Consultation regarding audio equipment and systems for a newly opened medical clinic

No need for the Arc Ultra if you’re not planning to connect it to a TV. 

I would suggest four Era300s - each is capable of playing Dolby Atmos, and you can space them throughout the area. All you need to do is group them in the app and they will all play in sync. (74 sq.m is hard to judge from a plan - maybe two speakers would be enough as they carry quite some punch - but to get into all the area then 3-4 speakers might be best.)

I too would go with Era 300’s. A single 300 can play in stereo/Atmos, or two can be stereo-paired. I would stick with single speakers, grouped to play the same source. I suspect 4 speakers (or more) would be best, to avoid having loud/quiet zones in the space. 

I think it should be said that atmos music really isn’t a good fit for a waiting room space.  The point of atmos is so that the audio appears to be coming at a designated listening area from multiple directions creating an immersive effect.  When you are outside of the listening area, the audio doesn’t sound nearly as good, worse than a stereo signal in my opinion.  In a waiting room, you’re likely to have a lot of people outside the listening room, not to mention that the volume will likely be rather low and difficult to appreciate the immersive effects.

You can certainly still get Era 300s and test it out.  You can set the Era 3000s to play stereo only if you find that it meets your needs better.

I agree with the above.  No need for a soundbar, and not sure Atmos is applicable to a room that large.  However, I do see that Apple Music has nature soundscape tracks in Atmos Audio, so it would be worth a try.

https://music.apple.com/ca/playlist/nature-soundscapes-in-3d-spatial-audio/pl.c5ff2acd89d947579030e99078e291db

>Rhonny

thank you for teaching me. I see that Arc Ultra isn't necessary, now I understand. Because it's a clinic's waiting room, there's no need for powerful sounds; I wanted to express the chirping of birds in the forest and the murmuring of a river at a low volume. In that case, would it be better to have more than four speakers?

>nik9669a

thank you for teaching me. I guess Era300 is the best choice after all. I guess the idea is to group all four units together and play Dolby Atmos spatial audio sources on each? Would this space be enough for four? Since it's a clinic, they can't make that much noise.

>melvimbe

Thank you for a very important point. I understand that Dolby Atmos is vulnerable when outside the listening area. As you say, the volume must be set low in the waiting room. In this situation, would it be important to increase the number of ERA 300 units to expand the listening area?

It's true that there may not be any need to be so particular about Dolby Atmos. However, we are exploring ways to stimulate the senses and provide a more relaxing experience than a traditional clinic.

They will play as high or as low as you want.  Personally, I would put one in each corner of the lower wall, and two more on the upper wall at the 1/3/ and 2/3 mark.  Each should be one room, then grouped together.  Also, you can set a volume limit so nobody accidently raises the volume above the level you wish. 

>jgatie

Thank you for the valuable information. Apple Music has a really large selection of natural forest sounds. If it's natural sounds, I'd definitely like to try the Dolby Atmos environment. To make atmos suitable for a large room, would the solution be to increase the number of speakers at low volumes? Please let me know if you know anything.

Not necessarily.  Each single speaker will be making a “dome” of atmos effects, and you want to keep those from overlapping.  I’m not sure how spread out the atmos dome is for a single speaker, but I’d start with 4 in the layout I gave and see if it is satisfactory.  Again, the room is not ideal for Atmos, so expectations should be tempered a bit.