partial audio hookup question

[obriensg1]

I have a pretty good system I've built on a budget over the years. 5.1 plus Atmos upfires.

I am done house renting finally and just bought my own place! I own a projector and a fantastic screen I got for a steal on CL this summer. There's a room I will develop into a home theater.

because of this, I don't know if I want to bother hooking up everything in my actual living room. My thought was, just all the fronts with the TV. They kick ass enough on their own. If I do this, do you think it will be problematic for the sound design? I know I'll miss some rear effects, but it's temporary. Just unsure if that will screw up the system as it searches for speakers I haven't plugged in.

[albertbj]

You should be able go into your receiver's setup menu and change the number of speakers to 2 (or 3 if you're still using the center channel) and your receiver will downmix everything accordingly. But yes, if you leave it set to 5.1, it will still try to send audio to your surrounds, even if they're not connected.

[obriensg1]

oh I forgot all about the setup menu lol. Thanks for the tip. yeah my plan is to have the center channel, my left and right floor speakers and the Atmos up firings. no use going through all the hassle if I turn a room into a home theater by summer.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by obriensg1

oh I forgot all about the setup menu lol. Thanks for the tip. yeah my plan is to have the center channel, my left and right floor speakers and the Atmos up firings. no use going through all the hassle if I turn a room into a home theater by summer.

I wouldn't recommend to connect the dolby atmos speakers without the rest of the surround channels because, the height channels integrate with the surround and the surround back channels (if applicable). The audio will sound better with just the front main speakers, until you're ready to connect the complete sound system.

[obriensg1]

Works for me. good advice. appreciated.