If there are people here that haven’t heard the superiority of TrueHD Atmos compared to DD+ Atmos, level matched, there is no point discussing.
Really.
What about the people over at production-expert.com?
“Listening to Dolby Atmos albums with TIDAL or Apple Music on loudspeakers in a calibrated 7.1.4 or 9.2.6 room is wonderful. It’s a quantum-leap over stereo and a huge improvement over surround sound. I feel like a kid in a candy store surfing Apple Music in 7.1.4.” - Nat Reichman, lead mixer at Dubway Studios, NYC, who has a lot of experience on classical music albums, writing
an article on Apple Music for industry pros.
Now I admit he is not comparing it to lossless Atmos, but it sure doesn’t sound like he has major issues with it. It also sure doesn’t sound like “I’ll stick to stereo thanks, until the Atmos is lossless.” Nor does it sound like “there’s no point discussing.”
You might have to consider that you are reacting to issues in the quality of the production, not the limitations of the streaming format. Also, cognitive bias can taint things even if you don’t want it to. How many people reckon they clearly hear the terribleness of (transparent) 320 mp3, just because they resent the fact that it isn’t lossless? Or the terribleness of 16/44 compared to high-res? (Hint: a
lot.)
Dolby Labs determined via extensive listening tests that 768 kbps Atmos delivers transparency. That is the rate used in Apple Music.
cheers