What Is Dolby Atmos? (And How to Enjoy It Without Wrecking Your Décor)

There's no shortage of articles out there explaining what Dolby Atmos is. In this one, we'll try to bring something new to the table. Because, as you may already know, the true ingenuity of Dolby Atmos lies in the technical constraints the system imposes.

So rather than simply answering the question of what Dolby Atmos is, we'll show you how to enjoy it in a non-conventional way — in other words, how you can experience this Home Cinema technology without turning your living room into an audio/video studio full of speakers and cables snaking across the floor.

An Introduction to Understanding Dolby Atmos

Dolby Atmos is to sound what 3D is to video — in the best possible sense. Because while 3D video made a brief appearance a few years ago before quickly fading into obscurity, Dolby Atmos has steadily grown in strength over time.

Today, it's more present than ever in the technologies around us. Cinemas, TVs, amplifiers, and even some smartphones now support this audio standard. Before diving into Dolby Atmos itself, let's go back to the basics of immersive Home Cinema sound. It'll make the difference between before and after Dolby Atmos much easier to grasp.

If you already know exactly what 5.1 sound is, feel free to skip ahead to the next section.

The Beginning of 5.1 Surround Sound

You're probably familiar with the most well-known audio format: 5.1. This audio technology, introduced in the 1970s, delivered a greater sense of immersion in audio/video content — content that was previously delivered in simple stereo (sound coming from the left and the right, and nothing more).

With Dolby 5.1, the idea is to surround the viewer with speakers (three at the front, two at the rear, plus a subwoofer). The multi-channel audio processing carried out during film production allows you to realistically hear the various sounds within a scene — like a whisper from behind the camera, or a helicopter approaching off-screen through a rear speaker before appearing on screen.

From Dolby Surround 5.1 to Dolby Atmos

In 2010, Dolby's 5.1 audio technology evolved toward a more immersive experience with Dolby Surround 7.1. As the name implies, two additional satellite speakers are added to deepen your sense of immersion in the on-screen action.

However, whether with Dolby 5.1 or 7.1, the way sound was delivered remained the same: on a single horizontal plane, ideally at ear level. Each speaker represented a specific audio channel of the soundtrack. In other words, the "definition" of the immersive experience was relatively limited compared to the natural sound we encounter in everyday life. This is where the innovation behind Dolby Atmos becomes much clearer.

Thanks to digital technology, the limitations of old audio tracks on film were lifted. Sound recorded on a purely digital medium can now be processed for native Dolby Atmos rendering. But let's not go any deeper into the technical details. For more on those aspects, Wikipedia offers excellent summaries (especially the English version, available here).

How Dolby Atmos Works

As just mentioned, the paradigm shift came with the rise of digital. After recording, studios now have the freedom to completely reprocess audio tracks using this technology — creating "sound objects" that flow smoothly around the listener, moving from one speaker to the next, much like a real object moving through the room.
You can now better understand the "high definition" and "3D" analogy applied to the Dolby Atmos audio experience.

To make this effect possible, a hardware component must accompany this groundbreaking sound processing. Additional speakers need to be positioned at the ceiling, on top of the surround speakers found in a traditional 5.1 or 7.1 setup. This is why audio configurations are always written in the following format: 5.1.2 or 7.1.4.
The last number represents the number of overhead effect speakers in the configuration.

To achieve this 3D effect, sound needs to "rain down" on you (which is why it's sometimes called a "sound shower"). Dolby recommends two solutions that allow you to enjoy the Dolby Atmos experience. And this is where things start to get complicated for your décor.

The Atmos Sound Dilemma

Unless you stumbled onto our site completely by accident, you're probably here because you're looking for a Home Cinema installation that performs brilliantly while remaining discreet.
And on that front, Dolby Atmos was simply not designed with that in mind.

Dolby recommends using floor-standing speakers with upward-firing drivers on top to bounce the effects off the ceiling above seated listeners.

The other solution involves using freestanding or wall-mounted speakers around the listening area, then adding ceiling-mounted speakers overhead.

I doubt you'd want to do that in your living room — or that your partner would let you.

Simply put, the ceiling speakers that generate Dolby Atmos's distinctive sense of depth must project sound from genuinely "above" the listener. This is in direct contrast to traditional surround speakers, which should be positioned at ear level.

It is therefore — theoretically — impossible to create a fully ceiling-integrated Dolby Atmos Home Cinema setup. The positional effect breaks down when all speakers are projecting sound from above.

I say theoretically, because there is a non-conventional solution that Dolby Laboratories does not officially recommend.
We have tested it ourselves and found it to be fantastic — both in terms of performance and discretion. So I'm sharing it here.

What Dolby Laboratories Say

Before going further, in the spirit of full transparency on the question of placing Atmos speakers in a drop ceiling, here's an interesting perspective from Craig Egger, Head of the Home Cinema division at Dolby.

At a conference, Craig stated that "although Dolby discourages the Dolby Atmos experience with a fully ceiling-integrated audio setup, blind tests showed that viewers were not clearly able to distinguish the ceiling-only configuration from the standard recommended layout."

In short: done right, you can enjoy a true 3D audio experience with a Dolby Atmos system fully integrated into the ceiling. Let's take a look at how.

How to Enjoy a Ceiling-Integrated Dolby Atmos System

To fully understand our goal, let's summarize what we know:

Atmos sound theoretically requires front and surround speakers positioned at ear level, plus overhead effect speakers mounted at the ceiling. Dolby recommends this layout so the experience genuinely distributes sound across all three dimensions.

With standard recessed speakers installed in the ceiling, you'd have little chance of distinguishing which direction any given sound is coming from.

We know that the front speakers used in our audio configurations project sound toward the viewer as if coming from the center of the projection screen. This is made possible by their unique design. And it's precisely this quality that allows us to enjoy a Dolby Atmos experience with every speaker recessed into a drop ceiling.

Laying Out a Home Cinema with a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos System in the Ceiling

For our ceiling-integrated Dolby Atmos Home Cinema installation to work, certain prerequisites must be met. Because while a ceiling-only installation actually offers more flexibility than a wall-mounted Atmos setup, a few critical decisions must be made to ensure the ceiling-integrated Dolby Atmos system is a success.

We use our front speakers as surround speakers. For the best effect, do make sure to leave a bit of space between your seating position and each recessed speaker. We have completed two Home Cinema installations using this approach with ceiling-integrated Dolby Atmos speakers. The effect is truly remarkable. Since we supplied the equipment without handling the installation ourselves, we're waiting on photos from the owners of these two setups (Frédéric, 5.1.4 and Arnaud, 7.1.4).

I'll also be publishing a case study on Guillaume's project, which is currently in progress.
Here is the layout we designed for him. His configuration is a Dolby Atmos 7.1.4. Installation scheduled for early 2020.

Result: sound literally envelops you in every scene, the audio equipment completely disappears from sight, and your décor is preserved.

Do You Absolutely Need Atmos Content to Enjoy Dolby Atmos?

No, it's not essential. Your Home Cinema amplifier — if it's Dolby Atmos compatible — will reprocess the audio signal so it's properly distributed across your speakers. That said, the signal will never be as clean as when you're using natively Dolby Atmos content. So it's worth treating yourself to 4K Atmos Blu-rays. You'll get the most realistic and immersive 3D audio experience Dolby Atmos has to offer.

To make the most of great sound at home without compromising your décor, we've designed an AiOhc Atmos configuration. Everything you need to enjoy stunning sound with any content — without spending hours figuring out whether it will all work once installed.