Atmos height speakers for a system that uses RAAL tweeters.

[petmotel]

I had Energy RCs with aluminum domes...if anything with most content they sounded recessed or laid back...never harsh. I reckon it depends on several variables... design and room acoustics...come to mind.

My mains being soft dome...made things a bit simpler but even within the same material it could be cumbersome from a design stand point to find a happy medium. Essentially I looked at proven architectural design from mfg like paradigm, PSB, Focal and MA....looking at the specs and sensitivity of each design....for surround or moreso Atmos implementation....I don't think you'd not find a suitable design for this application...from any of the listed above...with this hobby we often obsess over trivial things.

I would be inclined to agree with your assessment were it not for the fact that I listen to a LOT of multi-channel music, some of which creative mixers like to pan things like bell sounds or vibraphone tones around the room. In these circumstances even the mismatch between the RAAL ribbon equipped Towers, and NRT equipped Sierras was not insignificant. That being said, it's my understanding that Atmos height speakers don't integrate that directly with the floor level sounds.

I have decided that should the SVS heights not be to my liking, I will custom order Lunas in matte white with white grilles, and be done with compromise.

Jay

[petmotel]

I received the new height speakers today, since they are not Ascends I won't be offering much here except to say they are very nice looking, and I haven't found the tweeter to be harsh at all.

Jay

[petmotel]

I've spent time reading through this forum to get more insight into the subject of this thread and have come up with a wealth of older info.

FirstReflect commented: Naturally, anyone asking about Atmos speakers on this message board is probably concerned about timbre match and having a seamless and coherent sound field all around and above them. But I've gotta tell ya, I'm about as overly critical as anyone can get on that front, and having perfectly matching overhead or upward-firing speakers hasn't mattered even a little bit to me. The sounds that are up there basically only come in two varieties: ambient, diffuse effects that you can only notice by switching back and forth between Atmos and non-Atmos, and discrete, pin-point sounds that are basically just there to make you go, "golly! That came from right above me!"

In either case, a perfect timbre match to your Front speakers just doesn't matter, IMO. I found that to be the case with the "old school" Front Height speakers back when we were using Dolby Pro Logic IIz or DTS Neo:X upmixing, and I find that to still be the case with Atmos overhead speakers. I believe that part of it is that we humans just aren't that good at hearing sounds coming from above us to begin with, and part of it is that the sounds being put up there by the mixers are, like I said, either just ambience, or "whiz, bang" type of effect.

When asked if Ascend was interested in Atmos speakers, Dave F. responded: yes, we are certainly interested but still in the process of evaluation and curiosity about other soon to be released competing formats. There are some characteristics in the Atmos specs that don't make sense from the acoustic science aspect. One is the fact that they call for wide dispersion from the upward firing modules. To properly reflect (bounce) off the ceiling, a more directional speaker would be much more beneficial. The more sound that is directed towards the ceiling and less into the room, the less wave interference will occur with the reflected sound off the ceiling meeting the direct-sound from the speaker.

In some regards, Atmos goes against much of the theories that have been studied and learned for the delivery of accurate sound. That certainly doesn't mean we will avoid it, but I have much experience over the last 3 decades with regard to similar new "specs" for home theater that also presented contrary theories to the delivery of accurate sound, and these eventually died out with consumers always returning to accuracy...

I think the above comments pretty much answer why we aren't going to see specific Atmos height solutions from Ascend. I surely understand the reasoning, and why this application is in conflict with Dave's design philosophies.

Edit: I'm really happy I didn't spend the money for a ribbon height solution, by all accounts it would have been an unnecessary expense.

Jay

[racrawford65]

Good post, Jay.

I'm in the same camp as you with regards to timbre matching ATMOS speakers - not critical IMO. (I'm using HTM200's as ATMOS - high wall mounted). Sounds fine to me. As you noted, more for ambience or special effects (like planes flying over). I like what ATMOS adds.

My guess is they weren't worried about acoustical science, but in creating another market to sell more speakers, processors, and movies :-)

[petmotel]

Good post, Jay.

I'm in the same camp as you with regards to timbre matching ATMOS speakers - not critical IMO. (I'm using HTM200's as ATMOS - high wall mounted). Sounds fine to me. As you noted, more for ambience or special effects (like planes flying over). I like what ATMOS adds.

My guess is they weren't worried about acoustical science, but in creating another market to sell more speakers, processors, and movies :-)

Product marketing surely plays a huge role in selling "the next big thing" I didn't see the need for 4K until they bundled HDR with the format. The expanded color palette along with my LG OLED certainly validates the format for me.

Glad many here have mentioned they like the Atmos effects, I'd have been sick to have spent what I have and not enjoy the results.

Jay

[racrawford65]

I made the move to 4K then ATMOS starting in 2016. I love my LG OLED 65E6P - 2016 model, so 3D as well. The 3D is excellent and the passive glasses are nice - step up from my previous Panny. Too bad it's gone away -- may have caught on better if it was as good when first came out.

I'll pass on 8K, though...at least for now. Thinking my next big AV purchase will be a Degritter ultrasonic LP cleaning machine.

[curtis]

Love my LG OLED too! 65C7

Until my girlfriend heard my soundsystem and saw the TV, she wouldn't have bought into either of them.

Now she is talking about a bigger OLED when we get our new place. I have to get her thinking the same way about the soundsystem, but that will take a little more work.

[petmotel]

Love my LG OLED too! 65C7

Until my girlfriend heard my soundsystem and saw the TV, she wouldn't have bought into either of them.

Now she is talking about a bigger OLED when we get our new place. I have to get her thinking the same way about the soundsystem, but that will take a little more work.

I think experiencing an OLED Panel TV can be correlated to hearing an Ascend RAAL speaker. No going back if you have!

Jay

[curtis]

I think experiencing an OLED Panel TV can be correlated to hearing an Ascend RAAL speaker. No going back if you have!

When I was getting ready to buy the OLED, she read an article which pretty much said "if you get an OLED TV, it will ruin you for all other TVs". I need to find a article like that for Ascend speakers.

[merrymaid520]

We must all have similar taste....I also enjoy my LG 65C8. Also planning to finish my bonus room HT with atmos using 340SE across the front and 200s for everything else.