• Welcome to ASR. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Apple music through AoIP for dolby atmos?

KitoDavy

Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2025
Messages
35
Likes
9
I plan to play dolby atmos apple music from mac. I need some confirmation. I found mixed answers here and there. So I thought I would just start a thread:

1. Apple music can not use hdmi pass through for dolby atmos? It can only do stereo through HDMI? On techinical specs, it is saying apple silicones can do. But also found people complaining it couldn't do for dolby atmos.

2. Can apple music pass through merging VAD AES67 AoIP? If so, then I can use anything that can take AES67 inputs, like genelec 9401. Anyone had any experiecens with this hardware? Can it be done? Is it bit perfect?

Thanks!
 
1. I have dolby atmos music playing (shows dolby icon) using apple music on windows. My PC is connected via HDMI (nvidia) to LG TV (bitstream + passthrough enabled on TV) to midisp flex htx via eARC. I have the dolby/atmos codecs installed on windows. Similar setup via Apple TV which takes over the decoding instead of PC but LPCM without atmos. Definitely is more than stereo because I can hear music from my 5.1 setup + GLM shows levels on all the channels.

2. No idea from my end, but if you have a mac/pc lying around, install the dante virtual card and try https://www.getdante.com/products/software-essentials/dante-virtual-soundcard/ Obv you will need to have the 9401 on hand.
 
Last edited:
1. I have dolby atmos music playing (shows dolby icon) using apple music on windows. My PC is connected via HDMI (nvidia) to LG TV (bitstream + passthrough enabled on TV) to midisp flex htx via eARC. I have the dolby/atmos codecs installed on windows. Similar setup via Apple TV which takes over the decoding instead of PC. Definitely is more than stereo because I can hear music from my 5.1 setup + GLM shows levels on all the channels.
Thank you! When did this happen? Dolby atmos didn't pass through HDMI before I presume? So this is something new recently?
2. No idea from my end, but if you have a mac/pc lying around, install the dante virtual card and try https://www.getdante.com/products/software-essentials/dante-virtual-soundcard/ Obv you will need to have the 9401 on hand.
@kfrancis confirmed in our old thread that this also works. This is good news. Any objections on your end before I move forward with 9401? You've put me on halt for the stormaudio evo... Now I have lots of 8361s, and nothing to play them...
 
Cannot say when it happened but seems to have been possible for a while for Apple TV at least. Some instructions here for up to 7.1 with no height channels obv https://www.minidsp.com/applications/home-theater-tuning/apple-tv-4k-minidsp and if you want height then https://support.apple.com/en-us/102310

Apple music uses DD+JOC
I read that apple tv probably ignores height channels and decodes to simple LPCM when not connected to a decoder like a AVR/AVP. Macs/PC on the other hand can do it. I dont have height channels yet to try out.
 
Last edited:
Cannot say when it happened but seems to have been possible for a while for Apple TV at least. Some instructions here for up to 7.1 with no height channels obv https://www.minidsp.com/applications/home-theater-tuning/apple-tv-4k-minidsp and if you want height then https://support.apple.com/en-us/102310

Apple music uses DD+JOC
I read that apple tv probably ignores height channels and decodes to simple LPCM when not connected to a decoder like a AVR/AVP. Macs/PC on the other hand can do it. I dont have height channels yet to try out.
Me either. I have no 9401 or processor nor height channel. Yet I'm trying to make the decision that can run in a long term......But you are already ahead of me and saved me lots of trouble. Much appreciated!
 
Mac can bitstream/passthrough Dolby Atmos in the Apple Music and Apple TV apps. Go into app settings and enable HDMI Passthrough.
 
Yea I think it seems like for any object based rendering you need a Dolby Atmos renderer either emulated by software (whatever avr/avp folks run) or their decoder hardware chips. So on the other end of HDMI you need that decoder hardware. Lack of that, devices will convert to lpcm and you would only get bed channels. I am guessing that's the backwards compatible part they mention here https://professionalsupport.dolby.c...l-Plus-JOC-Joint-Object-Coding?language=en_US

Alternative would be that you do that rendering on a computational device itself (PC/mac) and send over the final result discrete channels over AoIP. This obv won't be possible with a closed platform like apple tv. Hence the need for the H16 like veoce to get to something like https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/...cal-and-nas-based-mch-and-immersive-playback/
 
Last edited:
Yea I think it seems like for any object based rendering you need a Dolby Atmos renderer either emulated by software (whatever avr/avp folks run) or their decoder hardware chips. So on the other end of HDMI you need that decoder hardware. Lack of that, devices will convert to lpcm and you would only get bed channels. I am guessing that's the backwards compatible part they mention here https://professionalsupport.dolby.c...l-Plus-JOC-Joint-Object-Coding?language=en_US

Alternative would be that you do that rendering on a computational device itself (PC/mac) and send over the final result discrete channels over AoIP. This obv won't be possible with a closed platform like apple tv. Hence the need for the H16 like veoce to get to something like https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/...cal-and-nas-based-mch-and-immersive-playback/
Now it seems the decoder hardware is quite an essential piece....I've decided to go with Stormaudio evo and elimiate all those complicated walk arounds...
 
Back
Top Bottom