Music play back in Stereo, multi channel, Dolby Atmos

[James105]

So my system for listening to this is NAD M17v2i/M23/M28 4K fire stick with Dali Rublicons and Dali alecto highs.

I tried multi channel stereo and at best I'd describe it as meh.

Last weekend and tonight with a lot of faff I have been streaming Tidal atmos music and i'm half convinced. There is not a lot available that I like. but songs with strong drum/bass lines seem to sound better , clearly defined images but this maybe the work being split three ways.

Has anyone else tried the ATMOS format and what are your thoughts?

 

[Edbostan]

So my system for listening to this is NAD M17v2i/M23/M28 4K fire stick with Dali Rublicons and Dali alecto highs.

I tried multi channel stereo and at best I'd describe it as meh.

Last weekend and tonight with a lot of faff I have been streaming Tidal atmos music and i'm half convinced. There is not a lot available that I like. but songs with strong drum/bass lines seem to sound better , clearly defined images but this maybe the work being split three ways.

Has anyone else tried the ATMOS format and what are your thoughts?

I have recently bought a Sonos Beam and listen to Atmos via Amazon Music. Fleetwood Mac sounds superb with another dimension added to the presentation. The track Dreams has more life and zest than usual stereo. Yes, I like it.

 

[Al ears]

To me Atmos and the like needs to be posted in the Home Cinema subform.

 

[James105]

To me Atmos and the like needs to be posted in the Home Cinema subform.

Maybe I should have stated in the title I was talking about music reproduction rather than film sound track mixes? I've changed the title but I don't know how to move it to a different section.

 

[manicm]

To me Atmos and the like needs to be posted in the Home Cinema subform.

This thread is about Atmos encoded music. So it belongs here.

 

[Al ears]

This thread is about Atmos encoded music. So it belongs here.

Explain please.

 

[rshank64]

Explain please.

Atmos started as a format for home theatre movies but now it is a format for music as well. Apple, Tidal and Amazon music have greatly expanded there Atmos music catalogue since last year. Infact many of the top artists are putting out their music in Atmos.

Atmos music is next level upgrade from stereo HiFi music! I Listeninig to a well produced Atmos music is a totally new experience. I now prefer listening to music in Atmos if available.

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[My2Cents]

Atmos is the next music 'fad' so that manufacturers can sell more gear... 'cos you just can't live without it!
Wasn't 'Quadraphonic' supposed to be an upgrade 50 years ago?
A really high end 2 channel system, with well recorded, mixed & mastered material can actually sound totally multi dimensional. With the sound being reflected around the room, the brain is fooled into thinking that the sound is coming from all directions.
Budget home Atmos gear is really just a few extra drivers pointing in a few directions so as to bounce the sound around a little more... night and day from what you would have in an Atmos mixing room or a state of the art movie theater.
I seem to remember the whole reflected sound idea was done by Amar Bose back in 1966 with the 2201's and 1968 with the 901's?
Record companies/artists are now being promised higher revenues from streaming if they do an Atmos mix so that Amazon and Apple etc. can sell the 'toys' to folks to listen to it on.

 

[My2Cents]

So my system for listening to this is NAD M17v2i/M23/M28 4K fire stick with Dali Rublicons and Dali alecto highs.

I tried multi channel stereo and at best I'd describe it as meh.

Last weekend and tonight with a lot of faff I have been streaming Tidal atmos music and i'm half convinced. There is not a lot available that I like. but songs with strong drum/bass lines seem to sound better , clearly defined images but this maybe the work being split three ways.

Has anyone else tried the ATMOS format and what are your thoughts?

The official Dolby minimum spec. for an Atmos speaker array is 7.1.2. Seven speakers placed at ear level, one subwoofer and two ceiling-mounted speakers.
Apple is calling it Spatial Audio. The mixes may be done in a certified Atmos mixing room, but you are not really hearing Atmos at home unless you've spent around 10 grand on a speaker set up and spent a ton of $$$'s on a treated room.
It's a fad to make more money. 3D sound has been around for decades and can be produced by a high end 2 channel system.

 

[Minkey1]

Yes. It’s well known. In the HiFi world, nothing has ever changed or progressed. Nothing should ever change or progress.

In this world, on Day 1, no fi, hi or lo, existed. No sound was reproduced. No mono. No stereo. There was nothing.

But. On Day 2, from nowhere, turntables and amps appeared, featuring stereo reproduction (obvs), via a pair of floor or stand mounted speakers.

And it was written. Truly, a miracle.

 

[12th Monkey]

Atmos is the next music 'fad' so that manufacturers can sell more gear... 'cos you just can't live without it!

That's my take, too.

 

[davidf]

My first experience with multi-channel SACD was with Dire Straits' Brothers In Arms and Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral. There was more separation and space around the instruments, which allowed me to hear each instrument more clearly and in more detail. When the album is mixed properly, and the system it is played on is well setup, it can sound phenomenal.

I can't imagine any Atmos mix will have instruments coming from above the listener, but it will help create a larger sense of space, if the mix needs it or the producer requires it.

 

[davidf]

The official Dolby minimum spec. for an Atmos speaker array is 7.1.2. Seven speakers placed at ear level, one subwoofer and two ceiling-mounted speakers.
Apple is calling it Spatial Audio. The mixes may be done in a certified Atmos mixing room, but you are not really hearing Atmos at home unless you've spent around 10 grand on a speaker set up and spent a ton of $$$'s on a treated room.
It's a fad to make more money. 3D sound has been around for decades and can be produced by a high end 2 channel system.

You don't need to spend a load of money on room treatment or £10k on a system to hear Atmos. You can likely get a system together for a couple of grand, but of course, it's not going to sound amazing - a couple of grand is something I'd always recommend to keep simple, with as fewer speakers as possible in order to focus on sound quality.

 

[12th Monkey]

My only multichannel music was a reissue of Doolittle - it was utterly lifeless and pedestrian, though I accept that'll be how it was mixed/converted to multichannel.

I can't see how a system designed to add height channels can make any difference to a two-channel setup - other than by being a different mix. But that's a different thing.

 

[My2Cents]

Just noticed that this is a pretty old post, there may be something better than Atmos out there by now LOL

What was that line from the Spinal Tap movie? "It was mixed all wrong wasn't it ... you don't do heavy metal in Dobly do ya"