You only have two ears. If you can isolate them, as in headphones, you don't need more than two speakers. The reason Dolby Atmos requires so many speakers is t

You only have two ears. If you can isolate them, as in headphones, you don't need more than two speakers. The reason Dolby Atmos requires so many speakers is that each speaker is heard by both ears, like in real life, as a result you need a setup closer to real life. In addition, in theaters, people seat all over the place, so you need even more speakers to widen the "sweet spot".