Apple lossless official announcement

[DimitryZ]

Hmm, maybe you’re right and “auto” is the default. I may have misremembered that myself. In either case, “auto” is supposed to recognize compatible hardware (appropriate surround systems or Apple headphones) and only serve those files when the hardware is available.

Good point.

I will check if "Auto" feeds Atmos to my stereo. Hopefully not.

 

[dmac6419]

What is that and why should I care about it?

If it’s some processing that applies only to BT boom boxes, soundbars, and headphones, but not to surround or immersive loudspeaker systems, the answer to the second sub part of that question is: “you shouldn’t.”

What is that and why should I care about it?

If it’s some processing that applies only to BT boom boxes, soundbars, and headphones, but not to surround or immersive loudspeaker systems, the answer to the second sub part of that question is: “you shouldn’t.”



Perhaps it is fair, accurate, and reasonable to write that I am “fanboying.” However, you’re not reading closely enough to grasp the actual object of fandom: multichannel/immersive music recordings for playback over home audio systems with multichannel or immersive loudspeaker setups. The more available, the better. The more good ones available, better still!

You the reporter you should know what sony 360 reality is,it's the same thing that Apple is doing with Atmos, spacializing it,anyway Amazon has the 3D version of Abbey Road so Apple didn't discover it,now all of a sudden Apple has found a way to make music that doesn't sound good on Amazon and Tidal Spatial wise,sound good on Apple how is that? Anyway I left you a link.
https://m.gsmarena.com/understanding_lossless_highresolution_and_spatial_audio-news-49490.php
Almost forgot I only listen to Atmos through my Onyko 7.1 system, not on the echo studio or the Sony headphones.

 

[DavidMcRoy]

I’m a huge fan of “the flavor of Dolby Atmos that’s used in movie and TV soundtracks,” for playback on 7.1.4 surround speaker setup. I’ve had a system for over a year now. And the Dolby Audio Surround 2.0-to-7.1.4 upmixer is brilliant. I don’t know quite what to make of “whatever it is Apple Music is calling Dolby Atmos,” however, listening with headphones. I don’t have an Apple TV4K running tvOS 14.6 yet, which Apple says is needed to feed an AVR processor via HDMI, so I’ve reserved my listening so far to headphone listening.

The affect is impossible for me to pin down, kind of nice on some projects, pretty awful on others. When listening with conventional headphones/earbuds some recordings have an enhanced sense of isolation and space (two different concepts) between individual sound sources and a wider soundstage that seems to extend laterally beyond my ears. Often the responsible parties seem to take the occasion of a remix to just boost the shit out of the bass while they’re at it, or make something much louder or much more recessed in the mix. I’ve never heard any sense of “height” over headphones like what you get with overhead speakers in a theatrical or home theater Dolby Atmos setup. At best, some mixes sound more spacious and with more distinct isolation. At worst, on poorer remixes, things just sound distant, dull, muted and with excessive reverb. It’s a real mixed bag. Maybe it’s just growing pains/learning curve issues for the engineers. I hope.

 

[ThatM1key]

The streaming version of Dolby Atmos music is lossy, similar to Netflix Dolby Atmos movies. I don't like when they lump lossy and lossless versions into the same marketing term, its confusing to the average consumer. In terms of Sony 360, I think its just a fancy DSP virtual surround effect like "Dolby Atmos For Headphones".

 

[Jimbob54]

Listen Fanboy there were three other services offering atmos and spacial before apple, don't single out one because you have a bias,like I said some atmos,spacial music sounds good (recorded for that format) and most sound like schitt (not recorded for that format),you wanna play music reporter you should know that,where oh where in the world is the anti MQA crowd?

Why bring MQA into this? In what way are any of these spaTial formats analogous to that spectacular waste of time? Spatial formats might be over hyped and underbaked but they arent a threat to Redbook.

 

[abdo123]

Why bring MQA into this? In what way are any of these spaTial formats analogous to that spectacular waste of time? Spatial formats might be over hyped and underbaked but they arent a threat to Redbook.

they're the only threat to Redbook because they're better than Redbook.

Now that Apple adopted Dolby Atmos (when was the last time Apple adopted anything?) it will spread like wild fire.

 

[Frank Dernie]

they're the only threat to Redbook because they're better than Redbook.

Now that Apple adopted Dolby Atmos (when was the last time Apple adopted anything?) it will spread like hot fire.

This will be interesting.
Generally I share the opinion of Dr Geddes in his interview with Erin that because almost all music is released in stereo multi channel isn't a big deal for music.
This could change, mind you I have 3 small speakers for centre and rear for watching films and whilst I could play music through a 5.1 system I rarely do and already resent the extra wires and boxes.
There is no chance more channels than 5.1 would appeal because of the clutter - and believe me, my room is cluttered, since I almost never watch any films, mabe 1 or 2 a month compared to 4 or 5 hours of music a day.

 

[abdo123]

This will be interesting.
Generally I share the opinion of Dr Geddes in his interview with Erin that because almost all music is released in stereo multi channel isn't a big deal for music.
This could change, mind you I have 3 small speakers for centre and rear for watching films and whilst I could play music through a 5.1 system I rarely do and already resent the extra wires and boxes.
There is no chance more channels than 5.1 would appeal because of the clutter - and believe me, my room is cluttered, since I almost never watch any films, mabe 1 or 2 a month compared to 4 or 5 hours of music a day.

I think what makes this format so valuable and revolutionary is not really because of it's multichannel application, but because it does this with no extra costs in development (well other than paying for the format).

One identical Atmos track can be played via a boom box, a stereo, headphones, 5.1, gazillion channel cinemas and home theaters with no hiccups at all.

Not to mention that it's apparently very easy to master for Dolby Atmos.

I understand how big it is because object based audio has been a thing in video games for a seriously long time now, the PS3 supported 5.1 and 7.1 audio natively 16 years ago, they didn't need to store a track for each setup.

 

[dmac6419]

Why bring MQA into this? In what way are any of these spaTial formats analogous to that spectacular waste of time? Spatial formats might be over hyped and underbaked but they arent a threat to Redbook.

I like Redbook,MQA and Spatial done right,I even like the enhancement that Microsoft offers,I was responding to his original post, Apple can spacialized their whole 70 million track's, how is it going to sound better than all the other who offer that format, anyways I thought that the anti MQA crowd didn't like adulterated music, thought it had to be in it purest format,just my thoughts.

 

[jensgk]

The streaming version of Dolby Atmos music is lossy, similar to Netflix Dolby Atmos movies. I don't like when they lump lossy and lossless versions into the same marketing term, its confusing to the average consumer. In terms of Sony 360, I think its just a fancy DSP virtual surround effect like "Dolby Atmos For Headphones".
....

What software did you use to get that contents list?

 

[voodooless]

I understand how big it is because object based audio has been a thing in video games for a seriously long time now, the PS3 supported 5.1 and 7.1 audio natively 16 years ago, they didn't need to store a track for each setup.

That's nothing . Back in the day, I had an Aurea Vortex card that could do positional audio in hardware already, and it even worked great in stereo and even better in with headphones, but it could also do a 4-speaker setup. That was in '97/'98, so even a decade before the PS3.

 

[trl]

I will check if "Auto" feeds Atmos to my stereo. Hopefully not.

It does, just listen to the proper tracks for this, like "Spatial Audio".

 

[abdo123]

It does, just listen to the proper tracks for this, like "Spatial Audio".

Auto means it's off unless you have Apple headphones/earphones on.

 

[trl]

OK, so it seems that for me it worked well because I was doing this "test" on Beats Studio3, which based on https://support.apple.com/en-ie/HT212182 will work with the Auto setting. Thanks!

 

[Jimbob54]

they're the only threat to Redbook because they're better than Redbook.

Now that Apple adopted Dolby Atmos (when was the last time Apple adopted anything?) it will spread like wild fire.

I have no problem with that. If it happily coexists alongside existing Redbook and every single new release had an Atmos version I couldn't give a monkeys. If the only offer of a legacy 2 channel stereo recording was a hastily cobbled together Atmos fudge that when I downmix back to stereo sounds terrible then I have a problem.

 

[acbarn]

I have no problem with that. If it happily coexists alongside existing Redbook and every single new release had an Atmos version I couldn't give a monkeys. If the only offer of a legacy 2 channel stereo recording was a hastily cobbled together Atmos fudge that when I downmix back to stereo sounds terrible then I have a problem.

Because it can be turned off in settings, the assumption is that stereo files (whether AAC or ALAC) will continue to be offered alongside Atmos. Of course, this could change in the future if Atmos becomes the new standard for music. I guess I don’t see this happening as the trends all seem to be toward portable speakers which are either mono or pseudo-stereo. I mean, I can count on one hand the number of people I know who have surround systems in their homes.

 

[Honken]

That's nothing . Back in the day, I had an Aurea Vortex card that could do positional audio in hardware already, and it even worked great in stereo and even better in with headphones, but it could also do a 4-speaker setup. That was in '97/'98, so even a decade before the PS3.

I still hold a grudge against Creative Labs for killing off Aureal. I wonder where we could've been if they hadn't done that.

 

[jhaider]

Listen Fanboy there were three other services offering atmos

Wrong.

Serivice, singular: Tidal.

Hence the interest in comparing the Atmos catalogues of those two services.

Regardless, constructive written communication requires the parties to at least make a good faith effort to understand what was previously written and that is not in evidence here. So good day sir.

 

[voodooless]

Wrong.

Serivice, singular: Tidal.

Nope, as far as I know, it's Tidal, Amazon and Apple offering Atmos.

On the Dolby site on Amazon HD I already see various album titles that are not in Atmos in Apple Music.

 

[Jimbob54]

Nope, as far as I know, it's Tidal, Amazon and Apple offering Atmos.

On the Dolby site on Amazon HD I already see various album titles that are not in Atmos in Apple Music.

Is that what "3D" is on some of the Amazon titles I am looking at?