widely available on Tidal and Apple Music, and should be in the listening room of every music lover on the planet, not just "audiophiles. If you plan to be a music fan a year from now start building your object based audio system today. You will need:
1) A receiver/processor capable of Dolby Atmos.
2) A subscription to Tidal or Apple music.
3) A Firestick, ATV, or Nvidia Shield.
4) A minimum of 7 timber matched speakers and a subwoofer.
Once you experienced stereo would you ever go back to only mono? No, you would build a system capable of either mono or stereo. Now that object based audio has arrived do the same thing. Build a system capable of mono, stereo, AND object based audio. When Elton John heard Rocket Man in an object based format for the first time why did he demand to convert his entire catalog to Atmos? If you don’t know, then you need to go listen to Rocket Man in a good Atmos setup ASAP.
So, take your budget, DIVERSIFY, and get a good Atmos capable receiver or processor. Object based audio is NOT last decades surround sound or home theater. It is for MUSIC first, if you need a recommendation on how to allocate your budget feel free to post a question. Most importantly, you don’t NEED two systems, one for music and one for movies. A good object based audio system can play two channel music just fine. A two channel system on the other hand can’t play object based audio without a proper processor or receiver.
Greg Penny talks mixing Rocket Man in Atmos.
https://youtu.be/ggzfcUKDqdo?feature=shared
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I don’t see the need for disagreement. I never stated that one format is better (although certain mixes can be better). My OP is simply to budget for both formats. You can get a great 2 channel preamp for about $2500. You can get a great processor capable of atmos for about the same price. If you choose to buy a 2 ch preamp for 100% of your budget or a processor for 100% of your budget you won’t see me chastising you for your choices. I will say that ALL atmos capable processors can do two channel so consider that when budgeting. I didn’t "need" to budget for a 2 channel preamp at all, I did so because the additional features complimented my system.
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If you setup your room for Atmos it is pretty straight forward as Dolby has laid out the specs. If you use the same specs at home as they do in the studio you will probably get a similar experience. Here is a thread for setting up your room: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/how-to-setup-your-room-for-atmos-and-immersive-audio |
If you are budgeting for an all in one 2 ch/atmos system and want to save $ and space check this thread: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/speaker-selection-strategies-for-atmos-music |
When it comes to budgeting for an Atmos capable processor I would carefully consider the FEATURES you need. Sometimes the difference between a flagship processor in a companies lineup and the next model down are the features rather than the sound quality. Why pay for a 16 channel processor if your room is maxed out at 9? |
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