TOPIC:

Thinking of getting a nanoAVR DL for my setup. My main source is a 4K Apple TV using LPCM and Dolby Atmos, can I connect the nanoAVR DL to EQ up to 8 channels and leave the rest alone?

I am currently running a 5.1.4 setup and would primarily leave the height channels alone and only use DSP on the remaining 5 channels and LFE. Can this be done?

Being the nano doesn't touch the video and can process 8 channels, will this work or will it scale everything down to 7.1/1080p being sent to the AVR?

The nanoAVR only accepts LPCM over HDMI so Atmos would be lost. It expects the player to decode other formats to LPCM (most do) but Atmos has to be carried as a bitstream to a decoder (usually in an AVR).

It's designed as an "add on" layer to multichannel formats so if your AVR does not decode Atmos, it can still decode the 7.1 audio stream.

The only way to process Atmos right now, is in the analog domain, after a pre/pro. Alternatively, take the Atmos outputs out of the pre/pro and use a nanoAVR on the HDMI out of it and a second pre/pro to process that. You will have to compensate for delay and may have problems if your first pre/pro can't output LPCM 7.2 on it's HDMI out.