Using the LoopBack app on my five-year-old iMac enabled an upgrade to 7.4.1 from 5.1 for streaming Atmos from the Apple Music app.
[For the handful of Atmos blu rays I own, still limited to ear-level listening only.]
The linked article above combined with
@sjcorne 's excellent guide to a budget Atmos system inspired me to configure my system using components from my existing "project studio" and a $100 used AVR.
https://immersiveaudioalbum.com/2022/08/building-a-7-1-4-dolby-atmos-on-a-budget/
The key, as the above articles illustrate, is the ability to configure an "aggregate" sound output combining HDMI to an AVR with analog line outs from a USB audio interface for the height channels.
A few of us now have had success with this method.
I encourage anyone curious to consider if it might work for them.
Thanks to all the folks who've shared info & contributed to these threads as we explore evolving possibilities for exploiting available tech in creative, economical ways.
@humprof @fredblue etc.
For those with space & equipment as well as budget limitations, 5.x.2, 5.x.4, 4.x.4, etc. permutations appear to be possible.
Pairs of line level signals can be connected to amps and speakers from a 2, 4 or 12-channel USB interface.
At the most basic level, existing 5.1 could add two height (or ear-level) channels with a only a stereo USB and amp.
As Jonathan points out, decent used 7.1 and 5.1 AVRs with analog inputs are widely available inexpensively.
I picked up the Yamaha RX-V665 7.2-Channel AVR he suggests for $100 shipped on eBay (minus remote & setup mic).
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I started this thread early in the year when I found the HDMI out from an Apple display port adapter could send 5.1 to my AVR from the Music app as an alternative to the Apple TV box (post #1).
This summer, I upgraded my Mac to the new Monterey macOS & hard drive to SSD.
This allowed me to run the new Atmos 7.1.4 Logic Pro music production app.
Added a Behringer USB 1820 audio interface for playback & recording.
Behringer | Product | UMC1820
Discovered macOS doesn't support 5.1.4, which was my preference, since I had a 5.1 AVR and four powered monitors in my quad project studio.
Atmos options are 5.1.2 or 7.1.4.
This was incentive to progress from five to seven ear-level speakers plus four heights to take full advantage of surround mixing options in Logic.
This is the aggregate device config I use:
(SAMSUNG is the tv on the HDMI video out from my AVR that macOS sees)
View attachment 83939
View attachment 83941
To use the LoopBack app, it would only work with channels 9-12 on the Behringer 1820.
11 & 12 are not analog audio, but rca co-ax digital SPDIF.
View attachment 83943
An unexpected quirk, resolved with a $11 192K DAC from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09TXLDQYJ
View attachment 83942
In parallel, the limitation of the Apple Music app on a Mac to a 5.1 downmix from the Atmos stream.
The LoopBack app configured per the link at the top of this post now has me hearing all of the 7.1.4 channels.
It has a free trial option.
I happily paid the $99 after getting it to work on my system.
Considering an Apple TV box to stream height channels still requires an expensive Atmos AVR.
Its interface is intuitive to me, as an old-school geezer, using virtual patch cords.
Moving, combining, muting, and soloing channels a cinch, once you learn the trick is click to highlight a connection, delete it using the trash can icon at the bottom left, then redraw it to a different output.
Includes level meters & master volume controls:
View attachment 83944