ATMOS Music

Is your car stereo Atmos compatible (you should see a badge or reference the specs in the owners manual).

If yes, there will be some kind of indicator on the read-out screen (ie, the atmos symbol).

If your car stereo doesn’t have atmos, you will be hearing a 5.1 or maybe 7.2 type mix, or even a stereo down mix depending on your speaker set up.

But even if you have an atmos compatible receiver in your ride, you also need ceiling speakers, or upfiring speakers, to provide the full wank. Upfiring speakers in a vehicle could cause environmental hazards if you drive a convertible with the top down (although passing birds may be intrigued by Why Do Fools Fall In Love).

Yes I appreciate the feedback and I just don't have the chops to understand. I'm streaming through my Samsung phone using the Bluetooth and it has an Atmos setting but what's happening between the setting on the phone and was appearing in the stereo from the car I don't know how to discern. It's aftermarket amp and speakers. I'm not sure how to check on whether it's compatible. But I did set the smart phone up for Atmos with a subcategory of Music instead of movies. In any case the surround sound setting sounds pretty darn good on the new beach boy compilation however it may be rendering things technically. I think there are 12 or 14 speakers in the car but of course it can't exactly emulate the specifications for that most technically. Again thanks for the fellowship and the expertise

This is a clever word game of semantics from the makers of the product, exactly what I don’t like. There is Atmos and there is Atmos. On hometheateracademy - first, it tells us that you can shell out $400 for Dolby enabled headphone, but wait for it - you have to then, buy their app!  Initially it was made for theaters.  Speakers in the ceiling and up-firing ones from the floor level.  And all around - 9.1 or whatever.  

Second, the Sony’s are mentioned as having a “Dolby-like” experience. What the heck does that mean? Do we all look like dummies? It talks about a 3-dimensional experience, but it says that any headphones will do the job.  Apps - Dolby for Windows10 or Xbox.  So you are on a computer. For special sound. Another subscription (like streaming) the software is called Dolby Access app. Please. 

Third - these other headphones called Razers, have built in 7.1 virtual surround sound.  Then there are headsets for gaming with built-in 7.1 (so you don’t need to rewire your house) And the way I interpret this - is that the computer is doing a lot of the heavy lifting.  

This article admits that it is very unclear as to how these companies can market these headphones, and claim they support Atmos. The industry is not on the same page! How does anyone expect that the listeners are? 

So, I’ll give you an example;  Bluetooth waterproof headphones.  I swim, and fairly recently discovered that I could have music underwater and it is not a new invention. It is a whole new world for swimmers, who had the only sport without music. Nothing cooler than BB shows I saw in 1967 UNDER WATER!!! I am giggling underwater, over ancient BB banter, which is not always a good thing. You gotta come up for some air. 😂

And, I use a waterproof iPod shuffle and a plug-in wired headphone set that I shove under my goggles so they stay put (for the most part.) But, you will see in the big box stores, headphones (and some big names) that claim that theirs are both waterproof and bluetooth without wires.  Problem is, that the bluetooth signal does not travel in water, so this platform and the “sound” product is a complete scam. You can’t leave your phone on a table and do laps, because the bluetooth signal is broken once you hit the water. It is a joke. When you ask the sales people about it and explain that bluetooth signal does not travel through water, they get it. The mp3 has to be built into the waterproof headphones.  Not stand-alone waterproof bluetooth headphones. You have to load the music on the device, the old-fashioned way.    

The effect is not standing in a theater that is fully equipped for Atmos. It is a matter of degree - and the foundational underpinning is that you need the Dolby Access App, on Xbox (no, I don’t have one of those) or Windows 10 (no more Windows for me) and then “enable” Dolby Atmos for headphones. There are supposedly apps for other platforms.  A lot of this is hype, I think, because it is the “shiny new thing” so, I pity those sound guys who, now, I know are caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place.  At best, I would analogize that it is a “simulation” effect of a theater experience.  Or a ride in Disneyworld. 

hometheateracademy.com/does-Dolby-Atmos-work-with-bluetooth-headphones/

Engadget has its own take on all of this about whether it works with bluetooth.  

www.engadget.com/2018-11-14-dolby-dimension-wireless-headphones.html 

If there is still a load of dispute and controversy in the industry, trying to unpack this thing on this forum, is not exactly a fools errand. Or, is it? It seems that the industry itself does not have a uniform position. At least, we are trying.  

Everyone has to make their own decision about what they invest in.  Ask around - I am certainly no sound expert, but the whole swimming with music, spun my head around, for a minute, trying to distill the differences and spotting the scam. How they ever got patents approved, is beyond me. Someone in that patent office has to know that bluetooth does not travel through water.  In the consumer context it is outrageous.   

The audio from that plug-in waterproof ipod is superb, with old Bose plug in, over-the-ear headphones. Best Buy used to sell the iPod shuffles and offer the waterproofing service for about $100.  Now they are hard-to-find, and big bucks, since apple discontinued them.    

But, the really weird dynamic is, that with the waterproof headphones, once you submerge, the sound is better than on land. I have no idea how that is possible, but when you are underwater, it is complete silence. The sound quality is better underwater.  

It is a good thing that at least the dialog is opened up, so we can all learn together and share what we find out.