CES 2017

Among the better Dolby Atmos surround demos at the Venetian was one featuring Arcam and KEF products.

Arcam harnessed the existing AVR550 receiver with the new P429 four-channel amp to produce a 9.1 (or 5.1.4) channel demo. The speakers were floorstanders from KEF's existing R Series augmented with the R50 Atmos-enabled speaker.

Much as I've come to dread Max Max: Fury Road demos, this one was powerful but not punishing. The highlight came when the Arcam folks invoked the Dirac room correction, which as they pointed out includes not only frequency but phase and impulse correction.

Before Dirac, the sound was more than OK. After it, the low voiceover that starts the familiar clip was suddenly full of spatial realism and nuance, and the movement of objects throughout the bubble-shaped soundfield was much more precise.

The one new product involved was the P429 four-channel amp. It is shipping now for $2500. Alao ahown, and pictured, was the EV-860 pre-pro, shipping in February for $5500. It also includes Dirac.