https://www.pocket-lint.com/why-i-turn-off-dolby-atmos-for-music-streaming/ Pocket-lint Menu Pocket-lint logo Sign in now [ ] Close * [ ] Latest Submenu + News + Lists + Features + Editorials + Interviews + Guides + Hubs + Reviews + Comparisons + Buyer's Guides + Deals * Devices [ ] Submenu + Phones + Tablets + Laptops + Car Tech * Entertainment [ ] Submenu + Apps + TV * [ ] More Submenu + AR & VR + Cameras + Fitness Trackers + Gadgets + Games + Gaming Hardware + Headphones + Movies & TV + Smart Home + Smartwatches + Speakers * [ ] Tech Trends Submenu + [?] Retro Tech + Viral Tech * Reviews * Video * Threads * + [ ] About Submenu o Our Experts o Our Review Methodology o Join Our Team * Sign in * Newsletter [ ] * * * * * * * * * * Trending How to fix slow Steam downloads [?] TikTok ban confirmed A PS6 limitation Did you fall for this Switch 2 leak? [ ] Close [ ] Dolby Atmos for music streaming is a waste of time spotify 4 By Corey Atad Published 3 days ago Thread 9 Your changes have been saved Email is sent Email has already been sent close You've reached your account maximum for followed topics. Manage Your List Follow Followed Follow with Notifications Follow Unfollow Share Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Flipboard Copy link Email Link copied to clipboard Sign in to your Pocket-lint account spatial-audio-header Key Takeaways * Dolby Atmos brought new audio tech to music. * Apple Music's Atmos makes music immersive, but doesn't always sound better. * Atmos works best for classical and jazz. Remove Ads Dolby Atmos seems like the future of audio technology. The object-based surround sound format has been around since 2012, and until recently was used mostly to craft precise, pristine sound mixes for movies and television. A few years later, Dolby Atmos for Music was introduced, and was adopted by Amazon Music and Tidal for music streaming. It wasn't until 2021, though, when Apple introduced its Spatial Audio feature for Apple Music and its AirPods Pro wireless earbuds, that Dolby Atmos really took off in the music space. It was an exciting development, using advanced audio processing technology to create a lifelike surround sound effect using just a pair of earbuds. The technology promised users the feeling of being fully enveloped by the music they were listening to, but after several years going back and forth, I now just keep Dolby Atmos turned off in my Apple Music settings. Remove Ads Dolby Atmos FlexConnect Related What is Dolby Atmos FlexConnect and how will it transform your home cinema experience? Everything you need to know about the new audio technology aiming to transform your home cinema sound. Posts The surround sound dilemma A great idea, in theory LG TV Dolby Atmos LG When it comes to movies and TV, surround sound has long been the standard. And that just makes sense. An action movie gets that much more exciting when the viewer can hear bullets flying past them, or helicopters overhead. Even in quieter dramas, a lush soundscape coming from all around can mean the difference between full immersion into the world of the story, and getting bored. In music, though, surround sound has a more difficult history. There have been a number of formats over the years that could deliver surround sound music, but they were rarely adopted by anyone other than audiophiles. The big reason for that is, in order to listen, special equipment was required, including a surround speaker setup, which most people don't have. Additionally, it wasn't really possible to listen to that audio on the go, which is how most people listen to music. Apple Music running on an LG TV on a blue gradient background. Related LG TVs now support Dolby Atmos in Apple Music -- here's how to listen You can listen to tracks mixed for Dolby Atmos from the Apple Music app directly on your LG TV. Posts Remove Ads Enter Atmos The beauty of object-based audio apple music app on iPhone mini Surround sound may have been a cumbersome technology, but Dolby Atmos brought a new advantage to the table. Atmos is an object-based audio system, which means that sounds are mixed in a virtual space, and can be mapped onto as few as two speakers, or dozens. In a movie theater, speakers all around, including on the ceiling, allow Atmos to precisely reproduce the sound of that virtual space. On a pair of headphones, the audio is mapped to give the illusion of that same virtual space, with sounds feeling like they are coming from all around you. This new development meant that it was suddenly a lot more practical to produce and distribute surround sound audio for music, which Apple Music has taken advantage of in a big way. The move by Apple to adopt the Dolby Atmos format spurred record labels and music producers to begin releasing more Dolby Atmos music, including going back and remastering old albums for Atmos. Remove Ads LG TV Dolby Atmos Related Does Dolby Atmos actually sound any better? Here's what it can do Dolby Atmos takes surround sound to another level and gives you cinematic sound from the comfort of your home. Posts The problem with Atmos Music It doesn't (usually) sound very good treblabz7proon2 Curtis Silver / Pocket-Lint TREBLAB Z7-Pro headphones as worn by a concrete head in the back yard. Atmos for Music does seem like a great idea, and when it was first introduced on Apple Music, I excitedly dove right in. I even enjoyed many of the mixes I listened to. Taylor Swift's albums sounded particularly good. Those were exceptions to the rule though. Over and over, whether new releases or old remasters, I would come across mixes that sounded much flatter and tinnier than normal, and often without much of a surround effect anyway. It seemed many producers simply didn't know how to mix properly for the format. Remove Ads Even the music that did sound good in Dolby Atmos, like Swift's, would often still sound better when I turned off Atmos and switched to regular old stereo. The worst part was not knowing whether a record would sound good or not, which had not been a problem for me prior to the introduction of Atmos. It seemed many producers simply didn't know how to mix properly for the format. My solution has been, simply, to keep Atmos off in my iPhone's music settings. This way, I always know I'll be getting a properly mastered stereo mix every time. Amazon Music 2 Related How to change the sound quality on Amazon Music and is there Dolby Atmos music? Amazon Music has different quality options for its music - here's how to change things up. Posts Where Dolby Atmos shines There are exceptions to every rule Apple Music for free I may be on the outs with Dolby Atmos for most music, but I do make a few key excepts. First of all, some albums really have been mastered well for the format, to the point where I prefer listening to the Atmos version. An example of this is the Pixies' classic album Doolittle, which has an absolutely stellar Atmos remix. I will sometimes turn Atmos back on just to listen to that album. Remove Ads The biggest exception by far is with classical music and jazz. The biggest exception by far is with classical music and jazz. While I've encountered a few bum Atmos mixes in those genres, I have mostly been astounded by what the format brings to them. There's nothing like popping in your headphones and putting on Glenn Gould's famous recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations and having it sound like he's actually there in the room playing his grand piano. I've listened to jazz recordings that now, thanks to Atmos, sound just like sitting in an actual jazz bar while the band plays. Sticking with the tried and true Newer doesn't always mean better apple-music-classical Remove Ads Dolby Atmos may be the new thing in music, but that doesn't make it better. As with anything, it depends on how it's used. In the case of classical and jazz, Atmos is able to breathe new life into already incredible recordings. With other kinds of music, though, it's a much more mixed bag. For every album that sounds great in Atmos, there are several others that sound worse. This is likely because producers are not used to the format, or treat it as an afterthought, since most people will be listening to the traditional stereo mix. Perhaps, in the future, producers will get more acquainted with Dolby Atmos, and it will be safe to keep the feature turned on, but until that happens, I'm keeping it off by default. Dolby Atmos Audio Related I listened Audible's Dolby Atmos audiobooks to see if sound was better The collection might be limited, but what's there is worth it. Posts Remove Ads * Apps * spotify Your changes have been saved Email is sent Email has already been sent close You've reached your account maximum for followed topics. Manage Your List Follow Followed Follow with Notifications Follow Unfollow Readers like you help support Pocket-lint. When you make a purchase using links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read More. Close Thread 9 Sign in to your Pocket-lint account We want to hear from you! Share your opinions in the thread below and remember to keep it respectful. Reply / Post Images Attachment(s) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Please respect our community guidelines. No links, inappropriate language, or spam. Your comment has not been saved Send confirmation email Sort by: [Popular] * NoLongerInPhilly User Display Picture NoLongerInPhilly NoLongerInPhilly #MY115369 User Display Picture Member Since 2024-12-06 Number of Posts 1 This take is incomplete. I was there. It's step one. Dolby Atmos was kinda interesting, but often sounded weird, and taken as a whole wasn't a better experience than two channel audio. Our ears are very sensitive to spatial cues, and when spatial cues are delivered in a way that does match what we are used to, it sounds weird, wrong, or fake. There are many headphone tunings in which I can find two channel audio enjoyable. I have to use very precise parametric eq profiles to make Dolby Atmos music sound like it was intended. This requires personalization of audio. You see the beginnings of it - Apples Vision Pro to tackle this issue uses scans of your ears to make spatial audio a better fit. Dolby Atmos music isnt bad, but it's premature vs the technology most of us use to consume it. 2024-12-06 16:38:19 Upvote 1 Downvote Reply * Clifton User Display Picture Clifton Clifton #RV057447 User Display Picture Member Since 2024-03-25 Number of Posts 1 Your complaint shouldn't be with Atmos music (which does and can sound incredible) but with lazy producers who basically up-convert stereo mixes to Atmos (but claim they don't), bad native Atmos mixes, and streaming services that compress the music. Buy some Atmos music Blu-ray discs and hear what you're missing out on. 2024-12-06 11:58:29 Upvote 1 Downvote Reply 1 * Zachary User Display Picture Zachary Zachary #YO194249 User Display Picture Member Since 2024-09-20 Number of Posts 1 Good luck trying out Apple Musics atmos support, with a blu ray player. This Article isn't about surround sound, it's about an Atmos branded virtual surround sound made for headphones only, supported by Apple on iPhone. 2024-12-06 23:14:26 Upvote Downvote * Nick User Display Picture Nick Nick #OS908968 User Display Picture Member Since 2024-06-26 Number of Posts 1 Mother of God that's a lot of words to write to only be so incredibly....wrong. Atmos in my fully dedicated cinema room sounds absolutely incredible. From Michael Jackson, to prog legends Leprous, so long as it's mastered right, every genre benefits. I get great joy when showing people The Weeknd - Blinding Lights and they always without fail stand there laughing at how incredible it sounds. 2024-12-06 06:11:41 Upvote 1 Downvote Reply 1 * Chikeluba Paul User Display Picture Chikeluba Paul Chikeluba Paul #MY673046 User Display Picture Member Since 2024-11-28 Number of Posts 1 Did you even read the article? It's talking about Atmos on Apple's Air Pods so unless you have a "fully dedicated cinema room" in your ears then you're the one that is wrong. 2024-12-07 00:54:23 Upvote Downvote * Guy User Display Picture Guy Guy #RL001502 User Display Picture Member Since 2024-12-07 Number of Posts 1 ATMOS in my Home Theater using Apple Music sounds incredible for a lot of titles. I have found in the last few months that most ATMOS mixes are no longer weak but spectacular. Why would you ever want to use ATMOS for headphones. 2 speakers like in headphones just don't cut it. I would never expect that to be good. 2024-12-07 20:40:00 Upvote 1 Downvote Reply * Ee User Display Picture Ee Ee #FS437705 User Display Picture Member Since 2024-12-07 Number of Posts 1 This article sponsored by Spotify. Leading the charge in not providing Atmos Support. LOL 2024-12-07 19:55:36 Upvote Downvote Reply * Yakov User Display Picture Yakov Yakov #KO502258 User Display Picture Member Since 2024-12-02 Number of Posts 2 Thanks for making this thread, it perfectly describes the current state of Apple music's Dolby Atmos selection. Yes, we need better resamples from music producers. Maybe Apple should make a way to prefer Atmos for specific artists or albums so the Auto setting in Dolby Atmos actually means something because the always on, auto, and off seem confusing anyways. Also, Apple should be conducting quality checks on Atmos submissions to make it at least on par with the standard stereo in terms of sound quality. 2024-12-06 05:33:25 Upvote Downvote Reply * D User Display Picture D D #QA851879 User Display Picture Member Since 2024-12-08 Number of Posts 1 The key issue with Atmos is that it's impossible to get it into your hi fi from say Amazon Music. You get Atmos on your phone app but not on the TV or stb app. Makes a mockery of a high end audio codec. It does of course come in from Netflix etc but not the soley audio streamers. On android at least. 2024-12-08 06:30:29 Upvote Downvote Reply * Terms * Privacy * Feedback Remove Ads Recommended Be first to get your Spotify Wrapped with this tip Did your Spotify Wrapped suck? How to fix it spotify Right the ship on your algorithm so next year's will be better. Posts 1 4 days ago Spotify Wrapped is here with an unexpected AI upgrade Spotify Wrapped is here with an unexpected AI upgrade spotify Spotify Wrapped 2024 is here and you can now take a deep dive into your year in music. Posts 4 days ago iPhone with wired headphones playing Apple Music on a colored background Apple music is better than Spotify and it's not even close Apps In the battle of the music streamers, Apple Music comes out ahead of Spotify in important ways Posts 21 2 days ago Top festive apps header Sleigh the season with these 5 festive apps Apps The holidays are a time of festive joy, and I always rely on these apps to heighten the season's greetings. Posts 1 day ago chatgpt-chrome-feature-2 Here's what you really get with ChatGPT's new $200 Pro subscription Apps OpenAI's all-new ChatGPT Pro subscription costs a whopping $200 per month, and it's not meant for you or I. Posts 2 days ago Instagram app on phone on colored background Meta just nuked 2 million WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook accounts Apps Fighting criminal behavior, Meta has closed over two million accounts across its services. Posts 2 days ago Remove Ads * Reviews * Editorials Xming 1 The best portable projector I've tested isn't from Anker or Kodak, and it makes my TV feel like a downgrade 5 hours ago Govee T3 Backlight showing Avatar This little gadget turned my screen time into dream time 1 day ago 0:51 A hand holds the JLab Epic Sport ANC 3 Earbuds above a pair of shoes on green turf. For the first time in a while, a pair of workout earbuds impressed me 3 days ago Samsung Smart Monitor M8 The Samsung Smart Monitor M8 is an all-in-one display you can rely on 4 days ago A gray Plaud NotePin capsule hanging from a black cord over a shirt. The Plaud NotePin does just enough to make me leave Voice Memos behind 4 days ago Asus Zenbook Duo beauty shot The Asus Zenbook Duo offers a dual-screened glimpse into the PC's future 5 days ago See More A OnePlus 8 Pro phone on a gradient background. I'm still using a OnePlus 8 Pro and see no reason to upgrade 1 day ago Amazon Prime with an emoji thumbs down rendered over the TV. Amazon Prime Video isn't worth it 1 day ago spatial-audio-header Dolby Atmos for music streaming is a waste of time 3 days ago Nintendo Switch I don't believe the latest Nintendo Switch 2 leak and you shouldn't either 4 days ago Max on LG TV I skipped the best Max deal of the year and I hope you did too 4 days ago Polysoft Mac Studio SSD The Mac Studio's storage is now easier to upgrade, but not thanks to Apple 3 days ago See More Remove Ads Trending Now A reMarkable Paper Pro in front of a picnic table covered in paper. 6 ways the reMarkable tablet quietly makes my life easier Gemini on Pixel 8a Thanks to this new extension, Gemini is one step closer to totally replacing Google Assistant Amazon Prime Day 2024 Amazon in legal hot water following slow Prime deliveries Remove Ads Pocket-lint logo * Join Our Team * Our Audience * About Us * Press & Events * Contact Us * Follow Us * * * * * * Valnet Logo * Advertising * Careers * Terms * Privacy * Policies Pocket-lint is part of the Valnet Publishing Group Copyright (c) 2024 Valnet Inc.