[Hatmann]

I noticed that Windows software has a "spatial sound" option for choosing Dolby Atmos.

What effect, if any, would this have on streamed music from Tidal or other sources?

Does choosing "Dolby Atmos" on your computer software accomplish anything without the requisite gear for Dolby Atmos?

 

[dunring]

I've tried it a few times and even in games that support it like overwatch, it sounded tinny and processed. For music it was a disaster on a PC stack with headphones. Maybe for a movie there could be a benefit if it's encoded and you have a speaker setup. I'll never try it again though, sticking with FLAC for music.

 

[gregorio]

Does choosing "Dolby Atmos" on your computer software accomplish anything without the requisite gear for Dolby Atmos?

Yes, although of course you actually have to feed it a Dolby Atmos file (ADM). What it does depends on what replay equipment you’re using, say a stereo, 5.1, 7.1 or Atmos speaker system. In the case of headphones, assuming you have the requisite Dolby renderer software and it’s enabled, you’ll get a binaural headphone mix rendered from the surround audio channels/objects contained in the ADM file.

G

 

[Hatmann]

Thanks, dunring.

So is what you tried just choosing the Dolby Atmos option in Win software? Or something more, involving both additional software and gear?

Thanks for responding, gregorio.

Mine is strictly a headphone setup -- currently Thinkpad laptop, Schiit Jot 2 and Bifrost 2 and mostly a Senn HD 800S.

I notice a modest spatial difference but nothing else.

 

[gregorio]

I notice a modest spatial difference but nothing else.

It will depend on what you feed into it (the software), what it’s specifically programmed to do and of course how well your personal hearing matches or can accommodate to the HRTF (Head Related Transfer Function) the software is using to “binauralise” the output. For example, the software might take a stereo input and try to upmix it to a surround format and then “binauralise” it. The end result could be a relatively modest and not necessarily very convincing spatial difference compared to inputting an actual ADM file and even then, it will of course depend on the actual Atmos mix by the engineers. A subtle effect maybe what they were trying to create.

G

 

[Hatmann]

Thanks, G.

I'm still confused -- does the music need to be "Dolby-Atmosized"?

If so, will I find that on Tidal or other streaming services, if you know?

Or do I listen to standard streaming and the software does the rest?

 

[gregorio]

I'm still confused -- does the music need to be "Dolby-Atmosized"?

It doesn’t have to specifically be a Dolby Atmos mix, it is possible to “binauralise” a 5.1, 7.1 or even an upmixed stereo mix. However, an Atmos mix is most likely to give the best results. Again though, it’s also going to largely depend on the individual mix by the engineers of the track and also on your particular HRTF.

If so, will I find that on Tidal or other streaming services, if you know?

Quite a few broadcasters, streaming services (Netflix, Amazon and Apple TV) and BluRays have Dolby Atmos mixes for the sound. Music only Dolby Atmos mixes are rarer but rapidly becoming more common, Apple Music certainly has Atmos music titles, I believe Spotify and Amazon music do too, not sure about the other main streaming services though.

G

 

[Hatmann]

Thank you, G.
Do the streaming music services identify music when it is Dolby Atmos?
Is there a way to locate it?

 

[gregorio]

Do the streaming music services identify music when it is Dolby Atmos?

In the “now playing” window of Apple Music it will show a Dolby Atmos badge, I don’t know about the other services.

G

 

[Hatmann]

In the “now playing” window of Apple Music it will show a Dolby Atmos badge, I don’t know about the other services.

G

Thanks, G.

 

[MakeshiftApe]

Thanks, dunring.

So is what you tried just choosing the Dolby Atmos option in Win software? Or something more, involving both additional software and gear?

Thanks for responding, gregorio.

Mine is strictly a headphone setup -- currently Thinkpad laptop, Schiit Jot 2 and Bifrost 2 and mostly a Senn HD 800S.

I notice a modest spatial difference but nothing else.

I don't know if your HD800S are similar, but I presume they might be given their reputation for large soundstage, but with my K702, using surround emulations and crossfeed simulations doesn't really expand the soundstage/spaciousness much like it does on other headphones I've tried. Tends to just make it sound "different" but similarly wide/spacious, and some crossfeed simulations even lessen the soundstage. That could just be my ears, but when I've tried with my CAL! or HD25 I actually like how crossfeed sounds, with my K702 not so much.

 

[gregorio]

Tends to just make it sound "different" but similarly wide/spacious, and some crossfeed simulations even lessen the soundstage.

I’m not sure your post is particularly relevant, Dolby Atmos (and the binaural headphone output) is not crossfeed or a “crossfeed simulation”. It’s very considerably more complex and sophisticated than crossfeed and, the content itself and it’s creation process is entirely different.

That could just be my ears …

It’s a combination of factors: Your ears, your skull size and shape, the freq response of your HPs and the music you’re playing, your personal perception and other factors.

G

 

[Voidrunner]

Dolby Atmos won't do anything with music that isn't encoded with Dolby Atmos. It just gets passed through as stereo. It works pretty alright for headphones with Atmos-encoded movies and games (depends on the game and its implementation too), but it's never going to be as good as a full on Atmos surround sound setup with speakers.

 

[gregorio]

It works pretty alright for headphones with Atmos-encoded movies and games (depends on the game and its implementation too), but it's never going to be as good as a full on Atmos surround sound setup with speakers.

We can’t really say that, it might be true in some cases but not in others. Compared to previous formats, Dolby Atmos is very sophisticated, it allows a range of options not only for the engineers when mixing but also for the distributors and for the individual playback device. This is why it was invented and the philosophy behind it’s design. For example, the Atmos file (ADM) and the encoding “Renderer” has options specifically for HP binaural playback. The BRM (binaural rendering modes) and the IMS (immersive stereo) options. The BRM modes allow the engineers to apply certain settings independently to each channel and audio object, which will be applied when the decoding Renderer (in your playback device) is set to a stereo binaural output.

In other words, the Atmos output to HPs could, compared to a full Atmos speaker setup, sound worse, just as good or potentially even better, although there probably aren’t many examples of the latter currently but it will depend on a number of factors; did the engineers actually monitor/mix in binaural using the BRM, is it a “good” mix, are the distributors streaming that additional binaural data to the consumers (using the AC-4 codec), how is the Renderer in your playback device (phone, computer, AVR, etc.) rendering that data and how does your personal perception relate to the HRTF Dolby is using.

G