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Stereo sound has dominated music manufacturing for many years, however very similar to 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 possibly make good ol’ stereo sound like mono AM radio.
However what precisely is Dolby Atmos Music? How is it completely different than stereo? And what sort of gear do it’s worthwhile to take heed to it at dwelling and on the go? We’ve obtained every little thing it’s worthwhile to know to get on the Dolby Atmos Music prepare.
What’s Dolby Atmos Music?
Tidal
In case you’ve been to see a blockbuster motion film within the theaters, you’ve in all probability already heard what Dolby Atmos can do for motion pictures with its immersive, three-dimensional sound area. Dolby Atmos Music places that very same expertise into the palms of musicians and producers, letting them craft songs and different recordings that possess a larger sense of area and depth than the normal stereo recordings we’re used to.
Extra on Dolby Atmos:
Maintain the channels open
LightFieldStudios/Getty Photos
All of it begins within the studio. On the planet of stereo recordings, engineers use a number of tracks to file completely different elements of the identical track. Drums go on one observe, lead guitar on one other, and so forth. When every little thing’s completed, the producer and engineer might elect to “pan” a few of these tracks extra to the left or proper in an effort to create an immersive stereo combine, however the result’s all the time 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 may transfer independently and freely in 3D area.
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 case 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 motion pictures extra immersive. Dolby Atmos Music makes use of the identical idea however with the aim of immersing you in a track as an alternative of a film.
It’s an unprecedented diploma of management for producers, and very similar to the 3D impact in motion pictures, it will possibly really feel jarring and even tacky if it’s executed in a ham-fisted approach. However by the identical token, it will possibly additionally really feel chic when the spatial choices are manipulated by a deft and skilled hand.
How can I take heed to Dolby Atmos Music?
Apple / Apple
Listening to Dolby Atmos Music is feasible when you’ve gotten 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 solution to entry Dolby Atmos Music tracks might be to make use of a music streaming service. As of March 2024, your choices are Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music. At the moment, solely Amazon Music and Apple Music embrace Dolby Atmos Music tracks with their customary particular person subscriptions, however Tidal might be transferring to an analogous pricing scheme in April 2024.
Sadly for Spotify followers, that service hasn’t introduced any plans to supply Dolby Atmos Music tracks. This will 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 a number of other albums have been launched on this format. Beatles followers might be completely satisfied to know that Abbey Highway occurs to be considered one of them.
These embrace dwell 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 offered in Dolby TrueHD, a 24-bit, high-resolution lossless audio format, making it the 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
Residence theater gear
Sonos
In case you personal a Dolby Atmos-capable soundbar or AV receiver (AVR), they’re additionally Dolby Atmos Music-compatible when used with the correct software program or equipment, similar to:
A Dolby Atmos-capable streaming gadget just like the Apple TV 4K, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fireplace 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 stage that provides you entry to these Dolby Atmos Music tracks.
Some companies like Netflix supply dwell live performance movies in Dolby Atmos, like Taylor Swift’s Repute Stadium Tour. Once more, you’ll want the suitable subscription stage 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 eventualities, you’ll want to verify your audio system receives its sign from an HDMI connection. Connecting a Blu-ray participant to your TV by way of HDMI after which connecting your TV to your soundbar by way of 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 help, like Pioneer Elite’s newest flagship, the VSX-LX805.
Some Dolby Atmos-capable sensible TVs, like LG’s 7-series OLED TVs and newer, help streaming music apps like Apple Music, however they don’t essentially help Dolby Atmos Music as a format. Make sure you test all the specs in your setup.
In case you’re a Sonos consumer, you’ve gotten yet one more selection: So long as you personal a Sonos Arc, Arc SL, or a Beam Gen 2 soundbar, you possibly can stream Dolby Atmos Music tracks from Amazon Music straight to those audio system utilizing the Sonos app. Beginning on the finish of March 2023, they may also help Atmos Music streaming from Apple Music.
Wi-fi audio system
The Sonos Period 300 sensible speaker. Sonos
There are at the moment 4 wi-fi audio system which can be Dolby Atmos-compatible.
Smartphones and tablets
Simon Cohen / Digital Developments
Not like Dolby Atmos Music on soundbars, AVRs, or wi-fi audio system, which all require Atmos-compatible gear, an rising variety of smartphones and tablets are Dolby Atmos-compatible and don’t require any extra {hardware}. It’s made potential by means of the science of binaurally rendering spatial audio — a approach of delivering sounds to every ear in such a approach that mimics what we’d 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 cellphone that helps spatial audio or a streaming app with spatial audio help
A streaming service with a Dolby Atmos catalog — and the app should help streaming in Dolby Atmos in your explicit cellphone
The Apple iPhone 7 and newer fashions all help 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 help is included in Android 13 and newer variations of Google’s cellular software program, which signifies that if an app is Dolby Atmos Music-compatible, your Android 13 or newer cellphone ought to help it.
In case your cellphone is operating an earlier model of Android, it’d nonetheless help Dolby Atmos Music — choose fashions from Samsung, Motorola, LG, Sony, and Huawei already offered this functionality previous to Android 13. Amazon Music is an exception to all of those guidelines — Amazon has embedded full Dolby Atmos help into its app, making it unbiased of any given cellphone’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 previous classics (and classical) to contemporary new tracks from the youngest up-and-coming musicians. The entire huge three music labels and hundreds 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 line with Dolby Labs, and labels proceed to remaster older stereo works into Atmos in order that they are often loved in a completely new approach.
This push to provide content material in spatial audio has been given a severe additional kick because of Apple’s supply of a bonus for each spatial audio observe that’s submitted to Apple Music.
Whereas this method might 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 present artists. Recording in Atmos will be extra resource-intensive when it comes to each money and time. That stated, accessing an acceptable studio is simpler than ever. As of March 2024, there are greater than 1,000 studios that allow artists file and blend in Dolby Atmos.
Are there some other methods to expertise Dolby Atmos Music?
Picture used with permission by copyright holder
Some golf equipment are starting to put in Dolby Atmos Music techniques that give performing DJs the flexibility to regulate their music in 3D area across the membership. These embrace Ministry of Sound in London, Sound-Bar in Chicago, and Halcyon in San Francisco.
Are there any rivals to Dolby Atmos Music?
Tidal
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 also 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.
To date, 360RA hasn’t confirmed as in style with artists or listeners, and it at the moment falls brief 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 brief time period, a minimum of.
Nonetheless, because the proprietor of the huge Sony BMG music publishing empire, Sony has an enormous benefit in pushing its idea of immersive music ahead, so issues might but change.
The most recent Atmos competitor comes from a partnership between Google and Samsung. Identified at the moment 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 motive why it couldn’t be used for music, too.
The following few years might be essential to the success of those competing applied sciences. And sure, shoppers will more than likely discover themselves caught in one other format battle.
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