Listening to in Dolby Atmos Streaming, via Tidal/Apple/Amazon

[beerking]

From a Rock to a Hard Place...

Very good 5.1 mix, Atmos not so.

 

[woody]

For a live recording it is a pleasantly satisfying surround experience with backing vocals in the rears and on occasion instruments.

Another winner for good ol’ Luther.

 

[woody]

I should probably add that both titles are available Aš standalone BD-As with Atmos and Auro-3D mixes.
Oh and here's another release from the same label:

As is the case with me recently (4th occasion), both titles out of stock.

 

[heavensolid98]

Seems to go to 9.1.6 now. Tricky is of course in the eye of the beholder
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/threads/dolby-atmos-on-macos.31880/post-673860

had a deep test - stream does not provide more than 7.1.4. perhaps in the future since Apple hinted the option to do so.

 

[ted_b]

I thought they were noticeably high in the mix, but I suppose it's a matter of preference.

Yeah, I guess, especially in the atmos mix, as its easy to isolate voices/instruments. I probably wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't commented on it.

 

[dabl]

This is no upmix, it's a really fun listen with full use of all channels.

Re: the Raw Power atmos mix, makes sense now and sounds like the 'Bowie' and 'Iggy' Mix labels were misapplied.

 

[beerking]

Just stumbled across the artist Moodymann

Er.... Atmos playing the same from every available speaker....

But I like what I hear, so much so, that I've expored his music via Apple

He really produces cool music

One example (Stereo)

 

[perzon57]

Musically....very good....imo
Mix ...average but not awful.

Not heard them before but will keep an eye (and ear ) out for future releases.

Listened to this, I like the music and the mix is good enough to enjoy. Maybe a little rear heavy mainly because of strong output in the surround backs.

 

[RustyStatic]

Ow wow, I think the Satriani sounds fantastic.

 

[kap'n krunch]

From a Rock to a Hard Place...

Very good 5.1 mix, Atmos not so.

I thought you meant "Rock in a HARD PLACE"

 

[J. PUPSTER]

This is interesting (for a particular reason); how's the mix on this one?
edit, OK just saw woody's remarks, anyone else?

 

[beerking]

From Rock to Pop, there are no boundaries here in the world of Atmos.

This one is growing on me, very good mix.

 

[beerking]

This is interesting (for a particular reason); how's the mix on this one?
edit, OK just saw woody's remarks, anyone else?

It's better than your average live show mix, Pups but nothing outstanding ...imo

 

[LB-V]

And remember that Atmos mixes are usually very low volume and you'll have to crank up your system. Just watch out for autoplay to play something non-Atmos because you'll wake up the neighborhood.

Why is this? But no matter, is there nothing we can do? I just spent 30 minutes trying to find a setting buried in the AppleTV menu to prevent this....then I gave up and thought I'd browse this thread...and I stumbled onto your note. We just have to live with this issue?

 

[perzon57]

Why is this? But no matter, is there nothing we can do? I just spent 30 minutes trying to find a setting buried in the AppleTV menu to prevent this....then I gave up and thought I'd browse this thread...and I stumbled onto your note. We just have to live with this issue?

To me this not a big problem on Apple Music, but it is on Tidal. When I had Tidal I had to turn the Atmos mixes up 10-15 db, on Apple Music I have the volume about the same as with disc playback, -30 to -25 on the AVC.

 

[Sashaaa]

Why is this? But no matter, is there nothing we can do? I just spent 30 minutes trying to find a setting buried in the AppleTV menu to prevent this....then I gave up and thought I'd browse this thread...and I stumbled onto your note. We just have to live with this issue?

It makes a lot of sense to me why they are much lower volume honestly (from my perspective as a mastering engineer), but I can see why for some it wouldn't make much sense. First, some context.

There are standards set into place for Atmos content loudness on apple music (and on blu rays, in theaters etc.) and from what I can tell most (if not all) Atmos mixes follow them. This loudness standard allows for a very high dynamic range which is rare in most modern content. In the stereo world, the current standard (generally) in the industry for loudness is -9 LUFS (LUFS is a percieved loudness unit, and yes I know some audio engineers on this forum probably don't like this but it is the standard generally used). -9 LUFS is pretty loud and can only really be achieved with compression and limiting plugins/hardware.

In the 5.1 surround world, there are already relatively few compression/limiting plugins (and even fewer hardware units) that support 5.1. When you completely remove channels all together in object based formats such as Dolby Atmos, there is effectively no plugins that can do this. Recently fab filter has updated their excellent compression/limiting plugins to work on a 7.1.2 bed. However though, this would make you completely exclude using objects in your Atmos mixes. Recently, dolby has released the "Dolby Atmos Album Assmbler" which seems to be able to apply compression/limiting and allow Dolby Atmos mixes to be mastered. However the format still really just isn't meant to be treated the same way that other channel based formats are, and wasn't built to be treated that way.

Because of all of this, the (if I recall correctly, mandatory) loudness standard for Atmos content delivered on apple music is ~18 LUFS, which is very quiet and allows for a very high dynamic range in Atmos content. I personally think it's nice because it eliminates the loudness wars effectively for Atmos content. Loudness normalization should be turned on anyways (in my opinion) for stereo content to prevent certain albums being louder than others. With loudness normalization (apple's sound check) this is a non-issue but I can see it causing confusion for those who don't have it on for whatever reason.

Hope this answer made sense!

 

[LB-V]

Hope this answer made sense!

Thank you! Appreciate the info and reminder about Sound Check.

 

[austinsignal]

A really cool electronic piece, mixed by QQ's own @austinsignal.

Here’s yet another version of Night Swimming from Richard. Truly as far away from an Atmos mix as one could imagine - but every bit as cool. Wind-up 78rpm - Night Swimming

 

[Blackwood]

A bit of bluegrass/Americana this morning. Hadn’t heard of Molly Tuttle before reading about her in a magazine last night.

I don’t think the Atmos mix is anything to write home about. Sounds like the front channels are simply being echoed in the rears and heights. But the music itself is enjoyable.

According to the article, she’s a big Grateful Dead fan and the deluxe edition (available on Apple Music, but not in Atmos) has a cover of Dire Wolf.

 

[humprof]

A bit of bluegrass/Americana this morning. Hadn’t heard of Molly Tuttle before reading about her in a magazine last night.

I don’t think the Atmos mix is anything to write home about. Sounds like the front channels are simply being echoed in the rears and heights. But the music itself is enjoyable.

According to the article, she’s a big Grateful Dead fan and the deluxe edition (available on Apple Music, but not in Atmos) has a cover of Dire Wolf.

Agree with everything you say about the music. As for the mix: I believe that like so many other recent mixes on Nonesuch (a WEA label), it's one of those Spatial Mastering/Alan JS Han specials. . . .