Spatial audio has become an increasingly important area of the audio market in recent twelvemonth . Stereo channels is boring , and it ’s all about sound that whizz at and past you .
Yet , that verbal description rather undersells what 3D audio intend to do . We ’d be first ( or at least one of the first ) to say that spatial ( or 3-D ) audio frequency can be gimmicky , but the real point of spacial audio frequency is to engulf you within a mankind of sound , one that apes how we would listen to audio frequency in a natural way .
Dolby Atmos and360 Reality Audioare two of the swelled proprietors of 3D audio recording . you could hear to the 3D formats on several devices such as headphones and soundbars , and in some cases through streaming services . The future of audio is n’t coming , it ’s already here , so which out of Dolby Atmos and 360 realism Audio is right ?
What is Dolby Atmos and how does it work?
First off , what is Atmos ? Well , as you ’ll already have observe , it ’s a spacial audio format but in more technical terms it ’s physical object - based immersive audio data format .
What are these objects , we here you say ? The way Dolby Atmos works is that it ’s not restricted by channel - based surround sound system , your more established 5.1 and 7.1 verbalizer layouts . Essentially sounds can begin anywhere and move around the listening space , and each sound is delimit as an object .
There can be up to 128 audio object , with 10 channels / object used as the bottom ( or foundation ) and 118 object free to move about in quad . This creates that superstar of lightning strike from above or capture someone ’s interpreter as they move from the front to the back of the space you ’re in . The skillful kind of Atmos soundtracks are often the ones where it ’s subtle .
What is 360 Reality Audio and how does it work?
At first blush , 360 Reality Audio would seem to be the same thing as Dolby Atmos . In reality ( explain the punning ) , it fundamentally is .
Sony build 360 Reality Audio around the innocent - to - use MPEG - hydrogen 3D Audio codec , which like Atmos supports 64 individual channels . Like Atmos , it can move audio around from back to front , side - to - side etc to create that immersive feel .
What devices support the spatial audio formats?
Dolby Atmos is , basicaly , everywhere . Your smartphone can play Atmos content ( although few phones have the real Atmos processing onboard ) . It ’s supported insoundbars , headphones , wireless surround system , TVs , Ab receivers , game consoles , wireless speakers , and more devices we ’ve probably forgotten about .
360 world Audio is wide available but not as much as Atmos is . There are earpiece , soundbars , and wireless speakers feature , but for the most part , these productsare made by Sony . There are a few blade that support 360 realism Audio on their headphones such as Audio - Technica , but Atmos pretty much dwarfs 360 Reality Audio in terms of sheer issue .
Where can I listen to Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio?
With Atmos you ’ve make physical media such as4 K Blu - rayand Blu - beam that endorse Atmos mixture . You ’ve also get music streaming services such as Apple Music , Tidal , Amazon Music where you may listen to to medicine in Dolby ’s 3D audio data format . Pretty much all the TV cyclosis services support Atmos , such asDisney+,Apple TV+ , andNetflix , though you have to yield a premium for admittance to it .
Sony ’s rival is less present in the market . It was underpin by Tidal but was dropped in favor of focusing on Atmos , while it does appear onAmazon Musicand the Deezer 360RA app . You wo n’t find it on physical medium such as Blu - ray but that ’s not what Sony is really aiming for with 360 Reality Audio .
It recent years it ’s taken a dissimilar tact with the format , work on on top of existing Dolby Atmos soundtrack with its 360 Spatial Sound Mapping technology . We ’ve only hear it onSony soundbars(surprise ) , but it works by creating a map of the way and dictate where sound should be placed reckon on the speakers you have at your dispsoal . It measures the way and calibrates the auditory sensation so you get the right immersive experience that you ’re looking for .
Which is better?
As Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio do the same thing , neither is necessarily better or worse . What matters most is the catalogue , compatibility and access to it , and Atmos wins in that area . There ’s more music mix in Atmos , there ’s more way to access it , and there ’s more way to enjoy it .
360 Reality Audio is by and expectant the same technology but going down a more or less unlike path . There are multiple rendering of 360 Reality Audio , whether for gambling , music , sound mapping , and personalisation that do give it a slightly different experience .
The matter is that you do n’t really have to prefer between the two . 360 realness Audio technology rather complement Atmos on soundbars and reasoned systems , and we ’re almost certain we ’ve oral sex Sony say that its technical school improve upon Atmos .
Regardless , both appear to be here for the long - condition , so you better buckle up for immersive sounds being the way you listen to plastic film , TV , and music .
