Eddy Cue Says Spatial Audio on Apple Music is Equivalent to Watching HD Television for First Time

[SpringKid]

So how do I turn it on
Or is it turned on automatically cuz I don’t see in control center

It's in the Settings app -> Music.

 

[Mausse]

This has nothing to do with Apple. They just brought a headphone compatible version of Dolby Atmos Music to their devices. Atmos Music development was done by Dolby with consulting, and the remixing needed to make it work is done by mixing engineers.
The stereo mixes will always be there as an option for those who prefer them.

this is all apple with automatic “ dolby on” people have choice but statements like “HD for the first time” is just dumb.

 

[iamasmith]

Replying to title, meaning you go 'meh' because the content available in that format maybe isn't what you wanted to listen to (or watch when it came out).

 

[doobydoooby]

I’ve done a few tests comparing the same music in Apple Music and Tidal, and so far Apple music sounds decidedly flat. I’ve tested with AirPods Pro and Sony XM3 headphones through my iPhone and on my Mac Pro through a dac into a proper stereo system. In all cases that I’ve been listening to so far, the tidal tracks in master are much more vibrant and detailed than the same track in Apple Music lossless. It’s as if the dynamic range is much wider in tidal, I can’t explain it any other meaningful way. Bass is richer, sound stage is wider and clearer. The difference is so noticeable it’s like listening through the curtains on Apple Music if you just bounce between the two apps for the same track. Even though Apple Music should be optimised for AirPods Pro and tidal for the Sony buds, the results are very consistent. So spatial may make things bounce around a bit but that’s not really what counts…. Thats my experience so far. Anyone else doing direct comparisons between the competitors?

 

[grmatt]

I tried spatial audio this morning on my atmos setup and it is pretty cool. On my AirPod pro head tracking isn’t working yet, so it’s not at all as impressive as it was with films (disney Apple TV+).

But man.. when I turned lossless on my stereo with my kefs, soooo much better, i could hear the hands touching the bass. Lossless is the big deal!

This tracks for me with sony wm-1000xm4's. With AirPods Pro, Atmos sounded interesting, but on the Sony's it sounded like so much of the sound was missing. With Atmos turned off, I could notice a difference with lossless on and off. It actually sounds pretty damn amazing in lossless.

 

[grmatt]

I just listened to Spatial Audio for the first time. It was the first time I actually heard true music. A tear started to run down my cheek as I experienced this concept, so familiar yet so foreign. I saw the music in front of me. Behind me. Bathing my body in melody. Whispering in my ears revelations the Universe previously kept secret to Herself.

For the first time, I am alive.

You got any more of that stuff, bruv?

 

[grmatt]

Alright… coming back to the thread after listening to actual lossless albums. Oh my. If you’re a Tool fan, listen to any of their albums, they sound amazing.

H from AEnima specifically, my goodness it sounds so goooood!

😳😳😳

 

[grmatt]

No, Eddy. Lossless is like watching HD for the first time; spatial audio is like bringing back 3D glasses.

This is like when I'm getting color feedback on design from a color blind client, true story. Someone reassign Eddy ASAP.

 

[bookofbiff]

I’ve gone back and forth with a bunch of songs listening through AirPods Pro on iOS 14.6 and at first I didn’t understand anyone that said they liked spatial audio. I’m tapping the spatial audio button in control center and the stereo version is clear and punchy and the spatial audio is weak and muddy BUT I think it’s because the atmos tracks are much less dynamically compressed. You have to turn the volume WAY up to get the spatial audio version to be at the same perceived volume. Now I’m enjoying some of these new mixes. Try turning up the volume if you also think everything sounds weak and muddy.

 

[Orizaba]

I don't understand why the iPhone defaults to Dolby Atmos when playing through the phones built in speakers, makes no sense, and sounds terrible to me... Apple Musics sounds way better in Lossless to me. I agree with others where Dolby Atmos should be automatically enabled only with actual Dolby Atmos hardware.

 

[whyamihere]

Listening to Moanin' by Art Blakely or Blinding Lights are the best examples for me so far of the difference. I will say the spatial versions are quieter but they are definitely fuller. The non-spatial versions are louder but flatter. I find myself needing to turn up the volume on spatial audio tunes.

 

[PastorJason]

The spatial audio isn't something very new. SuperAudio CDs and DTS music have been around but just not that popular because you need a special player and a decent sound system. Those discs often had both a 5.1 mix and a stereo mix. I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to 5.1 music when it is engineered correctly. Most of these CDs / DVDs were actually mastered in 5.1 and stereo, so there could be a difference there. Listening to Dark Side of the Moon in 5.1 is an entirely different experience over the stereo version.

It's a great format, if it's done well. But most artists don't record music with surround sound in mind, so that's why stereo is usually preferred.

 

[ojwk]

This tracks for me with sony wm-1000xm4's. With AirPods Pro, Atmos sounded interesting, but on the Sony's it sounded like so much of the sound was missing. With Atmos turned off, I could notice a difference with lossless on and off. It actually sounds pretty damn amazing in lossless.

I presume you are listening wired? Otherwise you are imagining a difference as all Bluetooth audio on Apple devices is lossy…

 

[iksnirks]

Tried it on original Airpods and on the speakers of the 12 Mini. On the speakers, wow! it sounds pretty good. On the Airpods is just sounded super weak. Way too quiet and mushy. Neither are my daily drivers, and in fact, I'm trying out switching back to Spotify right now, so I'm just going to be turning this off.

 

[Hammerd]

AirPods Pro user here. I can't really tell the difference.

Make sure it actually reads "Dolby Atmos" when playing a song on apple music, and not "lossless". Because despite setting Dolby Atmos to automatic, it will play lossless if you enabled both

 

[EM2013]

This is like the audio equivalent of 1080p vs 720p.

No difference in sound with AirPods Pro.

 

[chabig]

Remove 100 GB of downloads and redownload it all to get the songs that have been updated, or select each individual song from the list and remove it and redownload? Sounds easy but is not at the size of my library.

Smart playlists to the rescue. Make one like this:

This list will consist of just files that are NOT lossless. Once you have this list, select all and remove those downloads. Then re-download. Over time, this list will get smaller and smaller.

 

[chabig]

Atmos should be automatically enabled only with actual Dolby Atmos hardware.

Atmos doesn't rely on hardware. It's a means of encoding spatial sound (i.e., the location of sound) in the file. Upon playback, software takes advantage of what it knows about speaker position and computes appropriate waveforms for every channel to place the sounds in space.

 

[ikramerica]

this is all apple with automatic “ dolby on” people have choice but statements like “HD for the first time” is just dumb.

Yep. There have many high definition forms of audio over the years.

I’ve gone back and forth with a bunch of songs listening through AirPods Pro on iOS 14.6 and at first I didn’t understand anyone that said they liked spatial audio. I’m tapping the spatial audio button in control center and the stereo version is clear and punchy and the spatial audio is weak and muddy BUT I think it’s because the atmos tracks are much less dynamically compressed. You have to turn the volume WAY up to get the spatial audio version to be at the same perceived volume. Now I’m enjoying some of these new mixes. Try turning up the volume if you also think everything sounds weak and muddy.

That makes sense and it’s annoying.

Sounds like switching between Stereo Surround encoding and DD on an AV system. DD has higher dynamic range so you must turn the volume up to achieve the same sound level.

In the digital age can’t the playback device recognize that Atmos songs need to be set at a different volume level for playback?

 

[sjsharksfan12]

I just realized I have the Airpods 2 and I won't get Spatial Audio. Will I get it on the Iphone itself? I'm still kinda confused on how all this works. I have an XR by the way, which is one of the older phones.

 

[Duke24]

At least it didn’t take “Courage” to add these features.

 

[tlnargi]

I just realized I have the Airpods 2 and I won't get Spatial Audio. Will I get it on the Iphone itself? I'm still kinda confused on how all this works. I have an XR by the way, which is one of the older phones.

I think you do get it. I have AirPods 2 and can hear the atmos.

 

[tlnargi]

So it seems like all the sounds are “spread out” instead of just blasting from 2 directions. Seems to make it easier to pick up the different instruments, vocals, etc.

 

[HopeWV]

Has anyone noticed the Dolby Atmos songs like come and go? I’m on iOS 15, I’ll listen to a song once in Dolby Atmos and then later I’ll go back to that song and it will only play it in stereo. Force quitting, restarting, nothing changes it. Just wondering if anyone else is experiencing that.

 

[sjsharksfan12]

I think you do get it. I have AirPods 2 and can hear the atmos.

I just read online and if I can check the compatibility, I have to go to Settings, Bluetooth, and click the I next to my airpods to see if I can get spatial audio. I do not on mine. Maybe I'm just confusing Spatial with Atmos?