My current studio is basically just a well treated writing room with Amphions, a BaseTwo25 system, and a Trinnov. It sounds great to me and does exactly what I need it to do. But, I'd love to set up an Atmos rig to start getting my feet wet with that world.

My current studio just isn't big enough, though. But I have a finished basement that has a surround setup for watching moves. It's pretty basic, just an Onkyo receiver and some Pioneer speakers. But there's plenty of room there and it sounds pretty good, so I thought about using that and upgrading the speakers.

I'm trying to figured out the best approach that would allow me to still use the space as a home theater to watch movies, play games, and listen to records. But then be able to hook up my laptop to mix in Atmos, and also just give me another area to mix in stereo if I wanted a different perspective.

Basically, my initial thought was to upgrade the speakers and maybe get a new receiver that would allow me to interface my computer with the system.

Is this even possible? It it unwise to make any setup pull double duty and I'll just end up being frustrated?

I'm not super familiar with all the receivers/home theater tech out there. I know Trinnov makes some that would probably do this kind of thing.

I'm wondering if the hdmi out of my Mac could allow me to interface with most receivers easily by outputting the channels over a single cable?

I'm kind of at the beginning stages of thinking about it, so any ideas/guidance would be a huge help. Thanks!

I have an Apple TV and a Marantz preamp processor that outputs (12) channels of Atmos that go into my audio interface, and then that goes to the loudspeakers. So as long as the audio interface is on, and the TV is set to the Marantz (instead of the computer), the studio can be used as a home theater system. Pretty convenient. I don't know anyone who is using a receiver as an audio interface. I don't recommend that route.

Thanks for the reply. That totally makes sense. I was totally overthinking it.

What Marantz are you using?

I got the Marantz 7705 refurbished from the sketchy webstore:

https://www.accessories4less.com

But it's been working perfectly for over two years and sounds good. Low noise-floor, clear sounding D/As (getting an all digital receiver is much more expensive). I would recommend any of the new Marantz models, and some studios have Emotiva. Note the difference between a preamp processor (which has no amps and line level analog outputs) and a receiver (which has amps and speaker outputs).

I just checked out the Marantz and that looks killer.

One last quick question. As I was thinking through how things would work, I was wondering if I will definitely need a surround monitor controller or if there's an interface that has a feature that will allow volume control for all speakers with a single knob?

What interface do you use and do you use a monitor controller?

Thanks!

I'm using a Metric Halo LIO-8 interface as both an audio interface and as an immersive monitor controller. Another great solution is MTRX Studio. Both of them have deep Eucon support, so at a minimum you can have an iPad on the desk that controls all the speakers. And at a maximum, you could put an S6 in your room!

Thanks again for all your advice. It really helped me narrow down a few things.

So after going on a deep dive of Atmos info, I think I've got somewhat of an idea of what I can do with my space. If you don't care I'd love to get your opinion if I'm missing anything or overlooking something.

So I think I'm going to go with a 5.1.4 setup for practical reason with the room. I'm looking at the Alpha evo 65s for lcr and the Alpha 50s for height and surround and a focal sub6 that I already own for the Bass management and lfe. Then a Grace 908 to control everything and interface with my computer via usb. I'll also use the Marantz 7705 or 7706 balanced outs to get into the Grace via the adat ins on the Grace using 2x 8 channel converters I have to view content from streaming.

As far as my actual room, I plugged my dimensions in the DARDT (see photo) and it looks like I can layout everything pretty close to the Dolby recommendations, except having the rear heights further back than the surrounds. So compared to the layout in my photo, my surrounds would be pushed back to be in line with the rear heights on the x axis. In your experience, do you think that would be a huge issue? Basically that's the back wall, and the surrounds have the be attached to the back wall.

Sorry for writing a book. I'm just wanting to run my potential setup by someone with real world experience since I have none in this area. Thanks again for all your help!

I don't see the link to a picture here. But regardless, think about how you'll use this room. If it's a commercial facility, hosting clients, then you'll have to address the locations of the rear heights. If you're using it as a project studio for your own projects and enjoyment, don't worry too much. Calibrate the loudspeakers so the SPL is even and the delays are accurate, and you'll have a great experience listening. Yes, maybe the ceiling will be a bit stretched, but a .4 ceiling is noticeably better and delivers more dimension than the best .2 ceiling.

Awesome! That's exactly the kind for real world advice I was needing. Thanks again for all your help and time. I really appreciate it.