Dolby Atmos for music streaming is a waste of time

Dolby Atmos seems to be the future of audio technology. The object-based surround sound format has been around since 2012 and until recently was primarily used to create precise, pristine sound mixes for films and television. A few years later, Dolby Atmos for music was introduced and adopted by Amazon Music And tide for music streaming.

However, it took until 2021 for Apple to introduce its Spatial audio Function for Apple Music and its AirPods Pro wireless earbuds Dolby Atmos has really taken off in the music space. It was an exciting development that used advanced audio processing technology to create a lifelike surround sound effect using just a pair of earbuds.

The technology promised to make users feel completely surrounded by the music they were listening to, but after several years of back and forth, I simply leave Dolby Atmos turned off in my Apple Music settings.

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The surround sound dilemma

In theory it’s a great idea

LG

When it comes to films and television, surround sound has long been the standard. And that just makes sense. An action film becomes even more exciting when the viewer hears bullets flying by or helicopters overhead. Even in quieter dramas, a lush backdrop of sound from everywhere can mean the difference between total immersion in the world of the story and boredom.

In music, however, surround sound has a more difficult history. Over the years there have been a number of formats capable of delivering surround sound music, but they have only been adopted by audiophiles. The main reason for this is that listening required special equipment, including a surround speaker setup, which most people don’t have. Additionally, even though most people listen to music, it wasn’t really possible to listen to this audio on the go.

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Enter Atmos

The beauty of object-based audio

Surround sound may have been a cumbersome technology, but Dolby Atmos brought a new advantage. Atmos is an object-based audio system, meaning sounds are mixed in a virtual space and can be mapped to as few as two or dozens of speakers. In a cinema, speakers all around, including on the ceiling, ensure that Atmos can accurately reproduce the sound of this virtual space. On a pair of headphones, the sound is mapped to create the illusion of the same virtual space, with the sounds feeling like they’re coming from all around you.

This new development meant that it was suddenly much more practical to produce and distribute surround sound audio for music, which Apple Music has benefited from in a big way. Apple’s move to adopt the Dolby Atmos format prompted record labels and music producers to release more Dolby Atmos music, including returning and remastering old albums for Atmos.

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The problem with Atmos Music

It doesn’t (usually) sound very good

TREBLAB Z7-Pro headphones, like those worn by a concrete head in the backyard.

Atmos for Music seems like a great idea, and when it was first introduced on Apple Music, I immediately jumped on it. I actually liked many of the mixes I listened to. Taylor Swift’s albums sounded particularly good. However, these were exceptions to the rule. Whether new releases or old remasters, I repeatedly came across mixes that sounded much flatter and tinny than normal and often without much of a surround effect anyway.

Even the music that sounded good in Dolby Atmos, like Swift’s, often sounded even better when I turned off Atmos and switched to regular old stereo. The worst part was not knowing whether a record would sound good or not, which hadn’t been a problem for me before Atmos came along. It seemed that many producers simply didn’t know how to mix properly for the format. My solution was simply to turn off Atmos in my iPhone’s music settings. This way I always know I’m getting a properly mastered stereo mix every time.

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Where Dolby Atmos shines

There are exceptions to every rule

I may not be happy with Dolby Atmos for most music, but I’ll make a few important exceptions. First of all, some albums are mastered really well for the format, so I prefer listening to the Atmos version. An example of this is the classic Pixies album “Doolittle,” which features an absolutely outstanding Atmos remix. Sometimes I turn Atmos back on just to listen to the album.

By far the biggest exception is classical music and jazz. Although I’ve come across a few boring Atmos mixes in these genres, I’ve mostly been amazed at what the format has to offer. There’s nothing like putting on your headphones, putting on Glenn Gould’s famous recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and hearing it as if he were actually in the room playing his grand piano. I’ve listened to jazz recordings that now, thanks to Atmos, sound like you’re sitting in a real jazz bar while the band plays.

Stick with the tried and tested

Newer doesn’t always mean better

Dolby Atmos may be the new thing in the music industry, but that doesn’t make it any better. As with anything, it depends on how it is used. When it comes to classical and jazz, Atmos is able to breathe new life into already incredible recordings. When it comes to other types of music, however, it’s much more mixed. For every album that sounds great in Atmos, there are several others that sound worse. This is likely because producers are unfamiliar with the format or view it as an afterthought since most people listen to the traditional stereo mix. Maybe in the future producers will become more familiar with Dolby Atmos and it’s safe to leave the feature enabled, but until that happens I’ll leave it disabled by default.

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