Dolby Atmos Soundbar vs 5.1?

[wonderer99]

Hi all

I currently have an LG BH9430PW 9.1 HTIB. The 9.1 upspeakers have always been a bit of a gimmick however they do fill the room with sound, for certain material they work OK.

The system is getting a bit long in the tooth though and with limited rear options and no 4k passthrough it is time to upgrade. I only use this in a standard size living room so no professional setup here. My question is coming from this 5 speaker setup what kind of experience would a decent Atmos soundbar like the Sony provide? Having never experienced Atmos before I know a proper Atmos setup would destroy what I currently have but using just an Atmos soundbar vs my 5.1 was a little blurrier to compare. I like the idea of a single speaker for space saving and ease and understand I need my ears to give me a final answer but some opinions would be much appreciated.