Article: Scalable Dolby Atmos Music System

[bobfa]

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[bobfa]

Chris,

 

Thanks for kicking off this whole set of projects.  I have learned so much in the last six months.  I have a lot more to share:  so "Hang Loose."

 

A.M.A.  I will try to help.

 

[bobfa]

Kal

 

Great catch!

 

I use the internal volume control in JRiver and Apple Music.  So the remote apps work great from a mobile device.

 

I am still configuring Audirvana and their internal works well also.

 

 

[bobfa]

7 hours ago, bbosler said:

Can you select consumer audio output levels instead of pro audio levels to tame the output? Most offer that option. 

Mine does not. In the future, it may be less of a problem.

 

We looked hard at powered speakers; in the end, the EMIT speakers made more sense with the Emotiva Amp. Also, as you will see, speaker matching is more critical in these systems. I would not mix and match.

 

I have some experience with cables, and like I said in the article, that discussion is for another time.  

[bobfa]

9 hours ago, DuckToller said:

but you'll be finished

I was supposed to finish the bathroom remodel by Halloween.  I did not finish until the first week of December.

[bobfa]

9 hours ago, phoenixdogfan said:

which would be my prime desired use case.

Your use case is very different from mine.  I have no need for video in my system.   From my listening and measurements one of the keys of these systems is keeping the speaker characteristics aligned, thus my use of all EMIT line speakers in the mains and surrounds.   

 

As far as DIRAC is concerned I have not used it outside something like an ARCAM processor so I cannot comment on it.  I am working with @mitchco using Audiolense XO .  I will be talking about that process and experience soon.

 

You are correct about selection of amps and speakers, the world is pretty open.  I am very excited about multi-channel amplifiers like the Emotiva XPA-11 I am using.  There are others out there.

 

I have not experimented with 5.x audio systems.  I have played with 5.1 video systems, but my TV system will be SONOS with the ARC soundbar. That is a discussion for another time.

[bobfa]

7 hours ago, El Guapo said:

Suggest to own a measurement mic like Earthworks M23, M30 or M50 first and use it for frequency sweep. 😉

I have been using the UMIK-1. 

[bobfa]

Thank you for the comment.  I think it is very important to be realistic.  As I go forward with the project I will continue to document that part of the project .

 

 

[bobfa]

I thought long and hard about starting this project from scratch.  I still to this day feel it was the exact right thing for me to do.  Yet, I would not expect many people to go that route. I changed rooms re-arranged the space and more.

 

Scaling a 2-channel to ATMOS should be a very common path.    I do not feel that comparing $$ to $$ helps the conversation. What I know today is that the experience with well mastered ATMOS music is now an integral part of my listening.  

 

 We have proven that we can scale Immersive Audio systems.  Using the tools in macOS  we can put multiple DACs together to add channels as needed.  With DSP we can correct much of what playback systems introduce that damage the sound.  I know that we can the cost down further.

 

I leveraged the knowledge that @The Computer Audiophile has shared, my own research, network of professionals and  personal experience along with three things:

 

1. Apple Music Spacial Audio with Dolby ATMOS

2. The ability of macOS to natively decode the music  and play it back.

3. The availability of multi-channel interfaces used in the pro audio.

 

 

This may be the most exciting thing I have seen in decades of listening to music.  

 

Well maybe it was hearing "The Lark Ascending" played on a  Stradivarius!

 

RJF

[bobfa]

@grinner Thanks for the note.  One of the issues is that 8 channels is not enough. I need 12.  So I will need to create an aggregate device out of two of them.  IT sounds like Channel ID will be a bit funky.    We will see where things go.

 

 

 

[bobfa]

@192kbps  Welcome to Audiophile Style!

 

Working with AudioQuest products who is helping with my project we selected from the cable they supply.  Along with electrical considerations such as current handling and resistance the mechanical considerations of wiring in the walls and ceiling are important.  There are specific requirements for in-wall cabling construction for fire codes, and electrical codes.

 

So we are not “testing” per-say we selected a product that is designed to work in the environment and with the longer cable lengths that happen.

[bobfa]

We finished the video of my Main ATMOS system.

 

What can you do with an M1 Mac mini, a MOTU 24Ao pro-audio DAC, an Emotiva XPA-11 Gen 3 amp, eleven Dynaudio speakers, one subwoofer, and two reels of Audioquest cable?

 

Build an audio-only Dolby ATMOS system that delivers immersive, three-dimensional sound—creating a realistic audio experience by adding height and depth to traditional audio systems.

 

Stream Dolby ATMOS music to a 7.1.4 surround speaker system from Apple Music using a Mac mini and configure Audio MIDI Setup for your speaker configuration.

 

Use JRiver Media Center to play lossless Dolby True HD music albums and Dolby Reference Player to decode lossless Dolby True HD audio from Blu-ray Discs MKV object-based audio files. Dolby ATMOS files also come as ADM files.

 

Use the Hang Loose Convolver app with the VST3 plugin to make frequency and time-based room corrections from sine sweep measurement and analysis to calibrate the system to enhance the playback sound quality.

 

 

 

 

[bobfa]

7 hours ago, maxijazz said:

@bobfa

What Blue-Ray drive do you recommend for ripping BR discs?

The same as @The Computer Audiophile: Archgon ?

Yes. Works well.