Wireless speakers, soundbars, phones, TVs, and many other product categories adorn the Dolby Atmos logo, but the only way to enjoy the full Atmos experience is with a multi-speaker surround sound system. This is a barrier to people interested in hearing object-based masters, because building a Dolby Atmos home theater gets expensive fast. It’s not just the cost of the speakers, it’s also everything else. A receiver compatible with Dolby Atmos and the mounting gear required to position the satellite speakers correctly further drives up the cost.
The characteristic that separates Dolby Atmos from other surround sound formats is its support for height, meaning you can hear sounds coming from above you. This also proves to be the trickiest dimension to add to your surround sound system. People think that installing height speakers requires drilling or cutting into their ceiling, but that’s not the only way to achieve Dolby Atmos sound. You can use up-firing speakers to enjoy a similar effect, and setup is painless. It’s what I did, and my setup now offers Atmos audio while looking cleaner and costing less.
The biggest Dolby Atmos upgrade isn’t a new sound system — it’s this
Blu-ray discs are the key to getting Dolby Atmos music and moves in lossless audio quality, and almost no one realizes it.
Ceiling speakers aren’t the only way to get Dolby Atmos
Any speaker can be mounted above you for Dolby Atmos, but there’s an alternative
A basic surround sound system typically features two front speakers, a center channel, two surrounds, and a subwoofer. To get the Dolby Atmos experience, you need to add a minimum of two height speakers to your system. Cabinet speakers are often better and cheaper than in-ceiling speakers for Atmos sound, because positioning for surround sound satellites is everything.
It’s easier to mount a cabinet speaker on your ceiling and nail the positioning than cut into drywall for an in-ceiling setup, since the latter usually requires consulting a professional. Up-firing Dolby Atmos satellite speakers can be placed on speaker stands or rested atop floorstanding speakers for simplicity. They’re affordable, costing as low as around $120 for a pair.
Mounting height speakers for Dolby Atmos above you, either in or on the ceiling, is certainly ideal. When using these methods, any cabinet speaker or in-ceiling unit will work. However, another option is to use up-firing speakers specifically designed for Dolby Atmos. These are angled cabinet speakers with a tweeter and woofer that shoot sound upwards toward your ceiling.
The sound waves reflect off your ceiling, creating an Atmos effect that sounds like the audio is coming from above you. These up-firing speakers provide a better experience than the Atmos you’ll find in soundbars or TVs, even if they don’t match the quality of proper ceiling-mounted speakers.
I achieved Dolby Atmos with up-firing speakers
JBL’s Stage2 height speakers are designed to sit on your floor units
As a renter, I wanted a Dolby Atmos home theater system that delivered height-enabled surround sound. At the same time, I needed to achieve Atmos without drilling or cutting into my walls or ceiling. A final requirement was a clean system with cable management features, as I didn’t want to cut into walls to run speaker wire, either. Getting all three requirements met by a single system proved difficult, until I found the JBL Stage2 lineup. While you don’t need every speaker in your home theater system to match, going all-in on JBL Stage2 made sense for me.
Currently, my JBL Stage2 setup includes two JBL Stage2 280F floor speakers, two Stage2 240B bookshelf speakers positioned as surrounds, and two Stage2 240H height speakers for Dolby Atmos. I have an Edifier T5 subwoofer in the mix, although I might upgrade to a Stage2 subwoofer eventually. A center channel is also in the works, once I figure out how it fits into my existing media console and TV combination. What made the upgrade to the Stage2 240H Dolby Atmos speakers was how they integrate with the Stage2 280F floor speakers I already owned.
The up-firing Dolby Atmos speakers come with a grippy anti-slip pad in the box, and this can be placed between the Stage2 240H and the Stage2 280F. In other words, the height-equipped speakers sit right atop your floor units. This eliminates the need to purchase dedicated speaker stands or wall mounts. It also takes the guesswork out of positioning.
You’ve already done the math while positioning your floor speakers, so you can simply drop the Dolby Atmos speakers on top of them. All that’s left to do is calculate the distance between the Atmos speakers and the prime listening position, inputting the result into your receiver’s settings menu.
The real perk of owning both JBL Stage2 floor and height speakers is using the pass-through binding posts to wire them to your receiver. The floor units have positive and negative binding posts near the base of the cabinet, as is typical. They also have two more positive and negative terminals for height speakers directly above the front connections. At the top of the back of the floor speaker cabinet, there are two more binding posts for connecting to up-firing Dolby Atmos speakers.
Essentially, you can connect your height speaker wire from an AV receiver to the binding posts at the base of your floor speakers, and connect the Dolby Atmos units to the binding posts at the top of them. The wires for the height speakers run through the cabinet and out of sight for an absurdly clean look. By using these speakers together, I use less speaker wire and don’t have to worry about cable management for my Dolby Atmos satellites.
The Stage2 240H speakers have a physical switch on the back that shifts between Dolby Atmos and traditional surround sound. This means you can mount these speakers on a ceiling or wall, which is superb for flexibility. If I decide to upgrade to ceiling-mounted Atmos speakers in the future, these can shift to the wall as surround satellites.
3 reasons why you shouldn’t use Dolby Atmos
Dolby Atmos is an excellent spatial audio format, but it shouldn’t be used as the default for most listeners.
Up-firing speakers are an affordable, versatile Atmos solution
They’re ideal for renters or anyone on a tight budget who wants Dolby Atmos sound
If money and installation aren’t considerations, there’s no doubt ceiling-mounted Atmos speakers will outperform up-firing Atmos speakers. All other things equal, including speaker quality and positioning, there’s no way of completely replicating sound coming from directly above you.
Up-firing speakers are the next best thing, since they use physics techniques to reflect sounds off a ceiling. These sounds are perceived as coming from above you due to the reflections, providing a Dolby Atmos listening experience. If you’re a renter, a homeowner that doesn’t want the installation hassle, or anyone on a tight budget, up-firing Atmos speakers are the solution.
I obtained a Dolby Atmos speaker system without drilling or cutting into my walls, and I couldn’t be happier. JBL’s Stage2 floor and height speakers work better together, and they’ve given me a clean Atmos-ready setup that doesn’t require installation or cable management.
- Brand
-
JBL
- Connectivity
-
Wired analog audio, binding posts
- Size
-
4.5 inches
- Power
-
150W
- Driver Size
-
4.5-inch woofer, 1-inch tweeter
- Frequency Response
-
85 Hz – 25 kHz
JBL’s Stage2 240H are up-firing height speakers compatible with Dolby Atmos. They use binding posts and speaker wire to connect with home theater receivers, working within a surround sound setup. These speakers are made to be positioned atop of Stage2 floor speakers, requiring no drilling or mounting.
