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An audio engineer explains why Dolby Atmos Music is “definitely going to supersede stereo”

jhaider

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Indeed. I've been really impressed with just how much of the music I actually listen to is available in multi-channel. It's certainly not 50% or anything, but it's definitely a sizable percentage,

It pays to check Apple’s catalogue every once in a while. Last week I noticed Pearl Jam Ten and No Code were remixed in Atmos!
 

fun

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It pays to check Apple’s catalogue every once in a while. Last week I noticed Pearl Jam Ten and No Code were remixed in Atmos

It pays to check Apple’s catalogue every once in a while. Last week I noticed Pearl Jam Ten and No Code were remixed in Atmos!
Yes, I like to do that once in a while. Start with "Spatial Audio" in search, and then look for "Best New Songs", "Featured Albums" or new albums in the various genres. Even though I don't usually listen to pop, hip hop, but I enjoy the sampling process, and do find some songs very enjoyable in Atmos.
 

usersky

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Late to this. While the link OP provided was a good starter for the thread, the linked article was obviously (to me) a paid for advertorial in behalf of Dolby Labs so to me it was of no value (unlike this thread). I certainly hope a proprietary format won't succeed, it did a lot of damage to home cinema, no need to accept this cancer spreading even more.
 

Sal1950

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Reviewing this post, the monster 2600s specs caught my eye.
300 wpc into 8, minimum continuous, 20-20k, no more than 0.03 THD !
I wonder if they really could meet this number?
I know the FTC was keeping a pretty close eye on such things back in the day.
 

Sal1950

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It pays to check Apple’s catalogue every once in a while. Last week I noticed Pearl Jam Ten and No Code were remixed in Atmos!
Apples Atmos catalog continues to grow near every day.
I'm so impressed and happy with the small investment ($100) I made to add a Apple 4k TV box to my rig.
Thanks to Apple and all the artists, engineers, and labels jumping on the Atmos wagon.
 

mhardy6647

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Reviewing this post, the monster 2600s specs caught my eye.
300 wpc into 8, minimum continuous, 20-20k, no more than 0.03 THD !
I wonder if they really could meet this number?
I know the FTC was keeping a pretty close eye on such things back in the day.
Probably yes, but only for a while ;)
The 2600 was notoriously failure-prone, if memory serves.
Indeed, I think many of the high power marantz receivers were kind of delicate (so to speak).
 

Sal1950

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Indeed, I think many of the high power marantz receivers were kind of delicate (so to speak).
I had a 2270 I bought new in 1974, used it for around 5 years without any issue.
Then I lost in in a divorce.. :mad:
 

Doodski

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I had a 2270 I bought new in 1974, used it for around 5 years without any issue.
I took the amp modules and transformer from a 2270 and made a power amp. I ran that pretty hard for several years and had no issues. The guy I got that from ran it as his head unit on the test bench for about 7 years there too and no issues at all. Now I see them selling for ~$2K+. That makes me think I should have kept it.
s-l1600.jpg
 

Soundmixer

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I certainly hope a proprietary format won't succeed, it did a lot of damage to home cinema, no need to accept this cancer spreading even more.
This comment is baffling. Exactly what damage did Dolby do to home cinema? Based on the history of sound in the cinema, Dolby has been the leader in cinema sound since the early 70s.

Are you sure you are not talking about another company?
 

usersky

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This comment is baffling. Exactly what damage did Dolby do to home cinema? Based on the history of sound in the cinema, Dolby has been the leader in cinema sound since the early 70s.

Are you sure you are not talking about another company?
Imagine the industry choosing open standards instead of Dolby's closed proprietary codes, upscallers etc. Time to market would months shorter without queuing in wait for their certification. A large percent of the price of every device, movie, software would go to the real producer, stimulating innovation instead of stimulating lawyers that shout it up. Imagine netflix $1 cheaper per month. There are tons of issues when at the core of every device and movie is a closed, tight controlled player that dictates the pace of evolution in the whole industry, that can choose who lives and who dies, what chip will be built and what not, based on maximizing it's income from exploiting the scheme. I am not o fan of open everything but the most basic formats and ways to interoperate should be open. By 2022 one thinks people should be wiser. Imagine TCP being closed and tightly controlled by a single player, using lawyers to decide who and how does internet. Where the Internet would be today. A bit of exageration, not much. Imagine being able to decide any number of channels on any pc, without all the efort to reverse engineer ATMOS and what not. Now tell me plus please. Dolby's real value for end users became negative after their Dolby C. That's of course my biased opinion, no double blind, level matched I must admit.
 

mhardy6647

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I had a 2270 I bought new in 1974, used it for around 5 years without any issue.
Then I lost in in a divorce.. :mad:
I'm talkin' the 100-watt-plus monsters ;)
The 2270 was/is a pretty nice piece -- look at current prices (or, actually, maybe better not to).
:cool:
 

Soundmixer

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Imagine the industry choosing open standards instead of Dolby's closed proprietary codes, upscallers etc.
The industry already has that choice. It is called DTS:X. There are pros and cons to having an open standard, it is not the end-all
Imagine being able to decide any number of channels on any pc, without all the efort to reverse engineer ATMOS and what not.
IF you can reverse engineer, then what is the problem? It is not up to Dolby to make their encoding process easy for the consumer to use. If the consumer wants Atmos this way, they have to work to get it. I see no problem with that.
There are tons of issues when at the core of every device and movie is a closed, tight controlled player that dictates the pace of evolution in the whole industry, that can choose who lives and who dies, what chip will be built and what not, based on maximizing it's income from exploiting the scheme.
This is how capitalism works good or bad. This is not Dolby's fault, it is the fault of the global system the world has embraced.

It seems to me you are blaming Dolby for things it has nothing to do with. Every major corporation on this planet wants to protect the value of their IP, and Dolby is not excluded.
.
 
OP
AdamG

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Sal1950

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Got an Email from Tidal with updated compatibility information yesterday. Led to this updated info page:
Thanks!
The "chat bar" on that page gave me another opportunity to let them know that as long as they continue to support the money grab called MQA, I will have nothing to do with Tidal.
For now, although Apple has a horrid UI, I'm sticking with them as they AFAIK have the largest Atmos catalog, along with great sound quality. ;) I read somewhere recently Apple Music is working on a new UI, we can only hope.
Nobodies perfect. LOL
 
OP
AdamG

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Thanks!
The "chat bar" on that page gave me another opportunity to let them know that as long as they continue to support the money grab called MQA, I will have nothing to do with Tidal.
For now, although Apple has a horrid UI, I'm sticking with them as they AFAIK have the largest Atmos catalog, along with great sound quality. ;) I read somewhere recently Apple Music is working on a new UI, we can only hope.
Nobodies perfect. LOL
Hi Sal,

It’s a compromise for me. I try to just ignore the MQA stuff and enjoy the music and UI, of which I like. In addition I get the full shebang from them for 60% price, and the Tidal Connect functionality means I can use my Node to stream CD quality using the Tidal app on my device. Avoiding having to use the Bluesound interface. The new Atmos functionality is fantastic and hearing old songs I grew up listening to in Stereo and singing along. But now in multichannel atmos mix the envelopment is just fantastic to me. Yes, not all tracks sound good or right. It’s a new way to engage with music and I love it!
 

Sal1950

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It’s a compromise for me. I try to just ignore the MQA stuff and enjoy the music and UI, of which I like. In addition I get the full shebang from them for 60% price,
Can't make it about a couple dollars a month Adam, Apple only costs me $9.99 a month plus $1.08 in tax.
Sometimes you just have to stand up.
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.


But now in multichannel atmos mix the envelopment is just fantastic to me. Yes, not all tracks sound good or right. It’s a new way to engage with music and I love it!
I'm with you 100% there friend. These last couple years have been very exciting times for multich audiophiles, now with Atmos things are happening at a rate I never imagined. Funny how life has a way of separating the snake-oil (MQA) from real advancement and innovation. (Atmos). ;)
 

Sancus

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For now, although Apple has a horrid UI, I'm sticking with them as they AFAIK have the largest Atmos catalog, along with great sound quality. ;) I read somewhere recently Apple Music is working on a new UI, we can only hope.
Yep, I recently dropped Tidal for Apple Music. I hate that I had to buy an Apple TV(which sucks compared to my Shield TV btw.. it's laggier and the remote is an actual crime against usability, holy crap Apple). But they have a looooooot more material than Tidal and Tidal only has a very small amount of exclusive stuff that isn't on Apple. Plus Apple Music is half the price.

I'm pretty sure Apple Music is approaching or has exceeded 1000 albums of Atmos music which is crazy considering the total catalog of all multi-channel albums is probably around 9-10K.

At the pace Atmos music is going, it will be double the catalog of pre-Atmos multi-channel music in a few years.
 
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