Spatial Audio & Headphones

[Ste_S]

Can someone more knowledgeable than me, explain how Spatial Audio works over streaming, with headphones? Chiefly, does the headphone/earphone do anything to enable spatial audio (outside of niche stuff like Apple head tracking)?

Do I gain any benefit from signing up to a streamer that uses Sony 360 Reality Audio to use with Sony headphones, or do I just get the same effect If I force Dolby Atmos on Apple Music on Sony headphones?

 

[BJL]

I have found that the Apple atmos content (music, tv) works reasonably well on Apple AirPods (Max or the in ear versions) when first running the individualized ear calibration available on the iPhone, but as usual for Apple, Spatial Audio is not as effective (or effective at all) with non-Apple hardware. Apple has a closed system. That is the major disadvantage of Apple products.

 

[Ste_S]

Spatial Audio is not as effective (or effective at all) with non-Apple hardware.

I've been flipping the Atmos always on/off toggle in Apple Music with Sony headphones connected whilst listening, and it's a night and day difference with something like Coltrane's Blue Train comparing on and off. So it's definitely applying an Atmos mix.

Which made me question it, hence the first post. Are headphones essentially dumb (bar head tracking) for receiving a spatial stream, and there's no special decoding needed?

 

[deweydm]

I've been flipping the Atmos always on/off toggle in Apple Music with Sony headphones connected whilst listening, and it's a night and day difference with something like Coltrane's Blue Train comparing on and off. So it's definitely applying an Atmos mix.

Which made me question it, hence the first post. Are headphones essentially dumb (bar head tracking) for receiving a spatial stream, and there's no special decoding needed?

The mastering is usually very different. Non Atmos mastered louder, more compressed, as if made for listening in the car. Atmos version mastered more quietly, with less dynamic range compression.

Subjective comparisons using an ATV4 and a 5.1.2 home theater set up though, not headphones. Have thought about giving spatial audio from AM a try with some decent Sennheiser headphones, but haven’t yet.

 

[BJL]

I've been flipping the Atmos always on/off toggle in Apple Music with Sony headphones connected whilst listening, and it's a night and day difference with something like Coltrane's Blue Train comparing on and off. So it's definitely applying an Atmos mix.

Which made me question it, hence the first post. Are headphones essentially dumb (bar head tracking) for receiving a spatial stream, and there's no special decoding needed?

My bad - I checked this a long time ago with AKG wired headphones.

From what you say then, the obvious differences between Apple and non-Apple headphones would be the head tracking modes, adaptive audio, and the ear canal/head personalization ("personalized spatial audio"), which may do something or may do nothing. I have both on using a ATV4K. Apple headphones however are not what I would call "dumb" - they have processors, (2 H1 processors in the max, one H2 processor in the pods), but what they do beyond the obvious mentioned, is a mystery to me, and since I no longer have a different brand I cannot directly compare.

They do simulate an Atmos-like sound field, though not up to what a 5.1.4 (or better) system can provide.

 

[Ste_S]

they have processors, (2 H1 processors in the max, one H2 processor in the pods), but what they do beyond the obvious mentioned, is a mystery to me,

That's the thing - do the H1/H2 chips do the processing for an Atmos stream from Apple Music, so that headphones without those chips don't get the same effect? Likewise, do you need the V1 and QN1 chips in Sony headphones to be able to properly decode 360 Reality Audio?

Edit - Amazon say the 360 reality audio mixes work with any headphones

 

[DeLub]

From a post elsewhere on this forum analysing the streams coming from Apple Music, I remember that Apple Music sends pre-rendered Atmos streams for headphones. So I guess the answer is yes, headphones are dumb in that they don’t do anything special for Atmos. As mentioned above, they can be smart wrt head tracking and personalised audio.

 

[yourmom210]

I finally gave in and been trying Dolby Atmos the past couple of days on Apple Music after procrastinating on my work and taking some time to learn about it. I been entrenched in the apple ecosystem for a few years now but never had the desire to mess w it. I'm pretty blown away, tbh. On both iOS and MacOS, wired and wireless. Some mixes sound like shit, like beabadoobee's new album. Others sound phenomenal. I been bumping the AM spatial audio playlists for jazz, classical music, and música mexicana, and listening to the DA mixes for some of my favorite records, and a lot of these mixes are fuckin phenomenal. Many of them are miles ahead of their lossless/hi-res stereo counterparts. The new regional Mexican records are something else in DA.

So far I've tried on iOS w some Apple and Beats headphones, and on MacOS w Sennheiser HD 58X (AM on MacOS > eqMac > fiio k11 r2r > Schiit Valhalla 2 > Senns). It'll work with any wired or wireless headphones, but if you aren't using Apple/Beats headphones you have to manually hit the on/off switch in AM settings when switching b/t headphones and speakers, which is annoying, but whatevz.

 

[yourmom210]

That's the thing - do the H1/H2 chips do the processing for an Atmos stream from Apple Music, so that headphones without those chips don't get the same effect? Likewise, do you need the V1 and QN1 chips in Sony headphones to be able to properly decode 360 Reality Audio?

No, you can use any wired or wireless, no processing in headphones, the Apple chips just allow your device to automatically switch between DA and stereo when using Apple headphones if you have "automatic" turned on in the DA settings in AM.

 

[Ste_S]

No, you can use any wired or wireless, no processing in headphones, the Apple chips just allow your device to automatically switch between DA and stereo when using Apple headphones or not if you have "automatic" turned on in the DA settings in AM.

Grand, ta! Saves me £11 from experimenting with an Amazon Music sub to try 360 on Sony headphones.

 

[yourmom210]

Also, if anybody is like me and hesitant to try DA for fear of messing w your extensive lossless/hi-res downloads in AM library, you can just leave the "download in DA" button unchecked and turn DA on in settings and it'll stream the DA track mixes for you while keeping your lossless downloads in storage.

 

[Ste_S]

I finally gave in and been trying Dolby Atmos the past couple of days on Apple Music after procrastinating on my work and taking some time to learn about it. I been entrenched in the apple ecosystem for a few years now but never had the desire to mess w it. I'm pretty blown away, tbh. On both iOS and MacOS, wired and wireless. Some mixes sound like shit, like beabadoobee's new album. Others sound phenomenal. I been bumping the AM spatial audio playlists for jazz, classical music, and música mexicana, and listening to the DA mixes for some of my favorite records, and a lot of these mixes are fuckin phenomenal. Many of them are miles ahead of their lossless/hi-res stereo counterparts. The new regional Mexican records are something else in DA.

So far I've tried on iOS w some Apple and Beats headphones, and on MacOS w Sennheiser HD 58X (AM on MacOS > eqMac > fiio k11 r2r > Schiit Valhalla 2 > Senns). It'll work with any wired or wireless headphones, but if you aren't using Apple/Beats headphones you have to manually hit the on/off switch in AM settings when switching b/t headphones and speakers, which is annoying, but whatevz.

I've been listening to the Atmos mix of Purple Rain, one of the albums I know inside out, and it almost feels like a new, live, mix of the album, rather than the studio mix.
Kinda weird in places, some instruments boosted, some buried in the mix. On the whole great though, I never knew dat bass on Lets Go Crazy was so dirty.

 

[yourmom210]

I've been listening to the Atmos mix of Purple Rain, one of the albums I know inside out, and it almost feels like a new, live, mix of the album, rather than the studio mix.
Kinda weird in places, some instruments boosted, some buried in the mix. On the whole great though, I never knew dat bass on Lets Go Crazy was so dirty.

It's def a lot of fun! especially when the DA mix is even better than the stereo, as i've found w plenty of material.

 

[Ste_S]

Oh, would love some Atmos Musica Mexicana recommendations from you @yourmom210

 

[yourmom210]

Check out the Música Mexicana in Spatial Audio playlist! It's seriously blowing me away right now