Advice Request: Atmos /w HTM-200 SE

[Sam]

I have dug through every post on these forums for this issue and can't seem to find a definitive answer. So here's hoping the brain trust here or even my main man Dave can help me out.


Questions

HTM-200 SE as Atmos speakers, is a popular Ascend solution. I have three questions.

1. Is it better to lay them flush against the ceiling or get a pivotable mount and angle them down towards the main listening position? I notice on AVS Dolby threads, Dolby engineers tend to prefer a pivotable yoke mount.

2. How do you orient the HTM-200 SEs. I will attach a mockup. It's hard to illustrate, but I suppose in this scenario they are angled towards the MLP.

3. Which direction should the offset tweeter be. If mounted flush on the ceiling, are all the tweeters closest to the MLP and if angled, are the tweeters on the bottom?


Literature & Dispersion

This is literature from the HTM-200 SE page here on Ascend's site and I am not sure what to make of it for Atmos.


A perfect center channel speaker: Lay the HTM-200SE on its side, place it atop your television and be prepared for an added dimension in your home theater setup. As a center channel, it provides controlled vertical dispersion and wide symmetrical horizontal dispersion so dialogue and effects are accurate regardless of listening position.


A superior left, right, surround channel speaker: Stand the HTM-200SE upright and it is transformed into an accurate compact monitor perfect for home theater AND two channel audio. As a left/right/surround channel it provides controlled horizontal dispersion (minimizing room boundary effects) and wide vertical dispersion for an extremely large soundstage. Perfect for discreet wall mounting!

I know Atmos requires wide dispersion, so what is the best setup for these speakers?

Thank you!

1866

[racrawford65]

I've mounted my HTM height speakers similar to your 3rd (angled) diagram, although they are oriented vertically. Angled towards the MLP.

Front Heights are about in-line with fronts, rear heights almost in line with front heights. The rears are a bit outside the fronts due to room layout. I don't recall if I oriented with tweeter to the outside or inside.

I used mounts similar to these (in case I wanted to also try horizontal orientation of the speakers).

https://www.amazon.com/Mount-Universal-Clamping-Bookshelf-Mounting/dp/B01MZE0O8U/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=angled+speaker+mount&qid=1579995492&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFDSkpOQlUyRDQ1RjEmZ W5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAwNjc2OTdMTlVNVklQWjE0VlomZW5jcnl wdGVkQWRJZD1BMDgwODcwOUNNV0RWUDNGTEFWUyZ3aWRnZXROY W1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdEx vZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

[Sam]

I've mounted my HTM height speakers similar to your 3rd (angled) diagram, although they are oriented vertically. Angled towards the MLP.

Front Heights are about in-line with fronts, rear heights almost in line with front heights. The rears are a bit outside the fronts due to room layout. I don't recall if I oriented with tweeter to the outside or inside.

I used mounts similar to these (in case I wanted to also try horizontal orientation of the speakers).



Thank you for your insight. Have you tried your setup with Atmos? I like that mount, thank you for the link. Are your speakers mounted on a wall?

[racrawford65]

Yes to both. I am running 5.1.4 (Sierra Towers with RAAL Fronts, Luna Duo Center, S2's surrounds, which were my original FL/R, with a S2 center), and HTM200's for heights (wall mounted). Rythmik E15HP.

ATMOS sounds really good. I really like those mounts also. Use a set for my surrounds, as well as the heights. I originally had used picture wire and OOK hangars for the heights so they were vertical and flush against the wall but pointed straight out (like your middle picture). This also worked pretty good for ATMOS, but I feel the new mounts allowing the angling (towards MLP and down) are a bit better for ATMOS. I've attached a couple of pics

18671868

[Sam]

Yes to both. I am running 5.1.4 (Sierra Towers with RAAL Fronts, Luna Duo Center, S2's surrounds, which were my original FL/R, with a S2 center), and HTM200's for heights (wall mounted). Rythmik E15HP.

ATMOS sounds really good. I really like those mounts also. Use a set for my surrounds, as well as the heights. I originally had used picture wire and OOK hangars for the heights so they were vertical and flush against the wall but pointed straight out (like your middle picture). This also worked pretty good for ATMOS, but I feel the new mounts allowing the angling (towards MLP and down) are a bit better for ATMOS. I've attached a couple of pics


That's fantastic. I really appreciate the pictures. Thank you. Nice room, btw! I have to attach to the ceiling but I think I can do something similar. In your pictures the HTM's look smaller than imagined, so that's nice. Side question, how do you like the duo center with your towers? I am paring the duo with EX fronts.

[racrawford65]

No worries, and thanks for the compliments on my room.

The HTM's are not too big (11 x 6.5 x 6.375) per the website. Kind of similar in size to a shoe box (unless one is big foot ;-) ).

I love the Duo with the Towers. I considered the Horizon but too big for my setup (wasn't keen on putting the TV directly onto the speaker, even with some sort of isolation between the two.) I found the Duo to be much better for movies than the S2 I was using before, although the S2 is a good center. To my ears, dialogue is clearer with the Duo.

My ceiling is trayed so wall was really my best option. I probably could have mounted vertically in one of the tray walls but maybe not vertically and would loose a bit of separation between the heights, both front and rear.

Anyways, the mounts I linked to would probably still work. The clamp pretty tight. Alternately, you'll note the screw hole in the speaker platform verticals so a wood screw(s) could always be screwed into the speaker cabinet to help secure. This would also have the drivers pointing down (or mostly down if you use the angle adjustment) which I think would work great for ATMOS. Link below to a different mount for use on ceilings or walls that I had considered. I am not sure if the holes on these line up with the inserts on the HTMs though.

https://www.amazon.com/Mount-Anti-Theft-Universal-Surround-Satellite/dp/B00CSA2Y18/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=angled+speaker+mount&qid=1580001393&sr=8-6

Not sure if you have access from above in your room, but somewhere in the forum, there's a post where someone flush mounted the HTM's into the ceiling. As I recall, used lag screws threaded through the joist/framing 2x4 and into the HTMs. If one didn't mind the speaker protruding a bit, probably could also do something similar through the ceiling sheetrock. Obviously, drivers would point straight down and couldn't angle tweeter.

[tknice]

Flush mounted HTMs (https://images4.static-bluray.com/htgallery/163206_full.jpg), that was probably me. I cut the drywall holes and nailed two 2x4s up in the ceiling (perpendicular to the joists), which served as mounting points. Then I attached some 1/4" plywood to the back of the HTM that is slightly wider than the cabinet and then used a long bit extension to screw into the 2x4s.

You'll need to make a cutout in the plywood for the speaker connections and use the speaker's inserts to attach the plywood on one side. Finally, I made some decorative trim pieces to cover the small gap around the speaker. I'm happy with how it turned out and honestly, I wouldn't be too concerned with directing the sound for Atmos. I consulted Dave before I started and he said the HTM tweeter dispersion is well suited for this purpose. Mine are roughly 45 degrees forward and behind my front row of seats.

Good luck!