Ok my interest started in the recent 'Tears for Fears' thread.
Not so much the discussion there interested but the link to the website that compared DR for vinyl vs Qobuz vs Atmos.
So I started doing some testing of my own.
Apple Music offers lossy Atmos - it isn't TrueHD Atmos.
I picked 3 very mainstream and very recent albums by:
The Weeknd - Dawn
Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia
Rufu du sol - Surrender
I tested their lead singles. Being very mainstream, the labels would want their singles to stand out on playlists, radio etc, where possible.
Note I checked lossless with SOUND CHECK on vs off - to see if volume normalisation in Apple Music helped DR score. It didn't help DR sore but avoids clipping (good thing).
There is no clipping with streaming Atmos, by design.
In all cases, the (lossy) Atmos version has significantly better DR than the lossless 24bit digital master.
It is not a small difference in DR value. For all these singles from popular albums.
Note that lossy Atmos is now streaming on Apple Music and Amazon Music HD (2 of the 3 biggest companies in the game) plus TIDAL.
So it is safe to say Atmos is now available mainstream.
And you don't need Atmos gear to listen to Apple Music Atmos content. I use normal USB DAC.
But streaming the Atmos versions you can get significantly better DR but have to decide if you accept 'lossy' Atmos.
So it depends how much you favour DR over less DR but lossless.
This is a game changer in my opinion.
The labels and people behind the Atmos mixes are deliberately making the Atmos version significantly better in terms of dynamic range.
I reckon this is the end of loudness wars. Remember those are very very mainstream recent examples.
See Apple's recent comment about Atmos uptake:
If you don't know those artists, ask your kids or grandkids
MAAT DROffline MkII -2.2.3
They have murdered "Tears for Fears" ... digitally!
Check this out: https://magicvinyldigital.net/2022/03/04/tears-for-fears-the-tipping-point-review-lp-cd-qobuz-tidal-amazon-atmos-blu-ray-audio/ ALL the existing digital formats are screwed! The compression, the clipping! Quoting my buddy Danny: "The sound engineers should be shot. Out of a...
www.audiosciencereview.com
Not so much the discussion there interested but the link to the website that compared DR for vinyl vs Qobuz vs Atmos.
So I started doing some testing of my own.
Apple Music offers lossy Atmos - it isn't TrueHD Atmos.
I picked 3 very mainstream and very recent albums by:
The Weeknd - Dawn
Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia
Rufu du sol - Surrender
I tested their lead singles. Being very mainstream, the labels would want their singles to stand out on playlists, radio etc, where possible.
Note I checked lossless with SOUND CHECK on vs off - to see if volume normalisation in Apple Music helped DR score. It didn't help DR sore but avoids clipping (good thing).
There is no clipping with streaming Atmos, by design.
In all cases, the (lossy) Atmos version has significantly better DR than the lossless 24bit digital master.
It is not a small difference in DR value. For all these singles from popular albums.
Note that lossy Atmos is now streaming on Apple Music and Amazon Music HD (2 of the 3 biggest companies in the game) plus TIDAL.
So it is safe to say Atmos is now available mainstream.
And you don't need Atmos gear to listen to Apple Music Atmos content. I use normal USB DAC.
But streaming the Atmos versions you can get significantly better DR but have to decide if you accept 'lossy' Atmos.
So it depends how much you favour DR over less DR but lossless.
This is a game changer in my opinion.
The labels and people behind the Atmos mixes are deliberately making the Atmos version significantly better in terms of dynamic range.
I reckon this is the end of loudness wars. Remember those are very very mainstream recent examples.
See Apple's recent comment about Atmos uptake:
Apple Music’s Spatial Audio Strategy Is Paying Off With More Listeners, Major Releases
Apple Music's efforts to differentiate its music streaming service seems to be working with Spatial Audio rapidly growing.
www.billboard.com
If you don't know those artists, ask your kids or grandkids
MAAT DROffline MkII -2.2.3