[Paddy]

I have a Samsung note 9 which supports Dolby Atmos, my setup is a Fiio A5 and Hifimam Sundara. I notice a significant difference switching Dolby Atmos on, mainly in increasing volume by bringing forward instruments that usually sound quite distant, it does this while still maintaining that airy feel. I was wondering what are peoples opinions on Dolby Atmos as I feel it significantly impacts the sound signature of a headphone, still not sure if it's for the better or worse as sometimes it can almost get too harsh.

 

[SilverEars]

I'm wondering what's the generalized curve or EQ being applied to transfer to Atmos response for headphone?

 

[3mocrash]

Dolby atoms is amazing, or atleast a step up from previous generations of androids stock audio. It does make a difference. Very nice add by Samsung. I just dont like that if dolby atmos is on it completely nullifies your EQ settings but sometimes makes me feel I can live without it to bw honest.

 

[mindbomb]

I've used dolby atmos for headphones and I think it is one of the most accessible forms of virtual surround sound for people because it doesn't change things too much. It looks like what samsung is doing is combining that with dolby prologic 2 for the phone version.

 

[Paddy]

Do people not find it really brightens up the sound to almost piercing levels?

 

[3mocrash]

Do people not find it really brightens up the sound to almost piercing levels?

I feel that it does sometimes IF I use Movie mode, but while using Music and Voice preset I don't really think so.

 

[Zenvota]

Do people not find it really brightens up the sound to almost piercing levels?

Ive always found this to be the case with hrtf based virtual surround sound / binaural rendering engines / convolution w.e. When using Out of Your Head I eq headphones to a flat uncompensated response. Heres the eq i use for Stax SR207 for normal listening:


And heres the eq for use with OOYH:

 

[Tsukuyomi]

I have a Samsung note 9 phone as well, and have tried the atmos with a variety of headphones that i own or get to use from friends.
I find it really depends on the headphone more. lets face it, its a type of processor that runs on a phone. the headphones you're using in order to really hear any improvement should be designed with efficiency for mobile devices. that being said, when i tried for example my B&O H6 2nd Gen, all i noticed was that it warmed up the sound more by i think bleeding the lows into the mids. which was very unpleasant. the highs for me didnt change a whole bunch. when i tried it with my B&W P7 it almost made no impression. I feel like to my ears the atmos and p7 are almost tuned identically which is very odd. still, perhaps you have your atmos tuned to something different from mine. that being said, since my little test i never have the atmos turned on and i use foobar2000 with the default sound signature of the mobile.

 

[Litlgi74]

I am very surprised that The Dolby Atmos function of Samsung Phones has not gotten more attention here. I love it! I use in conjunction with my Sony WH-1000XM3s.

For what they are... I think Atmos makes the Sonys XM3s, (an average sounding headphone) sound very pleasing. Like others have stated... when Atmos is enabled. It's almost as though a window has been opened to the music... letting in tons of fresh air... Enabling Atmos also gives some tracks a much needed volume boost.

If you have a Samsung S9 or newer... give Dolby Atmos a try... especially if you own the Sony WH-1000XM3s.

 

[Paddy]

I am very surprised that The Dolby Atmos function of Samsung Phones has not gotten more attention here. I love it! I use in conjunction with my Sony WH-1000XM3s.

For what they are... I think Atmos makes the Sonys XM3s, (an average sounding headphone) sound very pleasing. Like others have stated... when Atmos is enabled. It's almost as though a window has been opened to the music... letting in tons of fresh air... Enabling Atmos also gives some tracks a much needed volume boost.

If you have a Samsung S9 or newer... give Dolby Atmos a try... especially if you own the Sony WH-1000XM3s.

I have those headphones though they are now up for Sale and use a Samsung Note 9 with a fiio a5 amp. Dolby Atmos is ok with those headphones but with my HEX v2 it can be too piercing on my ears as Atmos artificially drives the mids and highs too far forward. This also in turn reduces the sense of space as the music is pushed too close to me. I think Dolby Atmos will only sound good with certain headphones

 

[bigshot]

when Atmos is enabled. It's almost as though a window has been opened to the music... letting in tons of fresh air.

Does it smell like a room full of old gym socks when you don't use it?

 

[Litlgi74]

Does it smell like a room full of old gym socks when you don't use it?

Haha

 

[ev13wt]

I like hearing what is on the track. I don't like ANY fancy DSP that I am not in complete control over.
Another example is the hall effects you can setup. WHY??????

So I would never use the Atmos feature. Of course I tried it. Sound like any variant of this "exiter" stuff that pops up every couple of years.

 

[ev13wt]

I am very surprised that The Dolby Atmos function of Samsung Phones has not gotten more attention here. I love it! I use in conjunction with my Sony WH-1000XM3s.

For what they are... I think Atmos makes the Sonys XM3s, (an average sounding headphone) sound very pleasing. Like others have stated... when Atmos is enabled. It's almost as though a window has been opened to the music... letting in tons of fresh air... Enabling Atmos also gives some tracks a much needed volume boost.

If you have a Samsung S9 or newer... give Dolby Atmos a try... especially if you own the Sony WH-1000XM3s.

That looks like it would sound like a$$.
Try moving the entire curve down, so the bass and the treble sits a 0dB.

Cut to make it sound better
Boost to make it sound different.

 

[Litlgi74]

Thanks for the advice... but I whole heartedly disagree.

Especially since you don't know the environment that I am listening in or the role the headphone's ANC has on it's sound quality. I use these headphones for work, and not for pleasure. Their main function for me is ANC over audio bliss

Do you own Sony WH-1000XM3s? If you do, then you know that they are an average sounding headphone that is very base heavy. Adding that to the very low frequency, droning sounds of my work environment makes for a very poor and muddy sounding headphone with no life in the upper frequency range whatsoever. That is why I have made the adjustments to the midrange and treble of my EQ. But to be honest... the changes made to the EQ have a minimal effect on the sound... Running the EQ in flat "Normal" mode really doesn't sound much different than the adjustments I have posted.

The real "magic" for me comes in when I enable Dolby Atmos. Like I said earlier, there are many tracks that I need to have the volume maxed out in order to achieve a suitable listening level. Atmos, for me at least, gives an added boost to the volume allowing for more headroom of low volume tracks.

You mentioned the "Hall" FX... I know the cheap sounding FX you speak about... I don't think Dolby Atmos sounds like those at all... At least not in the environment where I listen to the Sony WH-1000XM3s. For me, The Atmos setting adds more volume, air, and space to the mix without adding any unnecessary echo or reverb of most other cliche sound FX.

I only use Dolby Atmos when listening at work... and when ANC is necessary. I don't like the sound of Atmos in my car or in my home listening environment. In those situations, I too prefer the sound of a flat EQ output by Roon, my RME ADI 2 DAC, and my various headphones...

But when it comes to ANC... I think the environment determines the sound quality output by the headphones... To think that you have to complete control over or are getting a truly unaltered sound from such devices seems a bit naive.

In my situation... and for the headphones I am using... Dolby Atmos is quite refreshing and a joy to listen to.