Rant: Dolby Atmos For Music
It's both better than you think and just as bad as you remembered it.
I’ve long been of the opinion that Dolby Atmos for music is a fad that would eventually pass. Especially when the most popular listening devices for it are AirPods or a vast array of Bluetooth, noise-cancelling headphones. Up until recently, my only experience with the technology was either on AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, or on my Sonos ARC soundbar (ARC + sub gen 3).
That all changed when I added a set of Sonos Era 300s to my home theater setup. I think that’s the key. I had previously tested Dolby Atmos music with my ARC, sub, and a pair of Sonos One SLs and the experience was pretty subpar. Likewise, I think the Dolby Atmos music experience on any set of headphones is subpar, no matter what the marketing says. You simply can’t create a wall of sound surround system with only two speakers.
Let’s dive into my Dolby Atmos music experience and see what’s changed.
A Proper Setup
I’ll probably get grilled for calling a soundbar a system a "proper" system. But with the ARC, a sub gen 3, and a pair of Era 300s, it’s as close as you’ll get to a proper system with a soundbar outside of the Nakamichi Dragon. The Sonos ARC, sub gen 3, and pair of Era 300s add up to a 7.1.4 system.
But what I think what really sells it is the ".4" part. With one up-firing speaker on each speaker and two on the ARC itself, I think Sonos finally has enough speakers to create a convincing overhead experience. A common misconception is that upfiring speakers from soundbars are firing at a 90-degree angle. That's not true at all. Most Atmos-based soundbar systems fire at a slight angle so ideally it hits more near the center of the room.
I think what really sells it for me, in this case, is that there are now two sets of up-firing speakers that are pointing in opposite directions. This enables the sound to not only feel like it's coming from above and behind you but also above and ahead of you.
For the first time, it sounds like things are actually three-dimensional. But it's not what you think. Unlike movies, where the surround speakers sometimes get used, Dolby Atmos for music aims to fill the room at all times. Not being a producer that's ever worked in Dolby Atmos before, I feel like this is the tricky part. You have to make it seem like the music is coming from all around you while also being able to add new sounds that can't be hyper-localized. Whereas for movies and TV, you might sometimes have ambiance and the occasional helicopter flying above you.
The other half of the puzzle is getting the settings correct on your system. You need to dial the settings in correctly for it to sound convincing. It's not like EQ where it's mostly all preference. If you don't dial them in, you either get surround that sounds like everything is coming from behind you or nothing is behind you. Getting it just right is a difficult task, especially with a Sonos system. You have limited input options and TruePlay can only do so much.
Thankfully, Apple Music has a "test" Dolby Atmos album, which made my life significantly easier when I found out about it. Out comes the decibel meter from the listening position and the Sonos app.
My tip is, despite popular opinion, the surround speakers should sound virtually invisible when playing Dolby Atmos music. Ideally, the entire soundscape should be audible from the get go. It should create a metaphorical bubble that you're sitting in.
The Actual Experience
There's a reason this is getting written, yeah? I think for the most part, it's a pretty great experience with major asterisks. Not only does it depend on what album you're listening to, but it also depends on what service you're listening to.
In my (albeit limited experience) listening on this Sonos system on an Apple TV 4K and streaming directly through the Sonos app, I'd say this is the order from best to worst: Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music. Is that due to Apple's vertical integration controlling the hardware, software, and services? Possibly. But Tidal on the Apple TV has a leveling problem (it also doesn’t support Atmos through the Sonos app). Even within the same album, some songs are significantly louder than others. Amazon Music is just inconsistent. Albums would be labeled as Dolby Atmos, but only one or two songs would actually be in Atmos.
Tangent aside, it's been a long time since I've genuinely been so shocked about something (in the best way possible). Once I found a good Atmos album, it was like audio nirvana.
Of course, I fired up Taylor Swift first. Specifically, I think folklore is mastered amazingly for both stereo and Dolby Atmos. But without a doubt, the track that stood out to me on this album in Atmos was cardigan. The wood knocks and the shaker at the beginning come in from behind you, the piano is middle back, and Taylor's vocals are pushed all the way in front. Then, you have her backing vocals which are pushed way out to the corners of the room.
Another great example is Sabrina Carpenter's A Nonsense Christmas. The effect isn't as intense, but the Christmas bells are placed in the left corner of the room, and her backing vocals promptly sound like they're coming from behind you.
Likewise, there are some truly poor Atmos mixes. Taylor Swift's I Think He Knows is an outlier on Lover. The rest of the album is mixed exceptionally well for Atmos, but this track is an instant skip every time I’m listening to the album in Atmos. It's not great. On the similar Taylor train, I think both 1989 (Taylor's Version) and Speak Now (Taylor's Version) are mixed pretty poorly for Atmos. Older albums such as Lorde's Melodrama are a mixed bag, down to certain portions of songs sounding great, but others sounding truly awful.
Why I'll Keep It Off Most Of The Time
The truth of the matter is I only have one home theater setup. So in that specific scenario, yeah, I'll turn on Dolby Atmos in Apple Music on my Apple TV.
Everywhere else? It's still off. My main listening setup is at my desk with a 2.1 speaker setup and a pair of high-end headphones. On the go, it's the same deal. Noise-cancelling over-ear headphones or AirPods Pro (though, I do enjoy the Atmos effect for movies and TV with AirPods) simply don’t recreate a convincing enough surround sound effect.
But I think the biggest reason to keep it off most of the time is that Dolby Atmos mixes for music are still hit or miss. A lot of the new mixes are pretty good. But a lot of older music is, what I’m assuming, being batch updated or using some sort of software to make decisions. This is especially true for mixes from artists who are no longer around. And, on headphones, Atmos mixes tend to sound really far away. It's almost like on headphones, they're trying to expand the soundstage further than what your headphones are actually capable of. It’s not working.
Bad mixes can sound awful on surround systems, sure. But they sound worse on something like AirPods Pro, as there's less room for error here.
And it's not like you can disable spatial audio/Dolby Atmos on a per-song basis on any of the popular platforms. It's all or nothing and the setting to toggle it is buried deep in a settings panel somewhere (and on certain platforms, you can't disable it at all). For the most part, I think this is the right call.
Conclusion
None of this is new or surprising, I think. While new releases are getting better in terms of the Dolby Atmos consistency, it's still not quite there for the majority of releases. Similar to surround sound for movies and TV, you don't want to think about it when you go and play an album. You either have the equipment and it’s a great effect, or you don’t.
I also think Dolby Atmos music for headphones is currently a subpar experience. Could it get better? Maybe. But it’s nowhere near a great experience worth keeping Atmos on for music.
In a way, I think the Dolby Atmos music experience is like listening to vinyl. It's inconvenient and you need the right equipment to make it sound great. Whether or not you shell out the money to chase the absolute best sound is up to you. But for me, I'll continue to invest in both because I think it offers a unique listening experience. For now, that means keeping Dolby Atmos for Apple Music on on one device.