Whether you listen to music on streaming platforms, radio, CDs or vinyl records, much of it is recorded using the well-established two-channel stereo technology. Over the past few years, more and more music has turned to so-called spatial audio formats, the most popular of which is Dolby Atmos. But, what exactly is Dolby Atmos music? How is it different from stereo?
What is the “Dolby Atmos” music that you often hear?
If you’ve ever been to a movie theater to watch an action blockbuster, you’ve probably heard the immersive 3D sound of Dolby Atmos, and now musicians and creators are using the same Dolby Atmos technology to create songs and recordings with more space and depth than traditional stereo recordings. The difference starts in the studio. When recording in stereo, the engineer uses multiple tracks to record different parts of the same song, such as the drums on track A, the lead guitar on track B, and so on. Once the recording is complete, producers and engineers choose to pan some of the tracks left or right to create an immersive stereo mix, but the result is still two channels of sound, one for each speaker.
Dolby Atmos music is handled differently. Dolby Atmos music recording is not limited to just two channels, but can have up to 34 channels, meaning up to 34 independent speakers can be utilized. What’s even more remarkable is that the recording engineer can split a song into 128 different tracks and move each track independently through the 34-speaker array. In other words, instead of setting up a moving track for the snare and deciding how far to the left or right the drum wants to move, or having 34 singers crammed into the studio at once, the creator can just take a snare drum and move it around the room, or have the snare sound come out of overhead speakers at the back of the studio.
If you’ve ever been in a movie theater and listened to the sound of a helicopter flying from one place to another in Dolby Atmos, you’ve already experienced how this technology can be used to make movies more immersive. It’s the same concept with Dolby Atmos Music, but the goal is to immerse you in the music rather than the movie. For creators, the level of control has reached an unprecedented level, just like the 3D effects in movies, which can feel inconsistent or even cliched if not handled properly. But if an experienced veteran controls it in a delicate and dexterous way, the overall bonus effect is absolutely amazing.
Since most people don’t have anywhere near 34 speakers in their homes, the software engineers used to create Dolby Atmos music is smart enough to shrink the recording to fit whatever device you’re using, retaining the feeling of surround sound even if you only have two speakers.
Where can I find Dolby Atmos music?
For most people, the easiest way to listen to Dolby Atmos music is through an online music streaming service. As of March 2023, the only options available to users in Taiwan are Apple Music, or using Tidal and Amazon Music via VPN. Apple Music and Amazon Music include Dolby Atmos Music tracks in their standard subscription tiers, while Tidal requires a more expensive HiFi Plus subscription. Unfortunately for Spotify users, the service has yet to announce any plans to offer Dolby Atmos music, which could change if Spotify launches the previously promised Hi-Fi lossless music.
For audiophiles, the best source of Dolby Atmos music is, of course, Blu-ray discs. Blu-ray discs can be used to play Atmos music, and several albums have been released in this format. The biggest advantage of Dolby Atmos music on Blu-ray is that the audio is presented in Dolby TrueHD, a 24-bit high-resolution lossless audio format and the highest quality in Atmos.
How to listen to Dolby Atmos music?
If you want to listen to Dolby Atmos music, not only the audio source itself, but the device you use to play it must also support Dolby Atmos music to be effective.
home theater equipment
If you have a Dolby Atmos-enabled Sound Bar or AVR, they can also support Dolby Atmos music when paired with the right software or accessories.
- Use a Dolby Atmos-enabled streaming device, such as Apple TV 4K or Nvidia Shield TV/Shield TV Pro.
- You’ll need music in Atmos format (Apple Music, Tidal, or Amazon Music) and a subscription tier that offers Dolby Atmos music listening.
- Services like Netflix offer live concert footage in Dolby Atmos. Again, you’ll need the appropriate subscription level to watch Dolby Atmos content.
- From a Dolby Atmos-enabled Blu-ray player.
- You’ll need a Blu-ray that includes the Dolby Atmos track.
For the above two cases, please make sure that your audio system receives the signal from the HDMI connection. If you connect the Blu-ray player to HDMI Street TV and then connect the TV audio to the speaker through optical fiber, this will not have any effect. Some AVRs now have built-in Dolby Atmos music streaming support, which makes listening easier. In addition, you should note that although some smart TVs that support Dolby Atmos can support the Apple Music music streaming application, they do not necessarily support the Dolby Atmos music format. Please be sure to check all specifications.
Smartphones and Tablets
Unlike Dolby Atmos music on a sound bar, AVR, or wireless speakers, which all require Atmos-compatible devices, a growing number of smartphones and tablets are Dolby Atmos-compatible, and that doesn’t require any additional hardware. This is a practical application of binaural sound science, which delivers sound to each ear, mimicking what we would hear if the source of the sound came from around us. Any set of wired or wireless headphones will work, but there are two key things to note:
- Your phone must support spatial audio, or the technology must be embedded in your preferred streaming app.
- Your preferred music service must have Dolby Atmos tracks, and its app must support streaming in Dolby Atmos on select phones.
iPhone 7 and later support spatial audio, as do the following iPads:
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) and later
- iPad Pro 11-inch
- iPad Air (3rd generation) and later
- iPad (6th generation) and later
- iPad mini (5th generation) and later
Android 13 and newer versions of Google mobile software include support for spatial audio, which means that if an app is compatible with Dolby Atmos music, phones running Android 13 and above should be able to support it. Amazon Music is the exception to all these rules, embedding full Dolby Atmos support into the app, making it independent of any phone’s capabilities (including older iPhones).
Source: KOCPC Chinese