Stereo sound has dominated music manufacturing for many years, however very like mono sound earlier than it, stereo’s time could also be slowly coming to an finish. Over the previous few years, there’s been a rising motion within the recording trade towards so-called spatial audio codecs. The most well-liked of those codecs is Dolby Atmos Music, and it will probably make good ol’ stereo sound like mono AM radio.
However what precisely is Dolby Atmos Music? How is it totally different than stereo? And what sort of gear do you could hearken to it at dwelling and on the go? We’ve bought every thing you could know to get on the Dolby Atmos Music practice.
What’s Dolby Atmos Music?
In the event you’ve been to see a blockbuster motion film within the theaters, you’ve most likely already heard what Dolby Atmos can do for films with its immersive, three-dimensional sound subject. Dolby Atmos Music places that very same expertise into the arms of musicians and producers, letting them craft songs and different recordings that possess a higher sense of house and depth than the normal stereo recordings we’re used to.
Extra on Dolby Atmos:
Preserve the channels open
All of it begins within the studio. On this planet of stereo recordings, engineers use a number of tracks to document totally different elements of the identical tune. Drums go on one observe, lead guitar on one other, and so forth. When every thing’s completed, the producer and engineer could elect to “pan” a few of these tracks extra to the left or proper as a way to create an immersive stereo combine, however the result’s at all times two-channel sound — one channel for every speaker in a stereo pair.
Dolby Atmos Music works in another way. As an alternative of being restricted to only two channels, it makes use of the identical 9.1-channel, 7.1.2 surround-sound format as the house theater model of Dolby Atmos.
And identical to theatrical Atmos, Atmos Music can reap the benefits of an extra 118 sound “objects,” which might transfer independently and freely in 3D house.
In different phrases, as an alternative of getting a single observe for the drums after which deciding how far to the left or proper the drums ought to sit in a stereo combine, the producer might take simply the snare drum and transfer it throughout a room, or have it come from only one overhead speaker in the back of the room, or have it come from all the audio system directly.
In the event you’ve ever been in a Dolby Atmos theater and heard a helicopter fly overhead from one nook of the room to a different, you’ve already skilled how this expertise could make films extra immersive. Dolby Atmos Music makes use of the identical idea however with the purpose of immersing you in a tune as an alternative of a film.
It’s an unprecedented diploma of management for producers, and very like the 3D impact in films, it will probably really feel jarring and even tacky if it’s executed in a ham-fisted method. However by the identical token, it will probably additionally really feel chic when the spatial choices are manipulated by a deft and skilled hand.
How can I hearken to Dolby Atmos Music?
Listening to Dolby Atmos Music is feasible when you have got a supply of Dolby Atmos Music and an audio gadget that’s able to taking part in this format.
Atmos Music sources
For most individuals, the best approach to entry Dolby Atmos Music tracks shall be to make use of a music streaming service. As of March 2024, your choices are Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music. At present, solely Amazon Music and Apple Music embrace Dolby Atmos Music tracks with their commonplace particular person subscriptions, however Tidal shall be transferring to the same pricing scheme in April 2024.
Sadly for Spotify followers, that service hasn’t introduced any plans to supply Dolby Atmos Music tracks. This may occasionally change if Spotify ever launches its promised Hello-Fi lossless music tier.
For audiophiles, the easiest Dolby Atmos Music supply is Blu-ray discs. Blu-ray discs can be utilized to play Atmos Music, and several other albums have been launched on this format. Beatles followers shall be blissful to know that Abbey Street occurs to be certainly one of them.
These embrace reside live performance performances in addition to particular Dolby Atmos variations of music albums, just like the thirtieth Anniversary launch of <em>Kick</em> by INXS.
The most important benefit of Dolby Atmos Music on Blu-ray is that the audio is introduced in Dolby TrueHD, a 24-bit, high-resolution lossless audio format, making it the very best potential high quality for Atmos, versus streaming companies, which solely supply Atmos Music within the lossy, Dolby Digital Plus format.
Atmos Music-capable units
Dwelling theater gear
In the event you personal a Dolby Atmos-capable soundbar or AV receiver (AVR), they’re additionally Dolby Atmos Music-compatible when used with the proper software program or equipment, resembling:
- A Dolby Atmos-capable streaming gadget just like the Apple TV 4K, Google Chromecast, Amazon Hearth TV Stick 4K Max, or Nvidia Defend TV/Defend TV Professional.
- You’ll want a streaming music app from one of many companies that has an Atmos Music catalog (Apple Music, Tidal, or Amazon Music) and a subscription degree that provides you entry to these Dolby Atmos Music tracks.
- Some companies like Netflix supply reside live performance movies in Dolby Atmos, like Taylor Swift’s Popularity Stadium Tour. Once more, you’ll want the suitable subscription degree to get entry to Dolby Atmos content material.
- A Dolby Atmos-capable Blu-ray participant.
- You’ll want Blu-ray discs that embrace Dolby Atmos audio tracks.
For both of those situations, you’ll want to ensure your audio system receives its sign from an HDMI connection. Connecting a Blu-ray participant to your TV through HDMI after which connecting your TV to your soundbar through optical cable gained’t work. For extra on Dolby Atmos’s connection necessities, see our explainer.
Alternatively, we’re starting to see AVRs which have built-in Dolby Atmos Music streaming assist, like Pioneer Elite’s newest flagship, the VSX-LX805.
Some Dolby Atmos-capable sensible TVs, like LG’s 7-series OLED TVs and newer, assist streaming music apps like Apple Music, however they don’t essentially assist Dolby Atmos Music as a format. You should definitely test all the specs to your setup.
In the event you’re a Sonos person, you have got another selection: So long as you personal a Sonos Arc, Arc SL, or a Beam Gen 2 soundbar, you’ll be able to stream Dolby Atmos Music tracks from Amazon Music instantly to those audio system utilizing the Sonos app. Beginning on the finish of March 2023, they may even assist Atmos Music streaming from Apple Music.
Wi-fi audio system
There are at present 4 wi-fi audio system which can be Dolby Atmos-compatible.
Smartphones and tablets
Not like Dolby Atmos Music on soundbars, AVRs, or wi-fi audio system, which all require Atmos-compatible gear, an growing variety of smartphones and tablets are Dolby Atmos-compatible and don’t require any further {hardware}. It’s made potential by means of the science of binaurally rendering spatial audio — a method of delivering sounds to every ear in such a method that mimics what we might hear if the sounds had been coming from throughout us. To listen to it, you’ll want:
- Any set of wired or wi-fi headphones
- A telephone that helps spatial audio or a streaming app with spatial audio assist
- A streaming service with a Dolby Atmos catalog — and the app should assist streaming in Dolby Atmos in your specific telephone
The Apple iPhone 7 and newer fashions all assist spatial audio, as do the next Apple iPads:
- iPad Professional 12.9-inch (Third-generation) and later
- iPad Professional 11-inch
- iPad Air (Third-generation) and later
- iPad (Sixth-generation) and later
- iPad mini (Fifth-generation) and later
Spatial audio assist is included in Android 13 and newer variations of Google’s cellular software program, which implies that if an app is Dolby Atmos Music-compatible, your Android 13 or newer telephone ought to assist it.
In case your telephone is operating an earlier model of Android, it would nonetheless assist Dolby Atmos Music — choose fashions from Samsung, Motorola, LG, Sony, and Huawei already supplied this functionality previous to Android 13. Amazon Music is an exception to all of those guidelines — Amazon has embedded full Dolby Atmos assist into its app, making it unbiased of any given telephone’s capabilities — together with older iPhones.
What sort of music is out there in Dolby Atmos Music?
You’ll discover an enormous number of genres in Dolby Atmos, from outdated classics (and classical) to recent new tracks from the youngest up-and-coming musicians. All the huge three music labels and 1000’s of unbiased artists are delivering tracks in Dolby Atmos to streaming companies.
Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Tyla, U2, Flyana Boss, Kenny Chesney, Justin Timberlake, Ariana Grande, St. Vincent, Shakira, and Peso Pluma are only a handful of main artists who’ve launched Atmos recordings.
Actually, 92% of Billboard’s 2023 12 months Finish High 100 Artists have launched music in Dolby Atmos, in keeping with Dolby Labs, and labels proceed to remaster older stereo works into Atmos in order that they are often loved in a wholly new method.
This push to provide content material in spatial audio has been given a severe further kick due to Apple’s supply of a bonus for each spatial audio observe that’s submitted to Apple Music.
Whereas this method could encourage labels to hurry the remastering course of — probably resulting in less-than-thoughtful immersive variations of older materials — it’s seemingly an excellent factor for current artists. Recording in Atmos might be extra resource-intensive by way of each money and time. That stated, accessing an applicable studio is less complicated than ever. As of March 2024, there are greater than 1,000 studios that permit artists document and blend in Dolby Atmos.
Are there every other methods to expertise Dolby Atmos Music?
Some golf equipment are starting to put in Dolby Atmos Music techniques that give performing DJs the power to manage their music in 3D house across the membership. These embrace Ministry of Sound in London, Sound-Bar in Chicago, and Halcyon in San Francisco.
Are there any opponents to Dolby Atmos Music?
Atmos Music’s most important competitors comes from Sony. The 360 Actuality Audio format (360RA), which gave our workers the chills throughout its launch demo at CES 2019, can be an immersive, object-based audio format for each audio system and headphones. It made its streaming debut on the Deezer music service in October 2019 and arrived on Tidal shortly afterward. Now you can discover 360RA tracks on Amazon Music and Nugs.web, too.
Up to now, 360RA hasn’t confirmed as standard with artists or listeners, and it at present falls quick on each the recording and playback sides of the equation. The jury continues to be out on whether or not 360RA is a greater listening expertise. Early critiques of Sony’s 360RA audio system, the SRS-RA3000 and SRS-RA5000, counsel that Dolby doesn’t have to fret — not within the quick time period, no less than.
Nonetheless, because the proprietor of the large Sony BMG music publishing empire, Sony has a giant benefit in pushing its idea of immersive music ahead, so issues could but change.
The latest Atmos competitor comes from a partnership between Google and Samsung. Recognized at present as IAMF, it’s an open-source format for spatial audio. In the intervening time, the partnership appears targeted on getting the format adopted by video companies, however there’s no cause why it couldn’t be used for music, too.
The subsequent few years shall be essential to the success of those competing applied sciences. And sure, customers will probably discover themselves caught in one other format warfare.
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