Article: Do Immersive Audio Mixes Sound Better?

[The Computer Audiophile]

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[The Computer Audiophile]

27 minutes ago, jrobbins50 said:

Chris, great info.  Could you show also in comparison a traditional SACD-based stereo and multichannel track?  JCR 

Here are the numbers for Wish You Were Here, DSD Stereo, DSD 5.1, and 5.1 PCM 24/96.

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, ecwl said:

Great article. Thanks as always. I forwarded the article to my local dealer, Dennis Penner at American Hi-Fi in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and he provided the following feedback as he has been playing around with this quite a bit on his store's Lyngdorf demo system:

 

In the process, they have created a problem.

If you have been listening to Atmos at -18 at a high level, you will be blown out of the room when you switch to non-Atmos tracks - many of which are pushed to 0 and higher and are clipped as seen in the article - very annoying. 

The other problem I have noted - not ALL Atmos labelled tracks are at -18 so they come blasting in as well.

Apple needs to make all tracks be submitted at -18 - with 24 bit submissions there is lots dynamic range available so no reason to push the record level to the very top.

Hi @ecwl thanks for the kind words. 

 

I certainly hear what Dennis is saying. It's the age old issue or many recordings being WAY TOO LOUD :~)

 

I haven't found an Apple Music Atmos track yet that isn't at -18, but I don't doubt some have snuck by the gatekeepers. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

13 minutes ago, botrytis said:

Have you tried any recordings from Dr. Mark Waldrep? He has been doing this for years and believes this is the way music will go.

 

https://www.aixrecords.com/

I haven't heard @Dr. AIX multichannel stuff in quite a while. Time to take another look. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

@ecwl check this out. Lynyrd Skynyrd's album Pronounced ... contains both Atmos and stereo tracks. The Atmos tracks are -18, the stereo tracks are not. Playing this album as a whole, not only switches between Atmos and stereo, but between loud and normal. Come on Apple!

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

16 minutes ago, wisechoice said:

Thanks for this! I have found that well-mixed Atmos releases, when rendered in 5.1*, provide much greater detail and depth than stereo mixes, and aside from the touted "immersion," it's just much easier for my ears to focus clearly on the various elements in the mix. This makes critical listening less fatiguing and more enjoyable.

 

NB - Apple recommends enabling Sound Check to balance the overall loudness between tracks, and they specifically recommend this to deal with the difference in loudness between Atmos and stereo mixes. The only problem with that for some of the readers of this website is that HQPlayer's apodizing filters aren't likely to work properly on tracks that have their volume reduced by Sound Check (e.g., if you're using a digital loopback interface to feed HQPlayer from Apple Music). Not a problem for properly engineered material with the Apple Digital Master stamp of approval, but something to bear in mind.

 

It's also worth noting that Atmos can be rendered to quadrophonic surround on the Mac, which can be a much more space- and cost-effective surround solution, and it still sounds very good. It's easy enough to set up in Audio MIDI Setup (AMS) with sound interfaces that have four outputs, or with an aggregate device that combines two stereo outputs. In my experience, it can be good for small spaces with near field speakers. I use this for a secondary listening setup, in my office.

 

*Because I don't have an actual Atmos decoder, I listen to Atmos mixes in 5.1 either via Apple TV (into a DeckLink Recorder with Media Express -> Rogue Amoeba Loopback -> Digiface USB that feeds 3 stereo DACs), or on the Mac under Big Sur, directly out to the Digiface USB. In theory, I could create an aggregate device with more channels in AMS under Monterey, but last I checked, it wasn't actually rendering out from the built-in apps like TV or Music. I actually filed a bug report with Apple about this, but haven't checked recently to see whether it was fixed or not.

If you create an aggregate device and configure it for 7.1.4, Apple Music will play it perfectly at 7.1.4. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, wisechoice said:

OK, I think I finally cracked the case. Dolby Atmos now has to be set to "automatic" instead of "always on" in Music. Then I'm able to get more than six channels from the Music app to either the Digiface or Blackhole 16ch. Not very logical, and not how it used to behave!

 

As for quadrophonic, it always worked for me with an aggregate device, or equally to a four channel sound interface. And it seems to work with the same aggregate device, now that I've changed the setting to automatic.

Oh yes, I went down that path of Always On and Automatic as well. @El Guapo saved me from pulling my hair out on that one. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

5 minutes ago, bbosler said:

 

sorry, that ship has sailed for both of us

Too funny!

[The Computer Audiophile]

Just now, bbosler said:

what program are you using to get the dynamic ranges? I have some vinyl versions of some of those titles..  curious how they compare

I used a few different ones, but settled on JRiver Media Center. Vinyl can throw off the dynamic range reading. Be careful. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, Archimago said:

 

True, the noise floor is high but some of the best LP cartridges can still achieve 60-70dB dynamic range. Whether the specific LP has low enough noise to be close to that theoretical limit of course will vary. If anything, dynamic range measurements tend to be higher on vinyl rips (some discussions here).

 

@The Computer Audiophile - great work Chris on the exploration of multichannel!

 

Maybe "third time's a charm" when it comes to achieving broad acceptance of multichannel music (no video) in the home and with audiophiles:

 

First try: Quad LPs of the 1970's with SQ, QS, CD-4

Second try: rise of home theaters in the late 1990s culminating into 2000s with MCh SACD and DVD-A

Third try: Today with streaming Atmos, "Spatial Audio" headphone virtualization, and lossless Blu-Ray +/- Atmos

 

Looking forward to your final MCh system Chris!

 

Thanks Arch!

 

I really think Atmos is different. The way it adapts to the playback system, from two channels to 7.1.4 to well beyond, makes it worthwhile for both content producers and consumers. Plus, competition for entertainment dollars is very high. The music business likely believes it has to move the needle with something. If a side benefit is -18 LUFS and more dynamic range, then count me in!

[The Computer Audiophile]

8 hours ago, semente said:

It's sad that record labels are only willing to remaster or remix with audiophile sound quality for a premium, or when pressed by the streaming and audio equipment industries...

 

Atmos, like most good things in life nowadays, is for the few, not the many.

Hi @semente before you get too frustrated, pause for just a second. Atmos is an adaptive format that can have anywhere from 2 channels to 16 channels (realistically for music, but over 100 for a theater). This means that you get the same remixed quality when listening on stereo or multichannel. 

 

I made two channel stereo mixes for a friend (because he doesn't have the Dolby decoder), so he could compare the traditional two channel stereo version and the Atmos stereo version of albums. The stereo versions had the same dynamic range as the multichannel.

 

Everyone benefits from this, not just a few.