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Dolby Atmos Music: An Introduction Ever since the 1970s, record labels have been trying to make surround sound music a thing, and recently, streaming platforms have been pushing for Dolby Atmos to be the new hotness. What is Dolby Atmos, you ask? Pretty much, it's surround sound on stereo. Not only do you have multiple speakers surrounding you, you also have multiple subwoofers, and even a height component. And it's the main way of encoding surround sound for music on most streaming platforms. From a mixing perspective, Dolby Atmos is object oriented - so you move objects around in a space. When it's done well, Atmos mixes can be really cool and a unique listening experience. When it's done poorly, Atmos can be an abomination that can only be produced by someone who never heard music before. What do I need? That depends on your streaming platform. For best results, you'll need to have at the very least a surround sound system. But if you're using headphones, you may need to use wired headphones. For Apple Music, you can use wired or the Apple ear pods. Yes, you can use headphones. The result is going to be a little muted, since it's only two speakers, but there's some clever trickery you can use to create the illusion of space, and it's definitely there. For example, I compared Riders on the Storm by the Doors, and with a full Atmos mix, the rain is clearly behind you. On headphones, it's a little behind you. I'm only interested in hearing bad mixes Good for you! There's plenty of terrible mixes that are worth making fun of. Here are some ones I came across, and a brief explanation of why they're terrible. Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over This is by far the worst Atmos mix I've heard. Everything you can get wrong, they get wrong, and then they do it worse than everyone else. It's worse when the pure stereo version sounds fuller and has a better soundstage than your "surround mix." Listen to when the drums come in at the end of the stereo mix - they're this big, full, bombastic thing. It has punch, it pushes the song forward. It's warm. Then listen to this, and it sounds like the drummer dropping his sticks onto the drums. The drums throughout have a really flat sound, which is a disappointment given that the stereo has a really lovely full sounding drums. The bass guitar occupies way too narrow a space in the mix, and doesn't really fill the low-end like it does in stereo. The guitars are way too quiet, and the vocals are way too loud. There's a few big gently caress-ups too with editing. A great example is during the guitar solo at around 2:15 - there's a missing kick drum hit at the beginning of the measure. So the whole thing feels REALLY awkward and wrong. Did they use an alternate track? Did they fix it in stereo, and forget to redo that edit for the surround sound mix? I don't know. The whole thing ends up sounding like 5 different bands playing the same song at the same tempo, but not in the same room. It's an empty, thin mix and I hate it. So if you want to hear how bad an Atmos mix can be, I think you'll have to work hard to find one that is worse than this. The Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick They do some weird processing on the instrumental track that makes it sound like a bad duophonic record from the 1960s, and so it just feels really weird. The vocals are kind of cool, but the phasey music with some really bad reverb on it just makes it sound unpleasant and I can't put up with it for very long. Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong - Ella and Louis (LP) Uh... this album was only ever issued in mono as far as I can tell and there's no stereo version available. So you get a mono mix... except it sounds like it's playing in a room somewhere? It doesn't sound terrible, but why do this in Atmos? On the plus side, you get to hear a lot more tape hiss. You know, I always thought the thing missing from this LP was tape hiss. The Temptations - Get Ready The problems with doing atmos mixes of music from the 1960s is that they were recording with mono in mind, so you don't have a lot of tracks to work with. So, you have these really weak drums (it's Motown - your drums should be loud and distorted!), and the music not really having a clear place to be. I think if they had doubled the rhythm tracks in both the right and left side, it would be better. The chorus comes pretty close to sounding good, but stick to Motown in mono. Weezer - Buddy Holly This is a common problem - you take a song where there's not too much going on, and you create this extra sense of space, and now the thing sounds empty. The distorted guitar is pushed further to the side, and it feels flat and empty. The drums are too flat and far away and don't drive things. It's a similar effect to "Don't Dream It's Over." It's a few people playing along to the same song. Also, at least on apple music, there's a weird glitch in the first chorus - "Just like Buddy Holly" gets garbled at the beginning. Please stop! Surely, there must be some good Atmos mixes? Good for you, there are! Steve Winwood - Higher Love One of my favorite things about this mix comes at the end during the fade out. So, they don't just fade the song out in terms of volume, but also in terms of position. The surround elements move closer to the center, and by the end, it's basically mono right before the volume dies out. That's a really cool thing that could be done, and it gives it a really cool effect, like the song is going on, it's just leaving you. The rest of the mix is pretty cool. The opening is really cool - as the different drum tracks come in, they take up a different placement, giving you a more complete and interesting picture. And as the song is going, there's enough to give it a really full and lively image - the bass tracks are separated out, the vocals have their own place, it's a party for your ears. Chumbawumba - Tubthumping Finally, the left-wing anarchist collective gets to be heard as God intended - in Atmos. So admittedly, my friends and I checked this on their Atmos setup as a joke, but we were seriously impressed by the song. So, there's really 3 parts to this song - there's the intro, the main song, and the outro. The intro and the outro aren't going to blow you away, but then the main song starts. First, it starts off sounding really muted and distant, like it's coming through the walls of a bar, and then you open the door, and you're sounded by the vocals and guitars. Then when you get to the "pissing the night away" part, the vocals have a more clearer place, and there's a better sense of dynamics compared to the stereo. It's a real push and pull. In a full atmos setup, the "he drinks a..." part sounds better than on headphones - where it sounds a little too distant. Also, the drums are a little more forward in stereo, and I think that could better in Atmos. But as the song comes to a close, and you have all the vocals and different overlayed places, they each are clear and have a clear place. It's a great feeling, even on headphones. Comparing it with the stereo, you can see the strength of both mixes. The stereo is a bit punchier. But the atmos feels fuller, and it feels like the individual elements aren't fighting for a place. This probably does a better job of capturing the intended point of "Tubthumping" - a simple joyful singalong. If you're looking to see what Atmos can do, this mix really goes above and beyond. The Doors - Riders on the Storm Sometimes, you don't need to go over the top. The main song feels like it's mostly in stereo, but the rain and thunder are pushed to the surrounds. And it's a great effect. This isn't a workout like Tubthumping, but this shows what a good subtle mix can do. Olivia Rodrigo - Good 4 U One of the benefits of more modern music is that they can be mixing from the beginning with Atmos in mind, so you don't get wild shifts from the stereo. The positioning serves the song - so the backing vocals at the beginning of the song come from behind you. The song is punchy and has a good full rock sound. Wet Leg - Chaise Longue Similar to above - the atmos mix doesn't sound THAT different from the stereo (the "what" vocals come from different locations), but overall, you get a wider image that's still really punchy - but not as wide as "Buddy Holly" so it doesn't feel sparse and empty. Prince - When Doves Cry Aside from the lack of bass action in the subwoofer (someone not getting the joke will reply in 3, 2, 1...) this mix is really good. They move vocals around, they do a great job of creating a sense of space. Especially with the multitracking going on, they move things around without it coming across as gimmicky. New music is always being made available, and I'm curious to hear what mixes are good, and what mixes are bad. In my opinion, Atmos is fun, but I'm not sure it's much better than stereo. A lot of songs just aren't being mixed well for it - but when a good mix comes along, it can really sell the format.
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Dec 25, 2021 20:31
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 11:00 |
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I appreciate this thread a lot, as someone who just got a pair of the latest AirPods for Christmas and has spent some time listening to some songs in Atmos. good 4 u was definitely the one where I heard the most difference - it almost felt like I was right next to the guitar in the chorus as it was being recorded - but others just sounded sort of quieter and further away. I’m definitely gonna try Riders of the Storm later.
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Dec 25, 2021 22:08
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I've been wanting to check out REM's Automatic For the People in Atmos for a while. It's on a Blu Ray with the 25th anniversary reissue of the record.
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Dec 26, 2021 03:13
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Happy Hippo posted:I've been wanting to check out REM's Automatic For the People in Atmos for a while. It's on a Blu Ray with the 25th anniversary reissue of the record. I'm listening to that right now, and it's a completely different mix. Most mixes are basically trying to emulate the stereo mix, but just placing things in surround. Automatic on the other hand is basically something else. For example, on Man on the Moon, there's a guitar part that's muted in stereo that's present in Atmos. Overall, the record sounds more skeletal and less produced. But it's not like the worst mixes - it doesn't sound empty. It's most apparent in the drums and vocals. On Everybody Hurts, there's a lot less reverb on the lead vocals, and it gives the places where there are two vocals a different feel. And in the bridge, it really feels like a live in studio take. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite feels more like a rough take. It's an interesting alternative picture. It doesn't replace the original stereo to me, but it's a different experience. The stereo is an album that is fully formed, the Atmos is a less polished and rougher experience. Both are intimate in their ways. The stereo is intimate because it's a full artistic vision. The Atmos is intimate because there's it's a more naked sound. In a way, I prefer that approach. There's already the stereo that's perfect. Why not create a fundamentally different experience. This is what scares me about Dolby Atmos though - these alternate mixes become what is readily available. And so when people listen to Automatic, they only hear the Atmos version. I'm happy to have the Atmos version, but I would want to default to the stereo. I hope care is taken in the future, otherwise, we might see what happened to the mono mixes of the 60s happen to the music of the 70s through today.
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Dec 26, 2021 04:13
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Yeah, there’s too many bad Atmos mixes out there for me to want to keep them on by default. Also, this may have just been my AirPods or a bug but certain songs on Apple Music (BOB by Outkast and Summer of 69, to name two) would have these weird and sudden jumps in volume. I feel like a lot of these mixes were done using AI or something and it’s really really awkward. Hanging on the Telephone has a really odd one where the backing vocals suddenly come in real loud in the chorus. The Abbey Road mix is fantastic. Also (lol) the Hybrid Theory mix, especially Crawling. The best song I’ve found to show it off so far is actually a loving Tiesto song. I think it was called BOOM.
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Dec 26, 2021 09:25
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 11:00 |
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This bee gee - you should be dancing is probably the best non-rockband rip mix you could possibly get. I notice slight ear fatigue doing A\B on youtube music rip vs the atmos mix at the same volume. Percussions come in really crisp.
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Dec 27, 2021 09:32
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