(Full disclosure: I worked as a marketing manager at Dolby from 2000 to 2002, but I have no financial interest in the company or regular contact with any of its employees.)Ītmos allows recording engineers to add sonic “objects” to conventional 5.1- or 7.1-channel surround-sound productions (which is why people sometimes call it “object-based audio”). A few technologies, including DTS:X, Auro-3D, and Sony 360 Reality Audio, compete with Atmos, but none is as prevalent as Atmos, especially after Apple’s announcement. Now Dolby is promoting Atmos for music production, whether to create a more realistic concert-hall ambience or to dazzle the listener with sounds flying overhead. Atmos has been used for movies since 2012 and is often available on Blu-ray soundtracks and through many video-streaming platforms. Dolby created Atmos primarily to add sounds coming from speakers in the ceiling, to deliver more convincing simulations of movie sound effects such as rainstorms and airplanes flying overhead. When used effectively, Atmos can make a living room sound like a forest in springtime, a bustling avenue in Manhattan, or seat G108 at Carnegie Hall (PDF). What is Atmos spatial audio?ĭolby Atmos technology can reproduce sound from any and every direction-not only all around the listener but also overhead. Fortunately, a few weeks before the coronavirus pandemic hit, I got an extensive Atmos music demo from Dolby in its state-of-the-art Hollywood theater, so I already understood how the technology worked and how dazzling-and sometimes dull-Atmos music can sound. By creating a sense of sonic immersion, with sound appearing to come from around and above the listener rather than from a pair of speakers or a set of headphones, Atmos music offers the potential for more realistic simulations of live concerts and for creative effects normally reserved for movie soundtracks.Įven though Atmos music has been available on the Amazon Music and Tidal streaming services for a year and a half, it garnered little attention until Apple’s announcement, which left many people wondering what exactly Atmos music is and how they could get it.
Unlike lossless audio, which merely promises improved sound quality, Atmos is touted as a revolution in music recording and reproduction. It’s rare for me to spend most of my day on the phone with other audio writers, discussing the latest news, but that’s what happened on May 17, the day Apple announced it would add lossless audio and Dolby Atmos to the Apple Music streaming service at no extra charge.
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