After the first listen of the Blu-Ray, I have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of this Atmos mix. I was afraid to find true the criticisms labeling this mix as simple, disappointing, and poor frontal scene. But, for me, there's none of those negative aspects. It's not a simple stereo expanded with reverberation echo in the back. Instead, it's a much more elaborate mix.
At the end of the post, I've added images of the Atmos decoding to the number of channels I have: 9.1.4. Those images show, more clearly than other article referenced in the other thread, the amount of content in each channel.
The mix does indeed make considerable use of the Wides, as well as the Top Fronts and Side Surrounds. In contrast, the Rear Surrounds and Top Rears are used very little. But it's not just the amount of content in each channel that makes a mix better or worse, but rather it depends on what that content is.
This mix stands out for Mark's main voice as a front image. But that doesn't imply that the mix is "front-centric." On the contrary, the rest of the music is expanded in a "front" bubble or mid-bubble mode, through the correct use of the Top Fronts, Wides, and Sides, leaving minimal echo/reverberation content to the Rears and Top Rears, to complete the sonic coherence of the "bubble."
The mix isn't aggressive, but it's done in a correct and elegant manner. There are discrete components both in vocals and in sounds that float "around" in the room's sound bubble and move slightly in a very subtle and elegant manner.
In addition to the main front voice, some vocal lines are emphasized from the Side Surrounds. In "Scavengers Yard," voices are heard from behind and above, and in "Janine," additional voices are added in the bubble, choir-like, in some verses.
"Sweeter Than The Rain" starts with the main vocals image centered, but when the music starts, it expands throughout the room, enveloping the voice as if from a much larger room. A realism and spatial grandeur effect, similar to what Auro-3D try to achieve in its recordings and realistic mixes.
In an interview with a renowned mixing engineer, he said that "any sound coming from behind the listener triggers a primal instinct of fear, adrenaline, and self-preservation. So, when they hear a voice or percussion from behind them, it can actually be quite an uncomfortable sensation. This may partly explain why some people only like stereo."
This applies to this mix. It's not intended for discrete sounds to come from behind, hence the minimal echo/reverb content of the Rears and Top Rears. Instead, the discrete part is very subtle and elegant, and a sound bubble with discrete sonic elements is achieved which, being so subtle, should please those who dislike unrealistic ping-pong effects on stage.
In "Watch Me Gone," the choruses coming from the Sides and Top Fronts aren't "aggressive" because they don't come from the Rears, but they add an elegance that many other mixes don't achieve.
I've tried the stereo track, with upmixers, and although it may sound more "grandiose" or aggressive, it's not as subtle and elegant as Atmos.
On a first listen, the Bonus tracks in Atmos are, even, a little more discrete than the main album.
In summary, it's a much better mix than, for example, the poor front mix in Atmos from Riverside-ID.Entity.
I look forward to many more listens where I believe I'll discover many more great details of this enough good Atmos mix. I will wait to more likstening before I decide my Vote.
The following three pictures show the decoding to 9.1.4 channels.
The first picture shows the subtle Sides Surround content
The second picture shows the minimal Rear content but great Wides and Top Fronts content
The third picture shows that Top Rears are lower than Top Fronts, but still greater than Rear Surrounds. This to provide sufficient coherence of the sound bubble.
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