Article: Do Immersive Audio Mixes Sound Better?

[wisechoice]

Lol. Yes, well I suppose those settings weren't top of mind since you were chasing that TrueHD sauce.

 

Now I just need to figure out how to mount these speakers without causing undue domestic strife.

[wisechoice]

5 hours ago, El Guapo said:

@wisechoiceHere's what I found: if you want to use Quadraphonic, CoreAudio default is ch1, 2, 5 and 6. You can't change this in AMS (AMS is just an organizer). If you connect 2 DACs and want to set as Quadraphonic, you'll prob never hear sound comes out from the DAC which designated to ch3 and 4.

In this case, I'd suggest using Loopback to route the channel to the correct output.

OK, yes, this is the case with Blackhole. But if you have a device with only four channels, aggregate or otherwise, it doesn't behave this way, but maps them sequentially. My guess it that CoreAudio is assuming a device with 6 or more channels is using 3 & 4 as centre and subwoofer.

[bbosler]

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

[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. 

[bbosler]

2 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Vinyl can throw off the dynamic range reading.

 

right, the noise floor is so high I'm not sure you can get  meaningful results, but I'll give it a shot one of these days

[Archimago]

On 4/15/2022 at 2:11 PM, bbosler said:

right, the noise floor is so high I'm not sure you can get  meaningful results, but I'll give it a shot one of these days

 

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!

 

[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!

[jrobbins50]

Personally, while I am enjoying the Apple Spacial mixes, I really don’t like the lossy files. I listened last night to the new Swedish House Mafia mix in Atmos lossy and compared to the 16/44.1 version from Tidal. Way more dynamic range and really low bass on the CD mix, but more fun with the Atmos mix. I wonder how long it will take to get to lossless TrueHD music streaming….JCR 

[semente]

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.

[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.