How do I play multichannel music through Roon and a Denon AVR?

[Tom C]

Well, Apple Music can stream multichannel to an AVR from macOS (such as Mac mini), so there is a little more choice in hardware beyond Apple TV. But I haven’t found a way to get iOS to do multichannel over usb, I think because the endpoint has to be Atmos capable. Never tried one of the multimedia dongles, though. That would give an hdmi interface for the AVR, so might work.

 

[luft262]

Well, Apple Music can stream multichannel to an AVR from macOS (such as Mac mini), so there is a little more choice in hardware beyond Apple TV. But I haven’t found a way to get iOS to do multichannel over usb, I think because the endpoint has to be Atmos capable. Never tried one of the multimedia dongles, though. That would give an hdmi interface for the AVR, so might work.

How do you like the Atmos music? Is it enough of an improvement to warrant purchasing additional hardware and switching to apple music from one's current preferred streaming service in you opinion?

 

[Tom C]

My opinion: no, not worth it. If you already have a surround system, then it doesn’t cost much to give it a go for a month or two. I have the Apple TV in my media room for apps like TCM, Brit Box, and others, so I would have that item anyway. Same with my multichannel DAC, AVR, and 7.1 speaker set up. But putting together all of that solely for trying out Apple Music Atmos I wouldn’t recommend. After having trialed it, I don’t find myself using it very often. I use my purchased and ripped physical discs a lot more. Mostly because I can choose the recordings I like best, rather than just taking whatever Apple is offering at the moment. The recording you want may or may not be available. It’s odd to me, for example, that The Who’s Tommy is not available in Atmos on Apple Music, even though a 5.1 mix has been out for years. Which I have, BTW, and enjoy. I realize there are technical reasons this is so, but that is a limitation nonetheless.
I’m one of those people that just has to try things for himself. So, having said all that, I myself would not take someone else’s word for it.

 

[Tom C]

The other thing is, you might find something you really like, then go back to listen one day, and they’ve removed it from the service. And the disc is sold out. And you’re out of luck.

 

[luft262]

The other thing is, you might find something you really like, then go back to listen one day, and they’ve removed it from the service. And the disc is sold out. And you’re out of luck.

I'm my case I have a 5.1 setup so I'd just need an Apple TV device. It's a bit of a waste as I already have a Roku device, a PS5, and my tv is a smart TV, but i guess $150 is worth it to try out spacial audio music...