Daddyjt

Ideally yes on the 9.1, but not necessarily. For most home theater applications, you have what’s called the “base layer” - that’s your 5.1 or 7.1. In 5.1, you have your front L,C,R and 2 surrounds and 1 sub. In 7.1, you have all that plus 2 back surrounds. In both of these configurations, the surrounds (and back surrounds) are often moved high up on the side and back walls - and this is fine, even though optimal position is at ear level for the seated listening positions. The Atmos channels are indicated by a third number added after the subs, that represents the number of Atmos speakers in the setup. For example, I run a 7.4.4 setup - 7 base layer speakers (front 3 plus 2 side surrounds and 2 back surrounds), 4 subs, and 4 in-ceiling Atmos speakers. My 2 side and 2 back surrounds used to be mounted up high, but When I added the in-ceiling Atmos speakers, I move these 4 speakers down to about 18” above ear level to allow for the differentiation between surround and height sounds (this was one of the most impactful upgrades of going to Atmos). One of the hottest debates in home theater right now is whether you are better off with a 7.1 or 5.1.2 setup. The community seems pretty evenly divided, but the downside of 5.1.2 is that you need an Atmos processor and source. Lacking those, 7.1 is the clear winner. it’s funny you mention the auto calibration of Marantz - I too find it an excellent starting point. In fact, Tim and I had this very conversation the other night, and I told him what I do - and it’s exactly what you described Andrew - I let it do it’s thing, then I boost the center about 3db and roll off a little treble to eliminate any sibilance with my Klipsch center which can be a little bright, but more than makes up for that in its clarity. Tuning (and taming) the 4 subs is another thing entirely - it’s a full day job, and maddening to boot - but SO worth it in the end. I have always felt that 70-80 percent of the “wow factor” of a home theater is the audio, and half of that 70-80 percent is tight, deep, and accurate bass…

Most of my HT power is Carver. A 500t MKII runs the L & R, another 500t MKII runs the center (steering mode, not bridged), a Sunfire Theater Grand runs the base layer surrounds (4 speakers x 200 Sunfire watts - overkill I know), and a Parasound Z-12 running 8 of its channels bridged to 4 running the 4 Atmos speakers at 100 watts each. Then there’s the subs - the 2 SVS SB4000 each have a 1,200 watt amp, and the 2 Velodyne DD18 subs each have a 1,250 watt amp. The 4 subs pressurize the room quite well…;-) I am running the Marantz SR6015 receiver as a processor. I didn’t see any reason to move up the line (SR7015 or SR8015), because I didn’t need the 2 extra amp channels (9 vs 11) nor did I need more powerful amp channels, as ALL my amplification is via separate amps. There are a lot of different options for Atmos channels. While ceiling mount is best, high on the front wall is pretty good, and even the “aimed & ceiling reflected” Atmos speakers that sit on top of the front mains present a realistic image.

That’s exactly how I felt about the 2.5….

I was lucky to have @PhilDent stop by last night, and believe it or not, we didn’t even fire up the 2ch system - we spent the evening in the HT demoing a slew of new Atmos material I have acquired. We closed out the listening session with the INXS Live Baby Live 4k Atmos. This was my 4th watch of this concert, and it just doesn’t get old. Tim (with his background) gave me a few insights that I haven’t considered about this concert: first, being shot in ‘92, all the video was shot on FILM (no digital). Second, this appeared to be before the era of in-ear monitors, and he pointed out how refreshing it is to see a concert where no one is holding up a smart phone. And the other thing I noticed on this viewing is just how small and dim the Jumbotrons were back then! seriously, if you have an Atmos setup and you haven’t experienced this one, you're missing out…!

If they are in good shape, that’s a fair price.

Greetings…!

Welcome aboard - lots of Sunfire love in these parts:-)

No worries man - carry on👍

Your 2.5 speakers are interesting, Fernando. The original 2.5 did not have dual binding posts - that was one of the “upgrades” in the 2.5i. It would appear that someone did an “aftermarket” dual binding post mod - the different spacing of the upper and lower posts seems to be further evidence of this. Point being, before you go replacing ferrofluid, it may be worth checking that whomever did the modification wired everything correctly.

There does seem to be a concentration of NHT faithful here, myself included. I know of at least three members with a pair of 3.3…

I have one as well. Came with the handles and screws too - perfect fit…

Reach out to Ed - @sea , as he has the ability to refresh/repair the ribbon tweeters. Also, if you have 4x woofers in each speaker, I don’t think you have Silvers (they have 3x woofers)…

As luck would have it, I just now placed an order with SDE out of England (Thin Lizzy in Atmos), and thought I’d share their message on tariffs -

I do not believe that any of the new (within the last 2 years) tariffs have had any effect on media. I regularly order from SDE out of the UK, and from another outlet in Germany, and have paid zero tariffs. Shipping isn’t cheap (it never has been), but no tariff impact whatsoever.

My son picked this up a couple weeks ago, and all I can say is WOW - I’m fairly certain that this is THE BEST top to bottom concert disc I’ve seen. First off, the pure energy from the band AND the crowd is infectious. Next, the engineers perfectly captured the sound of a stadium concert - then the video editing is fantastic, with a great mix of camera angles. And finally, the material itself… I’ve liked INXS since they hit the scene big in the 80’s - I saw them live in 86, and I have all their recordings. However, I have to admit that watching this show, I didn’t realize how many of their songs I knew - this show is about 90 minutes of hit after hit. give it a spin - it’ll show just what Atmos can do, which is transport you to Wembley Stadium in ‘91 for a spectacular show….