Dolby Atmos Music: However we consume our music — via streaming services, satellite radio, CDs, vinyl — most of it has been recorded using the time-honored approach of two-channel stereo. But in recent years, there has been a rising trend within the recording industry toward so-called spatial audio formats. Of those formats, the most popular is Dolby Atmos Music, and music rendered this way can make good ol’ stereo sound like mono AM radio.
So what exactly do we mean by Dolby Atmos Music? How is it different from stereo? And what sort of gear do you need to hear it at home and on the go? We’ve rounded up everything you need to get on the Dolby Atmos Music train.
What is Dolby Atmos Music?
If you’ve gone to watch a big-budget action flick on the big screen, you’ve likely already heard what Dolby Atmos can do for movies, with three-dimensional, immersive sound. So while these scenes are impressive, they are standard fare for Dolby Atmos Music, which brings that same tech to the fingertips of musicians and producers to create songs that have a truer sense of space and depth than the standard stereo recordings we’re used to.
More on Dolby Atmos:
Keep the channels open
Today’s music producers have some of the most advanced digital recording equipment, and can mix music from dozens of separate channels (stores of sound) called tracks. However, regardless of the number of channels they begin with, if they are making a stereo recording all these multiple channels will need to be summed at some point into only two channels: A left and a right, matching the two-speaker stereo playback environment. Dolby Atmos Music, on the other hand, is a native surround sound technology that’s capable of supporting up to 128 channels and up to 34 speakers in a home theater, including speakers that can direct sound downward toward the listener from the ceiling.
That sounds like the type of thing you’d hear in a commercial movie theater, and it is — Dolby Atmos is used to create highly immersive soundtracks for movies, with sound that seems to come from in front of you, behind you, both sides and above. But you can use that same recording technique with music to achieve a similar outcome: Total sonic immersion.
It’s tempting to dismiss Dolby Atmos Music as just a means of playing regular tracks over a surround sound system. After all, any home theater receiver can accept a stereo source — vinyl, CD, streaming media — and run that through circuits and software to make it more serviceable to a surround system — say, a 7.1 speaker set. But Atmos Music is not simply stereo converted to multichannel surround; rather, it’s a recording made from scratch, using these extra channels in an entirely new manner.
One of the major defining features of Dolby Atmos for movies and Dolby Atmos Music is that an object (or, in the case of music, an instrument or vocal track) can be moved around in 3D space by the producer independently from other sounds. So for instance, while listening to Atmos Music on an Atmos-compatible sound system, you might hear the violins come from the front of the room when a symphony kicks off, but as the pieces of music unfold over time, you could cause those instruments to slowly move in the air to feel like they’re coming from all around you, while all of the other instruments remain still in the front of the room.
It’s an unheard-of level of control for producers, and like the 3D effect in film, it risks feeling jarring or even maudlin if it’s done hackily. But it can be sublime too, when the spatial possibilities are manipulated by a deft and seasoned touch.
How do I listen to Dolby Atmos Music?
To listen to Dolby Atmos Music, you must have a Dolby Atmos Music source and a compatible audio playback device.
Atmos Music sources
For most people, the simplest route to soundtrack in Dolby Atmos Music will be through a music streaming service. For June 2022, that is Apple Music, Tidal and Amazon Music. Dolby Atmos Music tracks ar included with standard $10 a month retail tiers from Apple Music and Amazon Music but require more expensive $20 a month HiFi Plus subscription from Tidal.
Unfortunately for Spotify fans, the service also says it has no plans to add Dolby Atmos Music tracks. This could also change if Spotify ever releases its long-promised Hi-Fi lossless music tier.
When it comes to Blu-ray discs, for audiophiles, it is the best Dolby Atmos Music source. Atmos Music is available on Blu-ray discs, and several albums have been released on this format. Beatles fans will be pleased to hear that Abbey Road is one of them.
The largest advantage Dolby Atmos Music has on Blu-ray is that audio is delivered in Dolby TrueHD, a 24-bit high-resolution, lossless audio format — the highest possible quality for Atmos.
These are featuring live performances of concerts, but also dedicated Dolby Atmos versions of music albums, such as INXS which was released on the 30th Anniversary of Kick.
Audio devices that support Atmos Music
These are your Dolby Atmos Music options if you have a soundbar or A/V receiver that’s Dolby Atmos-capable.
You use a Dolby Atmos-capable streaming device such as Apple TV 4K or Nvidia Shield TV/Shield TV Pro.
You’ll need to have a streaming music app (like Apple Music, Tidal, or Amazon Music) and sign up for a subscription tier that enables you access to the Dolby Atmos Music catalogs these services provide.
Different services, such as Netflix, show live concert videos in Dolby Atmos, including Taylor Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour. As with other settings, though, you’ll need the right subscription level to unlock Dolby Atmos content.
From a Blu-ray player with Dolby Atmos support.
You will also require Blu-ray discs containing Dolby Atmos audio tracks.
For either of these scenarios, you’ll need to ensure that your audio system is receiving its signal via HDMI. Simply connecting a Blu-ray player to your TV with HDMI, and then your TV to your soundbar with optical cable will not work. To learn more about what it takes to connect to Dolby Atmos, read our explainer: How to know when you’re actually getting Dolby Atmos sound.
Some smart TVs — such as LG’s WebOS — have streaming music apps available, including Apple Music, but that doesn’t mean that the TV supports Dolby Atmos Music as a format. Check your setup for all of the specifications.
If you’re a Sonos owner, you have one last option: Provided you own a Sonos Arc, Arc SL or a Beam Gen 2 soundbar, you can stream Dolby Atmos Music tracks from Amazon Music directly to those speakers through the Sonos app.
You’re in charge of Atmos Music on wireless speakers
Two of those Atmos-enabled wireless speakers exist. Apple’s now-discontinued HomePod, which can play Dolby Atmos tracks from Apple Music, and the Amazon Echo Studio 3D wireless smart speaker that can do that with Amazon Music.
Atmos Music on phones and tablets
But other formats, like Dolby Atmos Music on soundbars, A/V receivers or smart speakers, are dependent on Atmos-compatible equipment; an increasing number of smartphones and tablets, however, are Dolby Atmos-compatible and require no additional hardware. Any set of wired or wireless headphones will do, but there are a couple of major caveats:
Your phone needs to support spatial audio — or the technology needs to be built into your favorite streaming app.
But your music service of choice has to have a Dolby Atmos catalog, and its app needs to enable streaming in Dolby Atmos on your specific phone.
All iPhones starting from the iPhone 7 support spatial audio, along with these iPads:
iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later)
iPad Pro 11-inch
iPad Air (3rd-generation) and later
iPad (6th generation) and newer
iPad mini (5th generation) and newer
Android devices have decent spatial audio support across a range of models from Samsung, Motorola, LG, Sony, and Huawei. Google’s Pixel lineup of phones lacks native Dolby Atmos support, so neither Apple Music nor Tidal can serve Atmos playback on Pixels, though that could change — a future version of Android may make it available on a Pixel 6 or newer. Amazon Music — Amazon has built-in Dolby Atmos support into its app, independent from whatever a given phone can do, including older iPhones.
What’s available in Dolby Atmos Music?
Dolby is now working with two of the biggest music companies, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. Both companies have announced that they will release new recordings and back-catalog classics in the Atmos Music format. The precise number of Atmos Music tracks has not been publicly revealed by any of the players, but past commitments suggest the size is in the thousands.
Warner has not provided a list of its available artists, but Universal has said its Atmos Music contributions will include tracks from Bastille, The Beatles, Billie Eilish, Elton John, Lady Gaga, Luciano Pavarotti, Marvin Gaye and the Weeknd — among others.
Other ways to access Dolby Atmos Music?
Some clubs are now installing Dolby Atmos Music systems, which allow performing DJs to arrange their music in 3D space around the club. These include Ministry of Sound in London, Sound-Bar in Chicago and Halcyon in San Francisco.
Is there any competition to Dolby Atmos Music?
Sony is Atmos Music’s biggest competitor. An immersive, object-based audio format for both speakers and headphones, the all-new 360 Reality Audio format (360RA) was exciting enough that our staff got chills when demoed came at CES 2019. It was streaming on the Deezer music service beginning in October 2019 and came to Tidal soon after. Previously, the content was only available on Amazon Music and Nugs. net, too.
Being the new kid on the block, 360RA has a long and steep road to climb to catch up with Dolby Atmos, regardless of whatever Sony claims. On either side of the equation, 360RA is still lacking. Early impressions of Sony’s 360RA speakers, the SRS-RA3000 and SRS-RA5000, suggest that (for the time being, at least) Dolby has no reason to be worried.
But as the proprietor of the vast Sony BMG music publishing empire, Sony has a huge advantage in promoting its vision for immersive music, so it’s hard to write the newcomer off at this stage. The next few years will be crucial to the fate of these rival technologies. And yes, consumers will probably get blindsided by yet another format war.
Dolby Atmos is unlike anything else available today, which makes it hard to describe fully unless you hear it for yourself.
When you’re ready to upgrade from boring stereo music to Dolby’s ground-breaking “immersive” system, Dolby’s proprietary tech is ready to take you there. Sony or DTS may eventually catch up, but for now Dolby’s leading the pack. Honestly, we can’t wait to find out how music will get better next.
