Audio Engineer Reviews Spatial Audio in Apple Music // Dolby Atmos
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ค. 2024
- I'm an Audio Engineer, and Apple Music finally released Lossless and Spatial audio with Dolby Atmos, so figured it was time to make a review! I'll show you how to turn these features on, and give you my thoughts on if they're worthwhile.
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Lossless vs MP3 test: www.npr.org/sections/therecor...
Apple's Spatial Playlist: / made-for-spatial-audio
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- Timestamps -
00:00 - Introduction
00:23 - How to turn on spatial audio
01:47 - What is spatial audio?
02:47 - My thoughts on spatial audio
07:00 - My conclusion...
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Ok, I wanted to help out with a couple common questions! Firstly Kraftwerk: seems like heaps of people can't access this in Atmos. I'm not sure if this is locked to specific regions or something, this is the track that shows up in Atmos for me (and I've A/B tested it, it's definitely in Atmos): music.apple.com/nz/album/the-man-machine-3-d/1237436695?i=1237439403
If for whatever reason you're one of the people who still thinks I'm lying about this lol you can just Google "Kraftwerk Dolby Atmos" and find articles from around a year ago when they re-released several albums in Atmos
Secondly if you can't access this in settings, it's been a gradual roll out, not everyone got it at once. It seems India in particular has been much slower to receive it. Hopefully everyone has it soon!
Finally, I was a little unclear on the Apple TV thing. It wasn't available for me, also for a bunch of other people I'd heard from. I have it now though, seems like it was just part of the gradual roll out as well!
I can’t find a version of Jupiter with atmos as well, can you share the link for that as well cheers
@@perrin325 sure! It’s part of their “Made for Spatial Audio” playlist, here’s a direct link to the piece: music.apple.com/nz/album/the-planets-op-32-iv-jupiter-the-bringer-of-jollity/1569847170?i=1569847644
It‘s unclear if the Update will come to the Apple TV 4k only - which is my current understanding - or also to the Apple TV HD (or 5th Gen) which would make a lot of sense. I reached out to Apple but no answer so far…
There is a regular and 3d version which is the dolby atmos one. The regular version among others werent on dolby.
Kraftwerks 3D The Catalogue set of live albums are all mixed in Atmos on Apple Music (and on the Blu-Ray set for collectors of physical artifacts) and they all sound incredible!
I think the issue is many songs feel like they have been upscaled to atmos rather than been produced with atmos so they don’t sound correct
That's definitely how it comes across
I agree, upscaled old songs sound sound so different than the original stereo I have been listening to for years, it makes it difficult to listen to for me. It would be interesting to listen to a new song that was mixed with Atmos in mind.
@@RyanGreen the one song that was produced with atmos called mystery lady was awesome
Yess
@@drjosephs347 Early CD's were like this.
Hey. Its not about the technology, rather the mixing engineers not having enough experience in mixing Atmos, as it's a super new and innovative technology.
Kraftwerk got a Grammy for their Catalogue 3D and these dudes who mixed it had been doing it for years.
I'm an Atmos mixing engineer myself and can honestly say that the amount of possibilities is unlimited, however we all need to adapt and look at mixing from the new perspective.
True i’ve heard some horrible songs with dolby
Thanks for putting my thoughts on words.
I listened to some amazing, AMAZING songs with DA. When I heard my favorite pops on Apple Music, like Chromatica, by Lady Gaga, it was terrible. I was really thinking that my ears were dead. But I'm so grateful to hear that it is what i thought: just terrible mixing. I think Apple should have a quality pattern before putting those things on air.
Also: I get so angry with people saying how much they loved and feels in the studio or a show. Definitely, people buy anything they sell them.
Yep definitely. The Kraftwerk stuff is incredible!
I'd be interested to know when you're mixing Atmos, do you listen to how it sounds in headphones anywhere in that process? I wonder if mixing engineers are only listening through their 9.2.4 setups or what have you and the headphone setups are being ignored, which is actually how probably 90% of music is listened to
@@RyanGreen In the studio we have a 7.1.4 setup but when I mix, I always switch between headphones and speakers.
Spatial Audio needs time to really become a market standard quality and normalise. There is no limiting, no compression on the bus/master so we all have to reevaluate our thinking about dynamics.
Yeah dynamics are hugely different!
Good to know you’re checking on headphones. Have you mixed much rock, and if so do you find it translates worse to headphones? I’m trying to work out if those mixes are just bad or simply can’t really translate well to cans
I was starting to think I was the only one to hate it..
So disappointed.. I was waiting this feature so much..
Having the lossless is a good thing tho
Yep. Thankfully it’s just a format, mixes can get better!
Yeah I felt the same way very very underwhelming and disappointed I mean the music they with the Dolby atmos mix was pretty bad is like the volume went down like 50 perfect and in order for me to hear anything if at all different I had to blast the volume to a 100 or close to it 🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻 hopefully they can work on it and get it sounding correct bcausy at this point all the music I listen too doesn't have Dolby atkos or spatial audio which ever one you call it lol
Same here👎👎👎
Taylor Swift's Folklore is incredibly gorgeous on Dolby Atmos. It feels like they got everything right about the mix. There's so many tiny production details that I missed before, and while voices sound just a little off, I think the big leap in the amount of stuff you can hear more than makes up for it. Like the little synth at the start of August is just such an incredible production detail and just feels so cool.
Ah that's cool! I'll check it out
i noticed it, too. my tears ricochet is dope with dolby atmos.
the bridge in "illicit affairs" and "tolerate it" (evermore) are EPIC
And don’t forget “gold rush”. The violins in the background, the “sparkling” sound coming from above (I think they were chimes), you could pick out her background singers. I think they even did some of the “move the instrument around you while it plays” thing
I especially find folklore: the long pond studio sessions amazing. Ryan‘s comment about less instruments,… sounding better in Atmos was an eye-opener.
However when comparing the Apple Music Atmos implementation on AirPods Max to the Disney+ video‘s Atmos audio, to me this really falls short. When comparing Apple Music stereo, Apple Music Dolby Atmos and Disney+ Dolby Atmos on AirPods Max the mix/implementation for video sounds much better to me. And I disagree with Ryan, having position-awareness in the experience to me dramatically increases the immersiveness - my head always moves a little, and having this taken into account for the sound makes it extremely realistic for me. I‘ve primarily listened with headphones since the late 70s and this was the first time, that headphones sounded „real“ to me - I even took them off because I thought some speakers were still on in my room.
Also live Music experiences - e.g. A Star Is Born video’s Atmos music on AirPods Max (not the Apple Music soundtrack) sounds amazingly different/immersive to me.
I think spatial really has the potential to enhance music-listening for me in a dramatic way. Far more than the switch to mere new audio equipment or headphone-models.
In my opinion, the best song I've heard for it so far is BOOM by Tiesto and Sevenn
Same!!
7 rings by Ariana Grande sounds great too, you should check it out.
OMG! This is true!
@@Dragon-vc9gt just checked it out. You’re not wrong. Sounds great!
100%
Listening to pop music in spatial audio is like watching a badly converted 3D film. I think it's because it's trying to "create" space when there shouldn't be. Most pop music today sounds compressed and very direct. Giving it an exaggerated soundstage just makes it feel fake. It also mistakes foreground for background a lot. Listening to Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish on stereo, there's a very nice texture to the bass. Turn on spatial sound however, and Billie's vocals are sort of isolated, while putting some fake distance between the vocals and the bass, which loses all of its texture. This music just wasn't recorded with Dolby Atmos in mind.
On the other hand, jazz records sound really great with this feature, so I'd like to think there's some real potential here and it's not just a gimmick. Just like their ads say, this could become to stereo, what stereo was to mono decades ago.
Yeah we'll just have to see the mixing techniques for pop improve
Exactly what I felt. But The Weeknd’s album (After Hours) is sounding amazing to me…
@@user-mf1mr5tp5o Some tracks in After Hours actually sounded really good to me too, but Blinding Lights is kind of a mess. There are sudden volume spikes and it just feels like it was mixed in a very haphazard way. Still, goes to show that even for pop music it’s not a lost cause.
@@juliogarrido3824 yeah in your eyes, save your tears, blinding lights were kinda underwhelming I agree
That’s actually a really good example I went back and forth between special on and off and the richness in her voice is definitely lacking with spatial audio turned on
This reminds a little bit of the late 80s when CDs became mainstream. There were three types of recordings: AAD, ADD, and DDD, where A meant analog and D meant Digital. All older music fell under the AAD because they were recorded via analog, mixed via analog, and then transferred to digital format. While this music sounded good, it lost a lot of the fullness you could find on the vinyl album. Music that was recorded later using the DDD format (digital recording, digital mixing, digital format) sounded really good because producers took advantage of the new technology from beginning to end. Older songs that were made before or without Dolby Atmos are probably not going to be as good as songs that were recorded using Atmos from the beginning, especially as sound engineers take advantage of the technology.
@Lui Alexandre studio headphones with the right drivers will do fine. I played that MJ black and white and damn near jumped out of my sofa when the father bangs on the floor. I have studio driver headphones it’s not as nice as mine atmos surround sound system, however they sound really good. I just ordered a USB dongle to get 2496 sound quality.
@Lui Alexandre yeah I am definitely wondering if this is going is viable long term or just a fad. I mean it sounds great with studio equipment or just the 9 dollar dongle. But it would be nice for this to play through my speakers in my home at this fidelity. My TV has an Apple Music app and Apple TV on it already. I am not sure why it’s not allowed to play the Apple Music in Dolby when it can play Apple TV in it.
@@Sin71879 it will come. They’re trying to justify people spending 550$ for AirPods Max. They’ll update Appletv with it once there is a larger, more comprehensive collection I suspect.
It’s the same thing that happened with stereo years ago, its a mess because its new, over the time artists and mixers will fix it. Also i think it should be easier to Change spatial audio to stereo in the app itself
Yep agreed!
on ios 15 with airpods pro at least, you are able to switch it between spatial and stereo if you haptic touch on the audio control in the control centre. But Apple music has an awful way of dealing with this as it keeps the same profile as the dolby atmos versions but crushes it into a line whereas spotify stereo moves it together completely. the way i see it theres dolby atmos, stereo, upscaled dolby atmos (from stereo) sounds awful, then downscaled (crushed) from dolby atmos to stereo which sounds absolutely fucking dreadful.
This is spot on. In a few years it will become the standard, but in the meantime we’re in the Dolby Atmos infancy.
Blinding lights was pretty good. The background vocals come in and you hear more than what you can hear normally
Glad to hear a different take!
Did you feel like it was missing punch?
@@RyanGreen almost all the Dolby Atmos songs I’ve heard so far are missing punch. Glad to finally have lossless music though!
@@RyanGreen agreed it is wider but a lot of pop tracks lose bass or punch.
@@Endemoniada I do agree with you about jazz music sounding awesome with Dolby Atmos. I listened to the Dolby Atmos mix of Moanin by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers and really enjoyed it.
For me, the harmonies and backing vocals came through so much clearer! Loved it for this song.
I imagine the "spatial" experience will get better with time. Just like Siri and other Apple technologies.
Hopefully, but it's a little different in that Apple themselves can't change anything, it's on artists and studios to sort it out
@@RyanGreen So it's not an algorithm that creates the spatial effect on Apple's end? I thought of it as filters and other tricks applied to existing mixes, not new mixes.
Na it’s not that. If it was they could just process everything in the library, but artists actually need to release their music in Atmos
@@RyanGreen Gotcha. Ok, huge undertaking. Also, forgot to mention I enjoyed this video too.
Thanks Karl! Appreciate that
Only tried a few tracks but I really liked what I heard,I’ll try more later,great job with the review mate
Thanks very much man, glad you're enjoying Atmos!
I have also noticed that I have to turn up the volume when turning on Dolby Atmos. Otherwise as you say the void sounds really low and far away.
Yeah you definitely need to compensate with volume, but even so the vocals sound quite distant
Agree, what happened to the audio under Dolby Atmos ? It’s sounds terrible. I always thought Atmos was for movies, not music.
Ok so im not the onlly one ...... wtf is going on with this ¨newbie stupid concept¨ of DOBLY ATMOS . Is low , is horrible, and the regular apple quality music is just simply far SUPERIOR ...... A lot of us dont get it so far
It must be a bug on the Apple Software.
Dolby Atmos tracks on android sounds louder than stereo tracks.
I think Dolby automatically uses “sound check.” You can turn it on in Music settings and all songs get quieter to the same level (not sure why they chose to do it that way), but then you don’t have to change the volume when switching between Dolby and normal
you should definitely try BOOM by Tiesto, it’s increíble
That is the first track I’ve heard that actually sounds good 👌
Brooo!! This is nuts. This is how everything should sound.
Mind blowing! Love it! :)
WHOOOA I got chills during the whole song :O
I heard it on apple music and youtube music and it sounds puncher on YT.
I like how in good mixes, you can hear the vocals and instrumentals clearer and more seperated so you can just focus on a point in space if you want to hear that sound of the song
I guess as new albums roll out we can expect a better experience, I’m hoping more musicians and producers take advantage of atmos. Is it me or there’s a huge gap right In Front of me not being used. Am I the only one that wants the guitar player to “walk around me”? haha and the chorus to be whispered in my left ear and then the right ear?
Haha not sure I'm keen on mixes being too wild lol, but I'll keep watching to see what people come up with
i wouldn't be surprised if you have already listened to songs that contained tracks that were moved "around you" but the lack of true spherical experience because of lack of personalized HRTF just made it sound like it was going from left to right and back
I guess that would all be nice if the music didn’t also get destroyed in the process.
Find tracks mixed using binaural and this is exactly what you get. Tracks made especially for headphones for surround sound like feeling. The technique to record uses an actual physical head with microphones in the ears
@@iKaGe01 I am glad that binaural recordings sound far better than spacial audio does though.
A lot of these tracks weren’t written or mixed for Dolby Atmos. Think The Beatles Stereo mixes. An uncared for afterthought. How ever Art Blakleys Moanin’ sounds amazing. Who ever mixed that cared and took their tone.
I really enjoyed Linkin Park’s album. You can hear each instrument separately, really nice. Some songs are really amazing in Atmos, like Riders on the storm, The Beatles songs, eletrodance music and obviously… Jazz (really mindblowing)
I really enjoy spatial on Apple Music- it is such a rich experience. The vocals do seem far away on some songs- but than I started to listen to the voices and they were so much clearer, more distinct and probably more honest than on stereo where I feel like the vocals are artificially turned up to cover for the power of the surrounding music. I am no engineer- just some guy- but I totally appreciate listening to my old songs updated- plus please listen to Diana Ross’s I am coming out- my God it’s damn beautiful- Dolby is more about space than it is about the feel of stereo
To my friends who couldn't find the god damn song:
It's "The Man Machine (3-D)"
Not "the man machine (remastered)"
Hahahahaha
Kinda frustrating, but I’ve posted a direct link and I think it might be glitching and not showing up for people.
Glad I’m not the only one who can get it though 😂
thanks chief!
Can you post the link? I cant find it.
Atmos-mixed tracks/albums I like;
- Abbey Road 2019 mix
- Love Goes (Live at Abbey Road Studios)
- Chromatica
- Live In The Dream (St. Vincent)
- I Want You Back (Jackson 5)
I feel that for recordings lacking spatial information, this works, but for already well-mixed records, this feature sounds really weird.
Hollywood’s bleeding is amazing, but most of the others are not the best
You HAVE to listen to Tiesto & Sevenn’s “BOOM”, this song sounds amazing in Atmos. Also, listen to Leaving California by Maroon 5, I love the punch it gave in the chorus, the vocals are loud and aren’t drowned by the instruments, and everything can be heard.
Off topic question but, how did you set your Memoji as a profile picture on TH-cam? Did you take a screenshot of it or is there a way to download it?
I don't like this type of music, but BOOM sounds incredibly good with Dobly Atmos, excellent recomendation.
Great suggestion! I felt I was in the middle of the song.
@@jeffe4297 ----- I'm glad he mentioned that song, hadn't heard that one yet.
@@Dragon-vc9gt uP
I am a little confused here how can u listen to dolby atmos in a wired headphones cause dolby atmos decoder is only available on airpods pro and beats headphones. Correct me if am wrong.
Hey Ryan! I have a question for you. So like first we had mono sound right? Then stereo? Then Dolby surround? Then Dolby atmos? Or something like that. So my question has to do with hemisync. The idea of activating both hemispheres of the brain through listening to special hemisync tracks through your headphones. So do you know if all these new audio techs effect hemisync? Like if the hemisync effects are all the same on all the different audio techs? Or if they differ. Like it would work on mono or stereo but not Dolby? Thank you!
The lack of punch and the fact that vocals sound farer away isn't an issue of Dolby Atmos or the Dolby Atoms Mix itself. It only occurs when it's played back on headphones. A Dolby Atmos mix played back on an Apple TV connected to a 5.1 or Atmos Receiver doesn't have any of these issues. Apple's Spacial Audio simulates playback on speakers over headphones in order to achieve that Spacial Audio also has to simulate a room where these virtual speakers are placed. Unfortunately this leads to the sensation that the vocals are not as close anymore as with a normal stereo mix on headphones in most cases.The general problems with solutions like that is, that a listener rarely is in a room that sounds like the simulated one. Therefore it's hard to trick our brain into believing that the sound is actually emitted from speakers that are really around you. I once had the chance to test the Realiser (a system that also produces surround sound over headphones - but by measuring an actual speaker setup in a room) in the same studio the system emulated. This Illusion was perfect and I wasn't able to tell whether I was hearing the surround sound trough the headphones or from the speakers. Normally our brain subtracts the sound of the room we are in and therefore we perceive music sounds much more direct than it actually is. Just try put a microphone on your listening position and record music played back through you speakers und listen to that on headphones. It sounds much more "roomy" than in real life. On the other hand ff you would do the same with a dummy head and listen to the playback on your listening position via headphones it would be very hard to tell whether you are listening to the speakers or the headphones.
Ti be honest jazz sounds great. Seems to be in a club listening live. Amazing
i cant play dolby atmos always on , with usb dac plugged in.
keep skipping track on atmos song. any 1 got same issue?
I can’t see any Dolby or lossless option in my iPhone setting what does that mean . My phone is latest one and updated to latest iOS but I can’t see any of the new features
Seems like it's still being rolled out gradually, it'll get there eventually!
To my untrained ear 👂, my experience was awesome, there were some songs that sound weird - I guess is what I would call it? But other songs I was able to hear sounds that I hadn’t heard before, it felt like instruments were separated and it sounded superb, like Limelight from Rush… I will listed to classical music with SA On always! Thanks for this video, I learned something.
No problem! Yeah I enjoyed classical through it, and in general you will get more separation and hear some parts you otherwise hadn't. I just found a lot of tracks where it felt like the foundation of the song was worse: drums, bass, vocals
LIMELIGHT IS ON DOLBY ATMOS? I can’t see it!!
@@bhushaaa4244 yes, on Apple Music search Dolby atmos, you will get a list of dif generes, one of them is rock, and it’s in this list
@@bhushaaa4244 it is in Atmos, just checked.
I've noticed that you listened using wired headphones. Have you tried listening using airpods, pro or Max?
With standard AirPods yep. This is a slightly different feature to what they released with AirPods a while back, it works with anything
@@RyanGreen I've had not sat down and listened to tons of music just yet maybe a dozen or so but there may be something to what @mark Christian Oczon said. I have the airpods Max and everything sounds great so far. I would wounder if having the extra processing power in the airpods helps. Would wounder your take on this through an airpod max.. Thanks for the insight.
Hmm possibly, unfortunately I don’t have access to AirPods Max. Definitely keen to try them at some point!
It shouldn’t really be a processing power thing, but people with AirPods Max seem to be liking it more so there must be something to it
I had a very similar experience with AirPods Pro. I think it's a hardware limitation. You can't actually make 2 speakers into a surround setup.
@@Arn._. the problem right now, in addition to poor mix choices when converting music made for stereo into spatial, is that everyone is using a “one size fits very few” HRTF to decode the music into binaural, so the timing and filtering cues that tell our brain if something is above, behind, or below aren’t convincing.
Hi, is Dolby Atmos supported even if a single AirPods is used?
Just wondering what headphones you used when you were evaluating the spacial audio tracks? Did you try various headphones, and if so, did any particular headphones make an appreciable difference to your overall listening experience with spacial audio turned on?
Yep tried a bunch! Not particularly. Obviously the nicer headphones still sounded better, but the things I mentioned in the video were consistent across everything I listened on
Sam Smith’s album, “Love goes: Live at Abbey Road Studios” Sounds amazing with spatial
While it sounds more like in-person live experience, I prefer the great stereo mix by A LOT.
Best song I’ve heard on Atmos is Nora Jones Don’t Know why. Feels like your in the room, better bass and separation of instruments!! I can’t listen to that song without atmos now
It feels like you’re singing the song and the instruments are around you
I’ll try that track out thanks
Fenomenal mixing fakk
Spot on, same experience here!
Maybe Dolby is cut out for speaker experience only...headphones are for an immersive experience anyway right?..so i find it a bit weird to use it on earphones/headphones
Dolby Atmos is a game changer for music. The first time I put it on, I thought the same as you. I went yuck, what happened to the volume and the vocals?. I went back and forth with it on and then off on a few songs and left it off. Then I put on some headphones and everything changed. Two albums that really show off what Atmos can do IMO are the latest albums from CHVRCHES (Screen Violence) and Cannons (Fever Dream). Put on some headphones and listen to "He said She said" off Screen Violence. You dont even need to listen to the full song, just the intro, verse and chorus. Play with Atmos off first, then put it on and crank up the volume. The chorus hits way different with the Atmos version, you can FEEL it and will bring a smile to any audiophiles face. The non Atmos version sounds harsh with too much treble going back to it after Atmos.
Then check out the track "Bad Dream" off Cannon's Fever Dream. Pay attention to the synth part around the middle of the song that comes in around 1:59. In the non Atmos version, its just there. Then back it up and play the Atmos version and you will hear it bouncing around you. Best way I can describe it is 3D sound while the non Atmos versions sound flat when listened to again right after. Everything from the vocals to the instruments have more depth and presence to them with Atmos. It has that "warm" vinyl sound to it thats missing in the non Atmos version. In fact, the Atmos version of Screen Violence sounds better than my 180 gram vinyl version of it, which I never thought would happen with any digital music. Im in love with Atmos.
Great balanced review. I did some A/B comparisons with the first few tracks in Apple’s spatial audio playlist (all mainstream pop) and found the spatial audio versions drained of energy and very weird sounding. I was ready to totally dismiss the tech, so I appreciate your doing the legwork to check out spatial audio in different genres. Looking forward to turning it on for Kraftwerk!
Yeah I'm glad I didn't give up haha, it's worth persevering but still a disappointing start.
@@RyanGreen I’m wondering if Spatial Audio is designed in part (or mainly) to optimize playback of music on relatively inexpensive equipment (wireless headphones, smart speakers, etc). Regular stereo mixes can be very ‘spatial’, with discrete placement of instruments/voices/effects in a 3-d soundstage, *when* I listen using my separate dac/amp and pricey headphones or stereo system, but not so much when using my regular walk-around bluetooth headset or homepod.
@@alexhdw yeah I’ll have to try it on some lower quality setups and see how it translates
What I want to know is if the music that I put on my iPhone could have those features instead of just downloading the music from the Apple store and it will be the only music that will have those features??? That’s what I’m wondering???
As in can you just download Atmos mixes from elsewhere, rather than using Apple Music? As far as I know you can't do this at the moment, whatever app is playing back the files needs to support Atmos
Completely agree with your analysis. Glad im not the only one feeling this way
It's definitely been reassuring to see a bunch of people have this experience haha
Yep, same experience. Most songs sounded worse. Some sound amazing, especially Kraftwerk. Perhaps it is a production issue, Kraftwerk had a 3-D recording before and perhaps they made good use of it.
Have you also compared lossless audio (normal resolution) versus AAC? What’s your take on it?
Glad I’m not the only one!
Yeah I have. If you’re already using the higher quality AAC, Lossless is better but it’s very subtle. You can tell if you have a great listening environment and focus in, but the reality is that most listening happens in the car, walking down the street, at the office, etc. It really will be barely noticeable in those contexts, so it’s not a big deal either way.
I never complain about better quality for free though!
@@RyanGreen lossless audio doesn’t work with Amy Bluetooth headphones tho ….they must be wired quality headphones
@@ajaugatarip5285 correct
Also just a quick note for those of you who don’t know. Lossless audio is NOT supported on ANY wireless apple audio products, including AirPods max. However spatial audio is supported.
No bluetooth device support lossless but it's still better to have lossless for lossless-lossy instead of lossy-lossy (which degrades quality even more).
Thank you so much for this video. I have been having the exact views and thought perhaps my headphones are not suitable
can you do this now apple tv does it in 5.1 or more speakers?
I recommend listening to Modus Vivendi by 070 Shake. It's great with dolby/spatial audio
You should try listening to atmos songs on a home theatre system instead of headphones. Makes a big difference! But i agree that most rocks songs sound really bad (Like Ramones etc.) Abbey Road- Beatles sounds great. If you use Tidal try Elton John - Rocket Man.
Quick question, does the device you're listening from have difference in sound quality? Like if you're listening from an iPhone 6S, is the audio quality better with an iPhone 12? Listening from plug in headphone for both device.
The only piece that would really make a difference is the Digital-Analog Converter (DAC). I'm not sure how similar or different the DACs are between those two phones though sorry!
Cheers on this video mate
Is there any true or original ATMOS on Apple?
i assume the Kraftwerk is,because it was released that way.So what other original ATMOS is on Apple music?
i found that the majority of things in spatial/ATMOS were never officially released that way,and this begs a question.How did Apple get/make those in spatial/ATMOS?
Were they done by professionals in a studio? Or are they just using some software to up-mix/sample on the fly?
i would also like to know what the term spatial means in this context?
Is this something other than ATMOS? Or is Apple just using spatial and ATMOS interchangably? Or is spatial their term meant for headphones specifically?
Also,did you only do this on headphones? Or through your surround amp and speakers?
How do i set my headphones up for this? i have i have Sennheiser HD 800
Do i simply plug them into my surround amp and it`s done? Or when i plug in headphones do i need to tell the Apple 4k box that i have headphones in?
Hey no worries! At least in theory all of the songs in Atmos have been officially released that way. If it was just an upmix that the app itself was applying I imagine it'd apply to the whole library, and most of these songs are also available in Atmos on Tidal as far as I know. I think a lot have been remixed in a pretty rushed way to be "early adopters" though, which is why it feels like they weren't designed this way.
Yeah Apple have been really confusing with the word "spatial". Sometimes they've used it to refer to Atmos as far as I can tell, but it's also the name of their feature which is unique to AirPods.
Also yeah I did use headphones. In the iOS settings you select "Always On" and it plays through any headphones. I'm not 100% sure of the Apple TV version of that, but I believe it's the same
You gotta listen to Atmos in a true Atmos home theater setup. Headphones with Atmos is heavily processed. Atmos in a home theater system with ceiling speakers sound great!
Yeah definitely! I was mainly interested in this because I think it's how 95% of people will experience it
Can we do that with Apple Music? I don’t think so, where do you get the content?
@@matthewhill5426 You can definitely get it from Apple as they have Atmos now. I played Atmos through my Apple TV and Denon receiver.
Shit mate you deserve way more views.
Haha thanks
I got one dought, when the atmos enable, it's means the sound will be in multi channel, like 5.1 or it's just effect in stereo? Can someone tell me?
Basically Atmos can scale up, so it's being decoded to either play stereo, 2.1, 5.1, 9.2.4, whatever. So essentially in headphones it's trying to fake having more speakers
Thank you for voicing my exact feeling with this video. :D
This was just what I was looking for Ryan! Sadly, at 75, I can't even hear the difference between reasonable compression levels, let alone lossless, but your comments regarding spatial audio are very similar to my own opinions. I listened to "Gordian Knot" by Gordon Goodwin's "Big Phat Band" and those tracks knocked my socks off! Loved it. But then I checked a few more Albums in different genres and was surprised that some sounded worse to me than the stereo original. I guess like in all recordings, skill can be present or not. Great job Ryan, and I'll be paying attention to your offerings in the future. You have true talent as a teacher and presenter of complex information.
Thanks very much, I appreciate the kind words! I’ll check out the album you mentioned. There are definitely some hidden gems, just none of the tracks that Apple are promoting haha
In my 20s I also can’t hear the difference between different levels of compression.
@@Anonymous-vh9tc just enjoy saving on your data bill 😂
For all people, read this:
1. Use Apple EarPods (those with cable)
2. Tune EQ into „electronic“
You will get a hole different experience!
Tried it with several headphones, with DAC etc, but the best result was with the standard EarPods for around 20 € 😂
Hahaha that's mental, you mean the standard wired earpods?
@@RyanGreen yes Sir! With those settings u can turn on the volume to 80% and more.
Tested with:
Bob Marley - Exodus
Richard Strauss - Also sprach Zarathustra
John Williams - Imperial March
Kenny Rogers - The Gambler
Lil Wayne - Lollipop
I currently have ios.14.5 version, my dolby atmos is not in settings, which version is 14.6 ?
Yep you'll need to upgrade to 14.6 to get it
Great job, really honest and great production.
Thanks!
Fearless taylors version is incredible in spatial audio
As well as folklore. That's the best mix of all her spatial audio.
This! When i listend on my Air Pod Max yesterday i was totally underwhelmed by the pop stuff but thought whatever.. since I don’t listen to that anyway. But over at the rock playlist Papa Roach „last resort“ (I think that was the worst) and 3DoordDown was just awful, the mix was just totally awkward, and the vocal weirdly pitched some how. However the jazz playlist blew my mind! When turning it of and on the difference was incredible I could pinpoint at the saxophone drums and bass players in the room and heard the echo of the walls. Als what I found pretty cool was a song called boom! Which just totally blew my ears with bass but also had some cool 3D effect. I‘d love them to revisit some songs and mixes and give you an option to have a song to song setting that’s getting stored with the song to use spatial audio or not.
Yes! Song specific settings would be ideal, but feels very un-Apple so I'm not holding my breath
For now you can turn toggle between stereo and spatial on AirPods settings I suppose
Love the way you explain things
Thanks! Glad it was helpful!
Hi Ryan, why am I not getting those options (DOLBY ATMOS/Audio Quality) in Music under Settings. ???? I am using iphone8 with beatsflex and airpods (1st gen). Already Updated to iOS 14.6 version
Dolby Atmos doesn't work with regular AirPods, you need AirPods Pro/Max
It seems like this hasn’t arrived for everyone yet, hopefully really soon! Just keep checking! (It will work with those AirPods)
That was a specific feature they brought with very similar marketing which is confusing, but this works with all headphones 🙂
So what songs should I check out next in Atmos?
Still not available in India
@@saadali6775 that sucks! Hopefully it’ll get to you soon
@@saadali6775 ..:and is still not available yet!
Black skinhead by Kanye west/ I want you back Jackson 5. I have the same opinion as you an I’m glad I wasn’t the only thinking it was very hit and miss. Some songs will work great though!
I feel it coming (The weeknd & Daft Punk)
Once Apple gets Pink Floyd in Dolby Atmos then it will win even more people!!!
Good honest review!
Great analysis!
Thanks!
Maybe i’m late but yall can try listen to Dua Lipa “Future Nostalgia” album. That was perfect dolby atmos mastered at the moment in my opinion 👌
And Billies album well her second one sounded much better with this update
It is literally just virtual surround sound, rebranded. I never thought I’d say this but I prefer lossless over spatial.
I’m on ios 15 beta but I didn’t see dolby atmos on music settings but jus i can enable it from the airpods pro settings
Hmm not sure why it's not in the music settings, I haven't used iOS15 Beta sorry
I think it’s really dependent on the what headphones you use. With pro V2’s I don’t get the vocals sounding far away effect nearly as much.
I think this spatial audio feature only works depending on the song. I heard some songs and it was meh, but I also heard some songs and it was amazing. The best example I've heard so far is Ariana's position album, damn it was immaculate!
Listen to this song in lossless and then listen in atmos. I think you might change your opinion
Songs with heavy compression are sounding awful on dolby atmos mode. My personal best experience was The Weeknd - After Hours (album)
Very minimal changes between the two for me, but I probably need to spend more time listening and AB testing. Also, has anyone found any difference in using an Apple product (e.g. Aiprod Max) vs a third party BT headphone?
Some people are saying there's a big difference with AirPods Max/Pro, others say no difference at all. Unfortunately I don't have them to check. I have AirPods 2, and they weren't any better or worse
@@RyanGreen I've tested on the pro's and to me, over a few random songs I've tested, there's no noticeable difference. I've got the B&O H95's but since the Spatial Audio doesn't work on them, I can't really tell if anything has changed/upscaled...
Thanks for the honest review.
I’ve tried spatial on both my wh1000xm3’s (with the apple usb-c to 3.5mm adapter) and my AirPods Pro. Although my Sony’s normally definitely sound better, for spatial tracks it was actually the other way around. Spatial sounded much better on my AirPods. Positioning was very precise and a full sound. Have you tried this yet?
I don't have Pros unfortunately. I have AirPods 2 which were on their supported list but didn't notice an improvement
Good review!! I just tried it with my Sony WH-1000X M3. I feel some improvement on audio quality, but not necessarily "spatial" experience. Could be the headphones?
yeah I have the M4, but with the AirPods Pro it sounds a bit different...the chip inside the AirPods do some adjusting to Dolby
Interesting. I tried on a few different headphones and definitely always noticed the spatial changes, but it'll definitely sound different on different setups.
Does someone know the difference. I am using the AirPods Pro with Dolby Atmos set to Always On. If I enable Spatial Aufi during a good track like Tiesto’s BOOM there is barely any difference in the sound. Only if I turn off Dolby Atmos in settings you hear the difference. Does someone know how the Spatial Audio (currently without head tracking) affect the sound quality?
Thank you.
You're talking about the Spatial Audio setting in Control Centre ae? That is separate to this, perhaps one overrides the other? I haven't heard anything from Apple on how those two features interact with the other and can't test it myself sorry
@@RyanGreen Exactly in the Control Hub settings. If you say these are separate it makes sense because I haven’t really heard any difference. It’s just weird because those term are always used interchangeably and I was wondering what the function in the control center is for beides to the headtracking.
Yeah it’s definitely confusing! I believe the one in control centre applies to other parts of the operating system as well, like TH-cam or Netflix
hello ryan green, if i use my apple lightning earphones from the iphone boxes to listen to loseless (24bit@48khz) would i still get loseless?
Yes you will! I'm not sure if you'll be able to hear the difference or not, but they do support the technology
thank you so so much, Ryan! On Apple's website they only mentioned (wired headphones) but not the earphones from the box. But I personally only find the lossless more clearer!
My iphone7 not support dolby atom or spatial audio plz help
It seems like some people are still waiting, it's been a gradual roll out from Apple
How do I get Atmos music on my Atmos avr?
My favourite so far is Riders on the Storm. Sounds so well in dolby atmos!
Sugar We're Going Down was literally the first song i played in spatial audio, turns out it was quite the flop. it is exactly how you described. the lead guitar sound is gone, the drum has no thump. When they say "its like you're in the center of the performance", do they think drummers are placed miles from the stage in rock performances?
lol exactly
Exactly Ryan every word you said is true. I thought I was the only one not liking it much while there were others saying it’s the best thing they ever heard. Great video!
Yeah nice to know we're not alone haha
Why those settings are not available on my iPhone XR? I am on iOS 14.6.
Still being rolled out gradually by the sound of it, hopefully before long!
I felt the exact same way when I tried with wired or powerbeats pro earphones, but got a different experience on AirPods Pro, with spatial enabled on the AirPods Pro menu, have y tried that?
Na I don't have Pros unfortunately. So you had Dolby on in the settings as well as the Pros own Spatial Audio settings?
@@RyanGreen Yes. it looks something like this. www.imore.com/sites/imore.com/files/styles/xlarge/public/field/image/2020/12/control-panel-spatial-audio.jpg
I was as just as unimpressed as you, but it sounded loads better on Airpods Pro. I'm not sure if Apple knows the "supported" and wired headphones sound like poop, they must only be using airpods pros and maxes in-house.
I used to perform for our city’s ballet company. Listening to the Nutcracker suite on spatial audio really brought me back to the stage. It surreal. The added spaciousness in the audio really mimics the big space of the theater. And you’re right, spatial audio is a hit and miss, because for other tracks I could hardly tell the difference, or the added spatial feel ruins the song. But damn do I miss performing again
That’s really powerful! So awesome it gave you that experience
i have 1k song in apple music , do i need to deleted the song and re-download to get the atmso batch ?
Ooo I'm really not sure sorry, I can't find anywhere Apple have said anything and I don't have much downloaded music because I'm almost always on wi-fi
@@RyanGreen Tq sir 👍🏽
Thanks Ryan, for sharing your experience in this video. It is good that you open this discussion to see what we can say on this topic.
Well, for my case I tried this experience with my AirPods Pro, which I consider to be aware that Apple recommends that using this, you can have a much better listening experience.
I'm not sure if you tried it with a pair of Apple headphones, but I'm pretty sure it will make a big difference. (I tell you this because I see a video inserted with the lightning to aux adapter)
So from my subjective experience I can say that it is different, it is not the way I used to listen to music when I was walking down the street or riding my bike. At the beginning it was very wide as you said, like feeling the clearest spaces. The reverberations of the voices or the harmonies, the tones of the phrase sound so different and beautiful. It is also another way of knowing the details.
When I started listening to The Weekend, I wasn't expecting that much difference, but then I heard "Rain on Me" by Lady Gaga and it was amazing the way the sounds open up in your ears, it was like hearing something so real but out of your reality. Then I hear Fall Out Boys, "Sugar, ..." and I agree that nothing wonderful I heard for the first time, but when I hear "Sweet Child of Mine" by Gun's & Roses and "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi it was an incredible feeling.
It is as if the sound is due to the nature of the environment and not as something reproduced by a device. It's strange to explain the feeling. I also think that we have to wait longer to be able to improve the quality of the mastering in Dolby Atmos, and also have upcoming songs with the creativity of the environment of the spaces that can really fully appreciate the perception of spatial audio.
I think this is a new way of listening and it will change the way musicians create and deliver the music that was before. Also, the way we now listen to the oldest song in this format inspires me to be able to do more amazing hits and the perception of how people will travel with this different listening experience.
Thanks for the comment! I did listen on AirPods 2, but not Pro. I didn't notice a huge difference with them.
Glad you're enjoying it though! And I agree totally about mixes in Atmos getting better over time. I'm looking forward to what artists can come up with!
I think there should be a way to toggle Atmos/Stereo in per song basis, because some people would prefer some songs in Atmos and others in stereo, or the opposite.
If you’re listening through AirPods, there is an easy toggle between the two in the control center, but if you’re listening on the device’s speakers, you have to go every time in the Music settings to switch Atmos on or off.
I had the same experience. I agree with you 100%
From what i’ve heard (on headphones), in many songs that include singing, the vocals get drowned out and they sound like they are just backing vocals.
Also pretty much everything gets quite bassy, kinda making it sound like it just applied a EQ preset to make the bass louder.
So far the only songs that sounded fairly good were songs that don‘t include vocals and also don‘t have too many instruments.
Did you listen to it on a supported devices? i feel like this might affect your experience too
Yep, AirPods as well as various wired headphones. The AirPods didn't fix any of the things I mentioned unfortunately
It definately sounds pretty good, but it doesn't seem to have that full sound to me. When I switch back to the stereo version it sounds louder and I feel like it sounds more like music to me. It's not something I think makes much improvement, more like takes away a lot of sound, just adding a bit of dimension.
Thanks, totally spot on! why the heck did the choose that track by the weekend with Zane Low introducing it saying how amazing it is!
Agreed. The majority of the songs I've listened to with Dolby Atmos certification sounded very hollow and quiet.
Yep. It's worth noting that they are actually quieter though, so make sure you turn them up to match to get a fair comparison!
You say in your video that when you turn your head it doesn’t change what you hear and in my experience and I think overall that is not true. Because it places an anchor at your listening source ie your phone and when I turn my head it definitely changes what I hear out of each ear. Was hoping you could elaborate on what you meant with that statement.
Are you on the iOS15 beta? They've talked about bringing that feature in in the future, but currently it's designed to just play regardless of what direction you're facing
Hey! Where did you find The Man Machine is Dolby Atmos? The only ones I can find in Apple Music are just lossless files, not the Dolby Atmos.
It's on the "3-D: The Catalogue (Deluxe Edition)" album for me, but seems like it's locked by geography and only some people can access it which is bizarre
@@RyanGreen Yep. I’m here in the USA and I cannot access it. Even the not Dolby version sounds really cool though!
@@davidsongood2627 Glad you like it, but weird that it's locked down!
I would like to know which headphones you and others were using to listen to this new fangled technology.
Android or iPhone, which DAC and so on.
On iPhone, no external DAC.
I tried Sennheiser HD25 Light, AKG K271 mkii, Alclair Custom IEMs, AirPods 2, and a JBL Soundbar
@@RyanGreen If you used the Lightning to 3,5 mm dongle, then you used the DAC in the dongle. Thanks for the info. Will look into those headphones. Low impedance models?
70Ohm for the Sennheisers, 55 for the AKGs
Also tried that link for the audio quality test. Successfully got all six correct using AirPods Pro. But yeah the difference were so small that sometimes I need to close my eyes and listen for several times to tell the slight difference. Even though most of the times we can’t tell the difference, I think the “lossless” choice is more of a mental comfort for us, at least works for me, lol.
Went to the link on my iPad and it says lossless audio is not supported on the browser….lol
As in Apple Music in the browser? Yeah I've not really had any experience with that sorry, always use the app
Thank you sor sharing the knowledge
No worries!
Ryan green, the option Dolby atmos is not available in my music app in my iPhone.. even after I upgraded to iOS 14.6..
Seems like some people or countries are still waiting for it to roll out which sucks
@@RyanGreen thanks Ryan. I have one more question . I am using AirPods 2nd generation , hope it is capable of supporting both spatical and Dolby atmos ?
Yes, they’ll be able to use spatial in Apple Music!
There’s a system-wide spatial as well, and that’s the part that’s exclusive to AirPods Pro/Max, and I think a few pairs of beats
@@RyanGreen thanks Bro, very useful information!!
No worries!