Dolby Atmos with a custom 11ch intergated amp

[VoidX]

1 minute ago, Derkoli said:

Eek Java.

 

I think it would be cool to see a publically available 9.1 or higher sound card, even if it used an external DAC and connected to it with AES/EBU or something similar.

I'd be happy even if the operating systems would start supporting 8+ channels, even if it's split between multiple HDMIs, just please, gimme. There are exceptions with studio gear, but they are based on expensive external hardware.

[Derkoli]

1 minute ago, VoidX said:

I'd be happy even if the operating systems would start supporting 8+ channels, even if it's split between multiple HDMIs, just please, gimme. There are exceptions with studio gear, but they are based on expensive external hardware.

Yeah, I hate windows audio so much. I just don't use USB any more because it's too much of an issue, use Optical SPDIF for my Chord DAVE, and HDMI for my Bryston SP4

[K0stas]

On 1/16/2020 at 8:46 PM, Derkoli said:

Processor, or some stupid expensive custom 11.2 DAC, which isn't really practical.

I have already though of AV processors but the issue is the price... Can't find one below 2 grand so I might as well by the denon for 1 grand.

 

The technician who will build my system can easily make me an 11.2 Dac for a reasonable price. He told me it's easy but unless there is a decoder for atmos in that DAC all I will get is normal 7.1 Dolby surround and not Dolby Atmos.

 

On 1/16/2020 at 11:44 PM, VoidX said:

Just open up any newer (2012+) Dolby product, they're at 16 channels on PCIe (custom connector, but the protocol is PCIe), and at 64 channels with their DACs (Dolby DAC3202). These are cinema products, but fully compatible with home Atmos through HDMI. Here's the worst part: they run Java.

This is interesting, I couldn't find any dolby PCIe interfaces but I will give it another shot. Do you have any recommendations?

[dalekphalm]

8 minutes ago, K0stas said:

I have already though of AV processors but the issue is the price... Can't find one below 2 grand so I might as well by the denon for 1 grand.

 

The technician who will build my system can easily make me an 11.2 Dac for a reasonable price. He told me it's easy but unless there is a decoder for atmos in that DAC all I will get is normal 7.1 Dolby surround and not Dolby Atmos.

So will you be limited to actual standard Dolby Surround, or will it also do Dolby TrueHD Master Audio as well? Atmos is a step above TrueHD (Atmos is kind of an extension set for TrueHD, but that doesn't really do it justice). Basically that extension allows backwards compatibility - you can play an Atmos track on a TrueHD receiver, and it'll just ignore the Atmos specific additions and read it as a standard TrueHD track.

 

[VoidX]

19 hours ago, K0stas said:

This is interesting, I couldn't find any dolby PCIe interfaces but I will give it another shot. Do you have any recommendations?

There are no standalone Dolby cards available other than the old Dolby Cat ones, which are way older than PCIe, or even the old PCI (but you can get them for really cheap on eBay, if you know what you're doing and want to extract those high quality custom DACs for a hobby electronics project). I was talking about the interfaces that are used in their cinema processors, like the CP850 or the CP950, when making the point that the highest-end processors are actually PCs, with - technically speaking - PCIe sound cards, just fully custom. This also applies to Trinnov, for example, their processors have an ATX I/O shield at the back, they don't even try to hide that those processors are in fact PCs. I can recommend the CP850, as that is the actual reference Dolby Atmos processor, but with a price to match: about $30k for the full, licensed Atmos setup (64 channels).

[Delta-Force]

Man, all those answers were more confusing the TO than helping him. A simple answer like "there is no other way than just buying the cheapest AVR with pre-outs" rather than "there are cinema processors like the CP850 or Trinnov pre-amps that are custom coded for normal PC hardware" would have helped him instantly.

 

So to make it clear for other reading or the TO: The cheapest and only option for customers is to buy the cheapest AVR that supports 11 channels and has a 11 channel pre-out section. And no, the Dolby Access App doesn't help, and you don't even need it, because sending Atmos signals to an AVR via HDMI is a free feature. The only feature the App gets you is the Dolby Atmos Headphones mode.