I’m gonna ramble like Grampa Simpson with an onion on his belt. Forgive me.
I’m personally glad for the flurry of ATMOS activity for the simple reason that in our increasingly lossy streamed music-scape, anything that helps drive a niche like this one we’re passionate about is a good thing. If it weren’t backwards compatible then I’d likely be more lukewarm but thankfully they developed this object-oriented around existing gear and specs so ATMOS releases can work on our 5/6//7/9.x systems. No, some of these ATMOS mixes may not translate as well as we’d like when downmixed, but the discs we already have still work and at a time when SACD gets little love from the major labels it seems enough to spur them release some music on Blu-ray even as the market for music on that format is also sputtered (Pure Audio, anyone?). So I see little downside for now. Maybe we can eke out a few more years.
Of course, I’m leaving out all the asterisks and caveats — many of which have been discussed on this fine board. I’d never be accused of being a pollyanna about... anything.
So, what’s my experience with ATMOS? Very uneven in practice. Most has been my local Dolby ATMOS theater. Thanks to an AMC subscription plan I have gone to see many movies in the last year that normally endure just to focus on the audio. Trust me when I say that were it not for my audio curiosity I would not have seen... I’d rather not remember just to name them. In any case, it’s been interesting. Interesating enough to buy speakers and wire my ceiling? No.
Truth about my setup is that it is in a room that would drive hardcore audiophiles to their grave. No treatments, a fair bit of glass, speakers at uneven distances that without room correction (in my case Pioneer’s MCAAC Pro) would (and do!) sound awful. But once the algorithms work their magic it all comes together well enough and I’ve been enjoying 5.1 and then 7.1 for many years.
Today, I dusted off two tiny rears from my first setup: a ten year old HTIB Klipsch set. It’s ugly. I’ve got them placed high enough and at a decent enough angle that I can finally test whether or not I want to invest in upfiring speakers to go with my matched PSB setup. I’d share images but it’d make those audiophiles rise from their graves and no one wants that.
I have plenty of ATMOS movies but it’s music that has my curiosity piqued and it’s music that would get me to throw down the music. That limits my test to the two ATMOS music releases I own. INXS’s KICK and R.E.M.’s Automatic for the People. The latter is easily one of my top ten albums and could probably win an arm wrestling contest to be my favorite most days. (Pro-Tip: If you’re bored of Everybody Hurts, substitute their cover of Robyn Hitchcock’s Arms of Love from one of AftP’s singles. Sick of skipping Ignoreland? Their cover of Leonard Cohen’s First We Take Manhattan (from another AftP single). Tangent? Maybe. Consider it evidence of how well I know this album and surrounding releases. That’s also why it’s the perfect candidate for me to see about this ATMOS music thing.
Like quite a few here, I bought the SDE when it came out. I liked the 5.1 fine and it seemed like a fresh alternative to my beloved Sheiner DVD-Audio (original release, not the 2-disc set). This album is my older brother; it’s my bartender; it was my guide to and within my middle age. So, to avoid just lulling myself into passive listening I first poppped it in today and focused on Drive (because I remember talk about the strings), Star Me Kitten (because it’s atmospheric) and Man on the Moon (because it’s a cliche). They sounded good but the truth is my room is simply too chaotic to have been able to tell much difference. I goosed the height channels some and saved an alternate preset. Yeah, sounded okay. Not memorable.
So I went into my Pioneer 701 AVR remote app and one-by-one shut off the three mains, hit play and listened end-to-end. Did that change things? Oh, hells yeah. Does what follows make for a good mix? Not necessarily. Does it make for a fascinating personal understanding? Undoubtedly and enough to have me throwing pennies into my swear jar every time a certain leader of Igoreland tweets just to save up for upfiring modules. In fact, it may just encourage me to swear more.
[This is where I initially wrote about Automatic in painstaking and pretentious detail but I’m going to post it in the thread dedicated to that album. I removed that segment before posting and
that wordy and pretentious list of impressions can be found here.]
Does this make it an amazing game changing listen? I don’t know and I don’t speak for others. Does it make it an astonishing forensic listen for me? Yes. My ear needs more training, my room needs better height speakers, I need more ATMOS music releases and my wallet needs more money. Let the swearing begin.
P.S. Just for comparion’s sake I tossed in The White Album to see what an “up mix” sounds like with just the heights. Well, all I can say is that it reveals exactly why upmixes can’t live up to an actual mix. It sounds like the lads are drowning up there in the USSR. In Prudence, Lennon sounds like he’s next door, singing into a tin can strung into my house. I am more excited about Abbey Road ATMOS now than ever.
. Of course, it would sound great.
Look. I’m happy for you kids. I don’t have a room big enough to enjoy adding 70 more speakers and -even if I did- I wouldn’t.
