Mixing in Dolby Atmos
Dolby Atmos is a multi-channel immersive audio format that has been used in film and TV for many years, but has made it’s way into music mixing in the last few years. Apple Music has aggressively pushed the market to accept Atmos as a playback format, as Apple AirPods Max and AirPods Pro are Atmos compatible (as are various models of Beats headphones). AirPods are by far the most common method that people are listening to Atmos on, but some people may have home theaters, soundbars, TVs, or automobiles with Atmos systems. Mixing in Atmos requires special equipment and skill, and can be done very badly by an untrained engineer.
Most music mixing studios are mixing on a 7.1.4 or 9.1.6 speaker system. The “7” indicates the speakers at ear-level; Left, Center, Right, Left Side, Right Side, Left Surround, andRight Surround. The “.1” indicates the LFE or subwooofer channel, and the “.4” indicates the height or ceiling-mounted speakers (Left-Front Height, Right-Front Height, Left-Rear Height, Right-Rear Height). All of these speakers must be aligned properly and each must be capable of reproducing full range sound at a moderate level. Special software and workflows are also required, and the music must be mixed to a precise level, regardless of genre. The mix engineer MUST make sure that the mix sounds good on every possible listening format, from the 7.1.4 (or 9.1.6), 5.1, AirPods (binaural), and standard stereo playback. This all takes attention to detail and concentrated listening.
Listening to Dolby Atmos
Listening to music mixed in Dolby Atmos requires a few things:
First, you must subscribe to a music streaming service that supports Atmos playback. Apple Music and Tidal allow for Atmos, Spotify currently does not. Atmos is not available from CD or Vinyl playback.
Second, you must have playback equipment capable of Atmos. The most common equipment would be a recent iPhone and Apple AirPods Pro or AirPods Max. A less accessible system would be an iMax movie theater. In addition to having the playback equipment, the listener must have their system set up properly in order to hear Atmos properly. Mixing engineers and artists having their music mixed in Atmos must accept that sometimes listeners will not have their systems set up properly. It’s not very different from the idea that someone may have one of their two stereo speakers in the living room and the other speaker on the back deck. They will not be hearing the music the way you intended, but there isn’t much you can do about it.
However, one of the great benefits of Atmos is that it scales its playback to the listeners systems. For example, if you are listening in an iMax movie theater, it may play back over 100 speakers spaced throughout the theater immersing you in enveloping sound. You could then play back the exact same signal through Atmos enabled headphones (AirPods) and experience a similar immersive feel. You could also play back that same signal over your 1970’s era stereo system and it would still sound good, though would not be immersive.