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Dolby Atmos - is it for Audiophiles?

A friend asked me over to his house this morning to audition Dolby Atmos on his pretty good 2 channel system.

Apparently - Apple are going to convert their entire streaming library to Atmos (please don’t shoot the messenger) and another well known streaming service is going to adopt it also.

Since this is my first exposure to Dolby Atmos, I came away a little confused

From the brief audition I experienced...
  • some tracks presented very well - better clarity, separation and dynamics with larger more articulate image
  • other tracks were less impressive, especially the really old tracks
  • some classical tracks sounded quite shrill and harsh
  • and one of the more recently recorded tracks did not sound too much different from the regular stereo version - but then it was Taylor Swift - again, don’t shoot the messenger:-)
Is this really meant for two channel systems?
  • it seems it may be targeting Airpod users - as opposed to 2-channel systems that use speakers
  • from the description (i.e. diagrammatically ) it looks like surround sound for Airpods.
  • does it work with existing surround sound systems?
  • it seems it only works with Atmos enabled devices - how long before my Node 2i streamer becomes obsolete?
I must admit - when it worked well it was quite impressive, but that was not even 50% of the time, so it seems there is work to be done.
  • violins sometimes sound quite harsh
  • cellos sometimes sounded very "thin" - poor bottom end and poor timbre
  • some orchestras sounded very unnatural in the top end and less bottom end than normal

If you have first hand experience with Atmos, please share your thoughts/insights with the rest of us

Many Thanks - Steve


williewonka
tccaux
36 posts
 
I have a 11.2 HT set up built around seven Snell speakers and a Marantz 8012 two Snell Basis 300 powered subs. My room is well treated with acoustic panels and bass traps. My 2 channel is digital played through classic Snell AIII's with Perfect Wave DAC, Mcintosh C2300 preamp and B&K 200.1 Class A Reference monoblocks.  Today I listened to Apple Dolby Atmos (Apple TV via HDMI) through the bonafide Atmos Marantz/Snell set up and with those conditions...it was a lot of fun and great definition on every level. With sounders and headphones maybe a gimmick. In a real listening room with real rig...hmmm?
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andreas_r
2 posts
 

Thanks for an interesting discussion. I have been working with surround for many years, in large venues with live orchestra and 20+ channels surround systems, but for me the Dolby Atmos was a real game changer. Until that point music playback was a sound source playing in a room, regardless if it’s mono, stereo or multichannel. The room had to be taken into consideration, and the acoustics captured in the recording would be colored by the room you’re sitting in. Having spend my last year on Dolby Atmos tuning I really see the potential in the format for music production. In a acoustically treated room with proper tuning software (sorry, not aware of any off the shelf products) the result is astonishing. The possibility to actually create an environment where the music lives, not constrained by the listening environment, was for me is a totally new experience. Now the room captured in the recording is the you’re sitting in.

I agree that there is a lot of inconsistency regarding source material, and not everyone will have access to a properly tuned room/sound system, but I definitely believe there is potential in spartial music.

secretguy
1,703 posts
 

If you've not heard a good immersive system, you probably assume they aren't "hi fi". You's be wrong.

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