In the audio and video world, there may not be a bigger buzzword than Dolby Atmos. It’s the feature touted by most major soundbar manufacturers, promising to completely change the way you watch movies and TV shows at home. It’s also found its way into an entire network of devices, from headphones to car audio ecosystems. But what is Dolby Atmos, and is it worth the hype? In this guide, we explore everything about Dolby Atmos, diving into how it works, how to get it, and whether it makes sense for your needs.
What Is Dolby Atmos and How Does It Work?
Imagine sound moving around you, above you, and through you, creating a truly immersive audio experience. That's the essence of Dolby Atmos. Unlike traditional surround sound, which assigns sound to specific channels (like left, right, center, and rear), Dolby Atmos treats sounds as "objects" that can be precisely placed and moved in a three-dimensional space.
Instead of simply sending audio to a specific speaker, Dolby Atmos encodes sound as individual objects with spatial information (location, movement, size). A key feature is the addition of height channels. This allows sounds to come from above, creating a more realistic and encompassing soundscape.
Dolby Atmos decoders in your audio equipment dynamically render the audio based on the number and placement of your speakers. This means it adapts to your specific setup, whether you have a simple soundbar or a complex home theater system. By precisely placing and moving sound objects, Dolby Atmos creates a more realistic and immersive listening experience, whether it's the roar of a jet flying overhead or the subtle rustling of leaves in a forest.
What Devices Support Dolby Atmos?
Dolby Atmos is supported by a wide (and continuously expanding) range of devices, from home theater systems to headphones and even car audio systems. Soundbars are some of the most prominent and accessible methods to experience Dolby Atmos, with a growing variety of bars offering either virtual (or simulated) Dolby Atmos or a full 3-dimensional sound experience complete with up-firing drivers, which point up to the ceiling and reflect the sound back down.
The best Dolby Atmos soundbar we’ve experienced is the Sonos Arc Ultra, thanks to a 9.1.4 configuration that includes four dedicated up-firing drivers that allow the Arc Ultra to deliver an immersive, comprehensive soundstage. There’s countless other Dolby Atmos soundbars to consider, and we’ve rounded up some of the best of them in our best soundbars guide.
Soundbars With Dolby Atmos
In addition to dedicated Dolby Atmos home theater systems with ceiling-mounted or up-firing speakers, there are several other compatible products, including select car audio systems from brands like Rivian, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and more, as well as headphones and earbuds for Dolby Atmos Music playback from brands like Bang & Olufsen and LG, to name a few.
While the technology isn’t widespread in the earbuds and headphones space yet, the products that have experimented with it have been fascinating. LG’s Tone Free T90, which the brand touts as the world’s first Dolby Atmos wireless earbuds, features Dolby Head Tracking technology that is meant to intuitively identify the location of the sound as you move your head in order to keep you at the center of the action.
Headphones and Headsets With Dolby Atmos
What Should You Look For in a Dolby Atmos Product?
When choosing a Dolby Atmos product such as a soundbar, there are a few things to look out for. While virtual Dolby Atmos systems (especially high-end options) can be very effective, it’s best to look for systems with up-firing speakers to maximize the height effect. A number such as 5.1.2 or 7.1.4 indicates the speaker setup, with the last number indicating the amount of height channels.
You will also want to consider the room or space that your Dolby Atmos setup will live in. Rooms with high, vaulted ceilings are wonderful from an aesthetic point of view, but they may not be ideal for a sound system that relies on up-firing drivers bouncing sounds off your ceiling and back down to you.
If you’re considering Dolby Atmos headphones, you don’t exactly have a huge selection to choose from. The good new is that Dolby has specifically cataloged all of the current headphones and earbuds that are outfitted with Dolby Atmos on its website. Several of these options are more gaming centric, so be sure to factor that into the equation. Speaking of equations, Dolby makes sure to spell out that to truly experience a Dolby Atmos headphones setup, you need to have all aspects of the ensemble: headphones enabled with Dolby Atmos, a streaming service that supports it, and Dolby Atmos content to listen to.
Finding (and Playing) Dolby Atmos Content
The immersive experience of Dolby Atmos is only as good as the content that supports it. If you’re hoping to play Dolby Atmos content through a soundbar connected to your TV, you need to make a few considerations before getting started. First, you will need a TV that supports Dolby Atmos playback/passthrough (most modern 4K TVs do), and you will need to make sure that TV is connected to your Dolby Atmos-enabled soundbar via HDMI cable. A different connection, such as an optical cable, will not be able to produce Dolby Atmos content. In essence, you need all pieces of the puzzle intact and working together in order to achieve that sweet Dolby Atmos sound.
Once you’ve locked in your setup, you can find Dolby Atmos content in a variety of places. Streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and HBO Max have a growing library of Dolby Atmos content, with a bit of a catch. Certain services (looking at you, Netflix) reserve Dolby Atmos content for its highest subscription tier.
While they can be slightly old school, UHD Blu-ray discs are a prime source for high-quality Dolby Atmos audio. Just make sure to check the disc's packaging for the Dolby Atmos logo. The same goes for video games with a growing number of titles supporting Dolby Atmos, particularly on PC and Xbox.
In terms of music streaming three different services offer Dolby Atmos tracks: Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music.
Regardless of where you find your Dolby Atmos content, it’s not hard to ensure that you are indeed getting the 3D sound you’ve been searching for. Start by looking for the Dolby Atmos logo, a clear indicator that a piece of content supports the format. On streaming services, you can usually find it in the audio details for each title. Depending on your soundbar, you can also verify that the bar is playing Dolby Atmos sound in your accompanying app.
Dolby Atmos vs. Dolby Digital vs. DTS:X
Dolby Digital is a traditional surround sound format that uses channel-based audio. It assigns sound to specific speakers, creating a 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound experience. In a nutshell, Dolby Atmos builds off of this “traditional” surround sound experience, incorporating object-based audio and height channels for more immersive and realistic audio.
DTS:X, comparatively, is similar to Dolby Atmos in that it also deals in object-based audio. It uses a different coding method than Dolby Atmos and tends to be less widely adopted when facing off against its more popular counterpart. Both formats are great for adding immersion to your home audio experience, with some considering DTS:X to be slightly more flexible when it comes to adapting to different speaker layouts. The choice between the two really comes down to personal preference, the availability of content, and the capabilities of your audio equipment.
Conclusion
Dolby Atmos has revolutionized the way we think about home audio by introducing object-based sound and height channels, creating a truly immersive listening experience. Pair that with the constantly expanding availability of soundbars that can produce Dolby Atmos audio – and, in most cases, do it well – and we have suddenly found ourselves in a world where great, encompassing sound is widely accessible to the masses. You don’t have to go to a movie theater to get a cinema-like experience anymore. Whether you're watching a movie, playing a game, or listening to music, Dolby Atmos brings a new level of realism and depth to your audio.
Nick Woodward is a sportswriter-turned-tech journalist, covering A/V tech as a contributor at IGN.
