Have you ever been watching a movie and been way into it but then there’s a big dramatic action scene and the sounds of the screeching tyres and explosions and helicopter blades and the background music all just melt into one blob of noise? That will never happen with Dolby ATMOS because through a transformative listening experience you will not only hear every single sound, but you’ll be able to point to where it’s coming from. If you’re a music lover, you’ll hear that bass walking down while the guitars slide up and the ride cymbals tap out the beat. There’s not a thing you won’t hear with this sound system in place, but rather, it can enhance your listening experience tremendously.
How Does It Work?
Dolby Atmos uses tech-wizardry to create a spatial sound experience. It’s a kind of surround sound with height channels that add another dimension to the sound, which has the effect of separating each sound and allowing it to sit on its own plane. There are potentially 128 tracks that a single sound can occupy, played through 64 speakers. A home theatre would likely employ a smaller system with nine – 11 channels, aligning speakers (even on the ceiling) with height channels and a subwoofer. Similar technology has existed in movie theatres for years, but Dolby Atmos doesn’t need those giant height speakers that line the walls of movie theatres. Like most tech trends, they’ve improved upon existing technology and made it smaller, too.
What Does This Mean for You?
This means that you get the best listening experience that the world has to offer. Your ears will be interpreting sounds as though they are in 3D because the way that over a hundred sounds move around the 3D field is conducive to an enveloping experience. It’s as though the atmosphere (thus the name) were itself contributing to the viewing/listening experience. Technology talk aside, it makes sense that if there is technology available that can affect an audience’s sight and hear in such a profound way, the audience will feel engulfed. If you’re watching Gallipoli, the sound alone might make you feel like you’re part of the fourth wave at the Nek because you’ll be hearing sounds from the front, the sides and behind you as the scene progresses. Perhaps an important distinction here for those who haven’t yet experienced it is that this product doesn’t simply make things louder. It separates sounds, thus offering them exquisite quality on their own and as part of the ensemble.
What Products Are Available?
There are lots of options for acquiring Dolby Atmos. If you’re looking to outfit your home theatre, you can get a smart tv that can access it. If you don’t want the bulk of a speaker setup, you can download an app that supports Dolby Atmos media. You could also connect to a Dolby Atmos soundbar or receiver and plug it into streaming devices like Amazon Fire TV. Netflix, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime also support Dolby Atmos. Many brands produce televisions that support Dolby Atmos, as well as Blu-ray titles and Microsoft Xbox. You could also get headphones equipped with the same technology, or coordinate your receiver with Windows 10 and use any headphones that you have. Apple earbuds also support Dolby Atmos.
Apple Music offers spatial audio supported by Dolby Atmos. It has uploaded more than 75 million songs with spatial audio that are now available on Apple Lossless. Apple is insisting that this represents a massive advancement in enhancing your listening experience. Listening to a song while optioning between surround sound and Dolby Atmos is the easiest and most impressive way to get the experience. Brilliant as surround sound is, it flattens out when stacked up against superior technology.
