Is anybody else experiencing certain Dolby Atmos music tracks where you can barely hear the vocals? I have come across this quite often recently with Dire Straits Sultans of Swing being the most recent. Could this be a Sonos issue with playback of certain songs where the vocals practically disappear? I can't imagine Mark Knopfler approving the release of this song sounding this way. Any thoughts or feedback?
It’s possible that trueplay could be an issue, so if you have that on, maybe turn it off. The other possibility is that your upfiring or side firing ‘channels’ are not hitting the main listening area very well, and the producer chose to send the vocals along that path for whatever reason.
It’s also entirely possible that it’s just a poorly produced atmos track. I don’t know that musicians have to sign off on the mix, but we do know that there is a lot of pressure to mass update tracks to atmos as quickly as possible.
+1Thanks for responding Danny. I don't use Trueplay because it just wants to turn everything to 0. I don't think it's an issue with channels not working or not missing the listening area. I sit directly in front of the Arc Ultimate, about 12 ft back. Take a listen to Dire Straits Money For Norhing (Greatest Hits) or Brothers In Arms and tell me what you hear.
+3Thanks for responding Danny. I don't use Trueplay because it just wants to turn everything to 0. I don't think it's an issue with channels not working or not missing the listening area. I sit directly in front of the Arc Ultimate, about 12 ft back. Take a listen to Dire Straits Money For Norhing (Greatest Hits) or Brothers In Arms and tell me what you hear.
Since I get the rear 300, I’m listening a playlist which includes “Money for nothing” and it sounds amazing to me. I’ll try again tomorrow, but I don’t remember what you’re describing.
I’m using Arc, Sub 3 and 2xEra 300. True Play On.
Edit: adding that I’m using Amazon Music
Really can't check anything for you since I don't know which music service / source you are using.
Maybe completely unrelated but on Amazon with the Atmos versions enabled I have found several really poorly mixed tracks, some completely unlistenable. Some have been fixed over the last couple months.
+1Sorry about that Stanley. I am using Tidal. I come across tracks that sound incredible and then some where the vocals just disappear.
Sorry about that Stanley. I am using Tidal. I come across tracks that sound incredible and then some where the vocals just disappear.
Yea, I don’t use Tidal, so i can’t replicate your scenario. I have definitely heard some atmos track come off rather poor though. I have 3 different rooms with atmos, and it usually sounds better (slightly) in the rooms where I have a pair of Era 300s, or my Beam+ Era 100s, than the Arc + Sonos Ones. That can be explain a bit in that the audio is still mostly coming from speakers and/or simiulated, and thus less separation...if that makes sense. At the same time, when it’s mixed well the Arc Ultra will sound the best.
I’m not saying there isn’t anything wrong with your setup, just that there might not be anything wrong with your setup.
My Amazon tracks sounded bad in my 300/Sub Room and in my Ultra/100/Sub Room.
Is there a contact at Tidal where you can report the bad tracks?
I have come across some truly awful Atmos mixes, streaming and on physical disc. The Prince re-releases being amongst the worst. Compare these to, say, Roger Waters 'This is not a drill' concert Blu-ray and there is absolutely no comparison.
May may not be your setup but there are vast quality differences in the current flood of 'Atmos' mixes becoming available. Especially the re-mixes of older releases.
Enter your E-mail address. We'll send you an e-mail with instructions to reset your password.