Atmos Music

[Sonnie Parker]

Where are you sourcing it from?

 

[JStewart]

Object based audio is much closer to the live experience than channel based audio.

I’d still like to hear Auro someday. Those that have speak highly of it.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

I don't really care about adding another device, but if it's music that I like and I can listen from what I already have, I might give it a try.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

So at this point there are not streaming services with Atmos music?

That link isn't showing me anything but a bunch of ads.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

So it looks like there are some on Amazon HD and on Tidal, although not many artist I care a lot about. Perhaps over time something will come along that I like, being I like really weird music.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

I'm not sure I'd want to hear what sounds like multi-channel stereo that is not being played back as it was recorded and intended to be played. I would prefer original Atmos recordings, which may be hard to find if all they are doing it extracting the Atmos channels from the original recording. I suppose I'll just have to listen to it, but I am a huge fan of imaging, sound stage and depth acuity, and if it messes with that, I won't care for it, as it won't be accurate.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I’d still like to hear Auro someday. Those that have speak highly of it.

It's amazing. The biggest issue being media availability.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I'm not sure I'd want to hear what sounds like multi-channel stereo that is not being played back as it was recorded and intended to be played. I would prefer original Atmos recordings, which may be hard to find if all they are doing it extracting the Atmos channels from the original recording. I suppose I'll just have to listen to it, but I am a huge fan of imaging, sound stage and depth acuity, and if it messes with that, I won't care for it, as it won't be accurate.

I agree with you, Sonnie. That said, Auro-2D is a very unique upmixing solution that keeps imaging and the front soundstage intact while every so slightly stretching the sound around you. Very different than Dolby Surround.

The Auro 3D audio discs I have on hand were recorded at Galaxy Studios, in Auro 3D. They're amazing from a presentation standpoint. But the styles of music (I've heard) aren't quite my cup of tea.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Very interesting... I am eager to hear it on something I am familiar with already.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

At the last Audio Engineering Society meeting they spent the entire 3 days offering workshops on mixing for immersive audio.

2019 AES International Conference on Immersive and Interactive Audio

2019 AES International Conference on Immersive and Interactive Audio

www.aes.org

Yup: https://www.stereophile.com/content/immersive-audio-aes

 

[one4]

7.2.4 system. Wanted to hear Dolby Atmos music.

While I've a Firestick 4K, I almost never, ever listen to streaming music through it. To my ears music encoded in DD+, with 4db of dialog boost (that you can't turn off), just doesn't sound right compared to the same music encoded as two-channel PCM with no dialog boost, and I don't want to be constantly navigating to the Firestick settings to change its audio-out back and forth from DD+ to PCM. So, I've also an old, old, first gen FireTV STB with digital audio out. If I want to stream music from a source other that what came with my Yammy CX-A5200 and MusicCast, I turn on the old FireTV. When I'm working around the house (not seriously listening) I have that FireTV streaming Radio Paradise 16/44.1 FLAC. Yeah, the FireTV encodes its output as 16/48 PCM, so that is what my Yammy sees. And it sounds just as good to me as if I was playing a CD on my transport.

At this time, while my Yammy supports Amazon Music, it does not (yet?) support Amazon HD Music. My FireTV does not support Amazon HD Music. My FireStick does support Amazon HD Music, but not, to the best of my knowledge, Amazon Ultra-HD Music nor their 3D (Dolby Atmos and Sony’s 360 Reality Audio codecs ) format. So, where do I go? Ahhhh, Tidal? Since I do not have a MQA DAC, Tidal, to me does not sound as good as Qobuz. But, Tidal has Atmos Music, right? So, I got a Tidal trial subscription. Crazy thing: While my Yammy certainly decodes Atmos, Tidal will not stream Atmos to it, but it will stream Atmos to my Firestick. And away I go, right? Yeah, that works. Like crap! While I now hear the 3D effects (yes, my Yammy informs it IS receiving an Atmos stream) it sounds terribly compressed; not unlike listening to a 16/44.1 CD track and then listening to that same track on 128 kbps MP3. I really don't care if the sound is all around me if the result makes me feel like I'm in an elevator.

So, streaming Atmos Music, at this point? No thanks! While I may look into purchasing a Blu Ray with Atmos Music, or two, I have no intention of spending hundreds, if not thousands, of more $$$ on my system just to see if I can get an uncompressed Atmos Music stream. I won't be renewing my Tidal subscription once the trial is up.

 

[one4]

I listen to Atmos music primarily through the X-Box so can't compare to the experience you had with the firestick. I wonder if the appletv or nvidia shield sound any better?

Since I'm not a gamer, I've historically had zero interest in gaming boxes. Maybe I should take a second look? I had a Roku box once then got FireTV; been with that platform ever since; my focus with boxes and sticks is toward streaming video. I've never played with AppleTV, nVidia (the two beside FireTV that Tidal lists as compatible with their Atmos music stream), or Chromecast. However, I just discovered that Netflix does not stream Atmos videos on FireTV. ?! I'm now looking into getting a media PC. I've got my CD collection, 1000s of them, on a hard drive now, and I'd like to connect it directly to my Yammy as opposed to streaming over WiFi. From what I hear Netflix, as well as other streaming services, play well together with Windows 10, including Netflix Atmos. Don't know if Tidal will do Atmos music on a PC. If I figure that out I'll post my experience.