What are the most impressive sounding Dolby Atmos music / concert blu-rays or streams

[zzorchering]

Steven Wilson recently indicated that he's now aiming to produce all of his future surround remixes in Dolby Atmos, as he's recognised it's potential for 3D music. This of course includes The Future Bites (which I'm actually really looking forward to - particularly to see what he does with Atmos).

I've been intending to upgrade my set-up for some time & have finally changed my AV amp to go from a standard 5.1 surround to an 11.1 Atmos set-up.

The vast majority of my DVDs / Blu-rays are music & concerts (mostly Prog ) rather than movies, & so I'm looking for any recommendations for impressive sounding Atmos albums / concerts, blu-rays, streams etc.

I've got the Roger Waters discs with an Atmos soundtrack (Us & Them, The Wall) plus the Kraftwerk 3D disc - all of which are absolutely stunning.

Any others that I should be aware of - including potential future releases?

All suggestions welcome! Cheers.

[Gizmotron]

What a great thread!

I have been really focused on 5.1 music lately and now a interested in Atmos.

Some music is now being CREATED for Atmos. I’d love to hear it on a good system.

[PixelDelirium]

Yeah... I've been into 5.1 music ever since DVD-Audio was introduced. I bought one of the first reference players when it came out. The problem I have with Atmos is the layout of the room I have my home theater in. It's up in a third floor loft so the space is limited and the ceiling is a trapezoid shape. The area behind the sofa is open (thus a loft) and the area to the right is open to the rest of the room. So, I have limited space and limited spots to mount speakers. Every once in a while I consider going to 7.1 (from 5.1) but lose interest once I start trying to figure out where to put the speakers. Maybe once more Atmos titles are available I'll be more motivated to upgrade.

[chalkpie]

Zappa would've been all over this.

[Gizmotron]

Yeah... I've been into 5.1 music ever since DVD-Audio was introduced. I bought one of the first reference players when it came out. The problem I have with Atmos is the layout of the room I have my home theater in. It's up in a third floor loft so the space is limited and the ceiling is a trapezoid shape. The area behind the sofa is open (thus a loft) and the area to the right is open to the rest of the room. So, I have limited space and limited spots to mount speakers. Every once in a while I consider going to 7.1 (from 5.1) but lose interest once I start trying to figure out where to put the speakers. Maybe once more Atmos titles are available I'll be more motivated to upgrade.

I just shifted over to 7.1 but am still tinkering with placement. But so far I like the larger sound-space it seems to create. I too have a ceiling that makes Atmos difficult. It is very tall (over the 14’ Atmos limit) and is also peaked so no reflective Atmos speakers will work. But with ceilings like that one can always mount speakers on the front wall and back wall as the Atmos height speakers. But I don’t see that happening for a while.

I find that 5.1 music allows one to hear things in “dense” music that might be difficult to hear clearly when in stereo.

[zzorchering]

I've only been using this 7.1.4 Atmos system for a few days, but I'd say that it is a massive mind-blowing change moving from 5.1 music to Atmos music. The only equivalent I can think of in terms of step change is the "wow-factor" I had when I first heard the Steven Wilson 5.1 remixes of the original stereo versions of Yes, Tull, KC albums etc. I would very strongly encourage any music fan who has been considering whether to upgrade to Atmos for some time (as I had) to just go for it.

Once you've heard the Atmos mix of (for example) the Kraftwerk Blu-ray, you will realise there is just no going back - the music really does "move" all around you, with instruments / rhythms appearing from all over the place and whizzing past your head etc. I can really see why Steven Wilson has made his decision that it is Atmos all the way for him from now on.

As mentioned, my main interest in Atmos has always been for music rather than movies - and Atmos music, to my ears, then makes listening again to albums in Stereo and even 5.1 sound slightly / oddly "empty" afterwards. Obviously, I'll very much continue to listen to my Vinyl, CDs & DVDs though, given that they've been such a major part of my life for so many years

I agree that there is a very limited amout of Atmos source material available at present - but it does seem to be improving, with Tidal & Amazon Music HD starting to offer Atmos based tracks, and Atmos Blurays slowly becoming available. That said, the technology is still pretty early-stage & remains fairly "clunky" sometimes (I'm still having issues getting Tidal to properly send Atmos via the Denon HEOS app to my X3700h properly - as it seems are many others, given the angry online discussions!).

Of course, this new technology also means I will have the opportunity to buy many classic albums like Dark Side of the Moon all over again .... this time in Atmos (having re-bought it lord knows how many times since its original release!!).... Oh, and to start over my KC collection again, once any future King Crimson Atmos box sets are released!!

[zzorchering]

I too have a ceiling that makes Atmos difficult. It is very tall (over the 14’ Atmos limit) and is also peaked so no reflective Atmos speakers will work. But with ceilings like that one can always mount speakers on the front wall and back wall as the Atmos height speakers. But I don’t see that happening for a while.

I have used small front & back wall "height" speakers (4 off Q Acoustics 3010 compact bookshelf) and they work really well. Fitting ceiling speakers seemed like too much effort to be honest, & the online advice was generally against using up-pointing speakers, plus they seem to be far more expensive.

[Gizmotron]

I have used small front & back wall "height" speakers (4 off Q Acoustics 3010 compact bookshelf) and they work really well. Fitting ceiling speakers seemed like too much effort to be honest, & the online advice was generally against using up-pointing speakers, plus they seem to be far more expensive.

Thank you for both posts! Good info!

[zzorchering]

For anyone interested in Atmos (& all things Surround Sound), I've just found this really useful site Quadraphonic Quad

[Squids]

Wow! What a cool topic! Love it! What I want to know is how many Prog fans have an Atmos set up to listen to it! I do but only in my studio not in my home. I have 7.1 in my home though. Just no ceilings. I guess I can add them but... don't know how much music there really is in Atmos to justify it AND wondering if I should mix in Atmos myself. Maybe. I kind of like DTS HD Master Audio and 5.1 though for music. Apart from sound effects I think that kind of covers it well. But, on the other hand, one must not underestimate the power of a cello solo above your head! haha

[starless and bible black]

Anyone who's interested in the best of what's available in Dolby Atmos, Blu-Ray or Surround Sound should check out the Life In Surround channel on YouTube. Here's two Prog related releases that were reviewed recently.

Chris Squire-Fish Out Of Water
https://youtu.be/0P0zsaqx9hA
Devin Townshend-Empath
https://youtu.be/zQThkwOSunE

[Gizmotron]

For anyone interested in Atmos (& all things Surround Sound), I've just found this really useful site Quadraphonic Quad

Thank you! It looks like a helpful Forum.

[zzorchering]

.... Oh, and to start over my KC collection again, once any future King Crimson Atmos box sets are released!!

Blimey! I've just realised that this is already happening ... The latest 1969 KC box set contains In The Court of the Crimson King (Atmos Mix)!

The Future Bites! (see what I did there )

[Gizmotron]

Blimey! I've just realised that this is already happening ... The latest 1969 KC box set contains In The Court of the Crimson King (Atmos Mix)!

The Future Bites! (see what I did there )

Now THAT would get me a bit more interested.

As far as the tech, I am still a bit confused about the height speaker requirements. I’d do wall-mounted speakers, front and rear if I do go to the next level. But i am still unclear if one can use any speaker or if they have to be “Atmos” rated. I have read quite a bit but am still confused.

[zzorchering]

Any speakers will work as height speakers if you are wall mounting them. "Dolby Atmos height speaker" just refers to the wedge shaped ones that you would use at ground level to bounce the sounds off of the ceiling (to simulate heights). Obviously the AVR Amp usually has a built in auto set-up routine, which will sort out the relevant levels & does seem to cope well & adapt to the actual speakers used, so long as all speakers are "approximately" in the right locations. I can definitely vouch for the Denon X3700H, I've been very impressed so far.

If you want to stream Dolby Atmos, you can currently sign up to a "holiday offer" trial of Tidal HiFi (in the UK) at £1 a month for 4 months. They are the only company currently streaming actual Atmos versions of albums. Amazon also now have Amazon Music HD, but the "Atmos" they offer is only designed for their Echo speaker (& doesn't produce true Atmos at present). I've tried a direct comparison of "true" Atmos from Tidal and the "pretend" Atmos of Amazon Music HD and there is just no comparison at present - the Tidal version is the same as an Atmos Blu-ray.

To get Dolby Atmos from Tidal into your AVR, you will also need to buy a Amazon Fire Stick 4k - & plug it in via HDMI (as you can't currently run tidal directly on any brand of AVR amp as far as I know). You can then stream many albums in Atmos - and literally hundreds of "Dolby Surround" albums - even if they're not Atmos.

I appreciate its not Prog - but the new Yello album "Point" is just incredible in Dolby Atmos - it even replaces the Kraftwerk 3-D Album as "the" reference disc now (which is saying something, as the Kraftwerk album is also superb).

[Gizmotron]

Any speakers will work as height speakers if you are wall mounting them. "Dolby Atmos height speaker" just refers to the wedge shaped ones that you would use at ground level to bounce the sounds off of the ceiling (to simulate heights). Obviously the AVR Amp usually has a built in auto set-up routine, which will sort out the relevant levels & does seem to cope well & adapt to the actual speakers used, so long as all speakers are "approximately" in the right locations. I can definitely vouch for the Denon X3700H, I've been very impressed so far.

If you want to stream Dolby Atmos, you can currently sign up to a "holiday offer" trial of Tidal HiFi (in the UK) at £1 a month for 4 months. They are the only company currently streaming actual Atmos versions of albums. Amazon also now have Amazon Music HD, but the "Atmos" they offer is only designed for their Echo speaker (& doesn't produce true Atmos at present). I've tried a direct comparison of "true" Atmos from Tidal and the "pretend" Atmos of Amazon Music HD and there is just no comparison at present - the Tidal version is the same as an Atmos Blu-ray.

To get Dolby Atmos from Tidal into your AVR, you will also need to buy a Amazon Fire Stick 4k - & plug it in via HDMI (as you can't currently run tidal directly on any brand of AVR amp as far as I know). You can then stream many albums in Atmos - and literally hundreds of "Dolby Surround" albums - even if they're not Atmos.

I appreciate its not Prog - but the new Yello album "Point" is just incredible in Dolby Atmos - it even replaces the Kraftwerk 3-D Album as "the" reference disc now (which is saying something, as the Kraftwerk album is also superb).

Thank you very much! That was very helpful!

[Gizmotron]

While not ATMOS, the Magenta 5.1 mixes are wonderful for surround sound. I recommend checking them out. Robert Reed seems to be more adventurous with regards to mixing surround. Very stirring and exciting mixes. The backing vocal really give your speakers a real challenge. In particular, I swear they are 7.1 because my rear surrounds and side surrounds have a wonderful amount of movement going on.

Anyhoo, I know I am wandering a bit from topic but in your set-ups, do most of you have ported or non-ported subs?

[MudShark22]

Since I have a 4k Fire stick and just rec'd an LG Atmos sound bar - this will help me tune it.

[emoji106]

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk

[Gizmotron]

This thread is too good to let it recede.

Anyone have any new examples of Surround music, specially, ATMOS?



On the hardware front, I upgraded my subwoofer (SVS SB-3000) and OH EM GEE!
Stunning! There is no comparison. I feel like my whole system was replaced.

If you are on the fence, upgrade!

[Silantyev]

I've been thinking about upgrading from 5.1 to 7.1.4 Atmos setup - and finally it's accomplished!
So far I've only listened only to "Abbey Road" - expected a little more, to be honest... The sound comes in 7.1, so the height channels are not engaged. But still it sounds pretty cool...
To experience the real Atmos 3D sound, I have downloaded the Atmos Bluray Demo, it has a few really exciting demonstration videos. But of course I am still looking forward to finding an album mixed directly into 7.1.4 - not sure if such a thing even exists...

[MudShark22]

I wont sign up for Tidal for Atmos b/c I cannot 'see' what they offer in the format.

Seems like its more of a song based uplift rather than full albums (e.g. Tom Sawyer in Atmos but not Moving Pictures as a whole)

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk

[Crawford Glissadevil]

What would be the perfect dimensions for an Atmos room?

[Gizmotron]

What would be the perfect dimensions for an Atmos room?

A very good question! I am not sure. My hunch is a fairly large room, with a decent height. And of course, it depends if one is using reflective overhead speakers or direct overheads for the “in the sky” component of Atmos.

Because my room is very tall AND has sloping ceilings, my only option is direct speakers. I wanted to pop for them last year at this time but I just snagged four B+W M-1 speakers to add to my 7.1 set-up. They should blend in with my other B+W speakers. Now “all” I have to do is figure out how to route the wires! I plan an exploratory visit to my crawl space above the rooms today to scout possibilities. I could always chicken out and use that clever, flat wiring that is out there and just tape it to the exterior wall. But even when painted, it will still be visible. I’d rather go for the inside approach if I can manage it.

Any tips or other comments are appreciated. And if anyone knows of new musical material released in Atmos please chime in!
(This thread is too valuable to let die.)

[starless and bible black]

This thread is too good to let it recede.

Anyone have any new examples of Surround music, specially, ATMOS?

Yes: Gentle Giant's Free Hand was remixed in 5.1 & Dolby Atmos by Steven Wilson and it sounds fantastic. Also The Beatles' Abbey Road & the new Let It Be box sets feature mixes in Atmos (and Sgt. Peppers received a new Dolby Atmos mix available on streaming services only). Finally, the previously mentioned In The Court of The Crimson King is available in Atmos on KC's The Complete 1969 Recordings box set.

[starless and bible black]

This thread is too good to let it recede.

Anyone have any new examples of Surround music, specially, ATMOS?

Dream Theater's new album, A View From The Top Of The World is available in a box set with a 5.1 mix (No Atmos though).

Amazon USA:
https://www.amazon.com/View-Top-Worl...r%2C191&sr=1-2

Burning Shed:
https://burningshed.com/dream-theate..._category=true