An Opinion: Dolby Atmos Music Streamed vs Disc
For my serious music listening I prefer my Sonos Fives in stereo pair with Sub 3. My primary genre is smooth jazz.
However, as I own an Arc Ultra with Era 300’s & Sub 4 x 2 and a stereo pair of Era 300’s with Sub 3; I’ve been curious about Dolby Atmos for music. I‘ve streamed various Dolby Atmos tracks to both setups and frankly have not been overwhelmingly impressed. That said I will give the edge to the Arc Ultra setup.
One thing I’ve learned (at least to my ear) is that Dolby Atmos for music sounds best when the mix is more “eclectic” rather than straight forward. Understand...I’m not a sound engineer so “eclectic” was the best term I could think of to convey my thoughts.
One artist that came to mind that I felt embodied “eclectic” mixes in their music was Prince. One song; in particular, that I think showcases his “eclectic” style of mixing is “When Doves Cry” from the album Purple Rain. The overlays of vocals and instruments IMO is the perfect song for a Dolby Atmos mix.
So, I streamed When Dove Cry in Dolby Atmos via Apple Music to my Arc Ultra setup and was very impressed with the mix. That started me thinking...would the song sound any better (more impressive) on disc. I located a copy of Purple Rain in Dolby Atmos here.
Final verdict…. the disc version met all my expectations in that it did sound even better than the streamed version. My player is the Panasonic DP-UB9000 HDR UHD 4K Network Blu-ray Disc Player.
I also learned that “Speech Enhancement” on Sonos Soundbars should be turned off when playing music. I can attest that that minor tweak did make a difference in overall tone.
Now having written all this…will I be streaming more music in Dolby Atmos and/or purchasing Dolby Atmos music discs…No. I’m still a two-channel guy and besides this was a one-off experiment. Let’s not mention the double-digit cost of Dolby Atmos music discs with no video versus a movie in Dolby Atmos. However, on second thought I may try to locate a Dolby Atmos smooth jazz disc for comparison. To again satisfy my curiosity.
I just wanted to share this experience with you…so take from it what you will. In the meantime,...Enjoy your Sonos!