2. home-theater
  3. 163424-8471

Does it worth a upgrade to Dolby Atmos?

It seems Dolby Atmos is getting more steam recently. I have a 7.1 set up with Krell S-1000 processor and C-J multichannel amp. The sound quality is great. S-1000 doesn’t support anything beyond Dolby Digital. I am wondering if it worth to upgrade to Atmos processor (eg. Marantz AV770x, Anthem AVM60 used ). I don’t want to sacrifice theater sound quality ( I have dedicated 2-ch system for music listening. so I don’t care 2-ch performance). I have 4 ceiling spks and i can add 2 floor level surrounding spks w/o issue. That will give me 5.1.4. I have used Onkyo, Rotel, Krell Showcase and HTS before S-1000. HTS or S-1000 are big step up from Onkyo and Rotel. Will Marantz have same performance as S-1000 on home theater listening? I don’t want to spend over $2500 for the upgrade. Thank you.
cygnus_859
kgveteran
377 posts
 
I’ve used receivers as prepro’s since the begining dolby surround mid 80’s. I have never seen or heard a reason to do it any other way.
My 7.1.4 system transports me with the right soundtrack, even that Atmos that AppleTV sends to my Denon. You got me thinking maybe Tennet tonight 

i have a seven speaker diy build from HT Guide for the surfounds and mains, little SVS satilites for the Atmos channels.

def worth it when done right
brass2002
4 posts
 

In terms of 2-channel stereo listening, which preamp mode has a better sound, Krell HTS or S1200U? Thanks in advance

slashedzero
5 posts
 

Brass2002, to reply to your question one year later... :) Have had the HTS 7.1 for several years now and it is excellent. Very recently acquired an S1200U-3D and has only been tested, not fully integrated in my system. The analog sound is quite different from the HTS, but far superior I believe. I used a separate Krell 280p (with HT bypass) for stereo, which has a more detailed and controlled sound than the somewhat mushy HTS analog preamp. The HTS analog sounds good and 'warm' but lacks detail compared to newer / more sophisticated options. The S1200 in first impressions even beats the 280p for stereo. A more modern and sophisticated sound, with more detail. Hope that helps. As for movies/surround (for which I used Oppo analog output into HTS) it does not matter that much honestly; the HTS is excellent there as well. As someone else said, the Krell bubble is the best and far superior to anything from Marantz or Yamaha that I have tried. Whenever I watch a movie/series, I am always impressed by the sound quality and immersion, even after many years with this system.

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