Apple Music to Incentivize Artists to Make Songs Available in Spatial Audio

[kc9hzn]

It does not support head tracking correct, but you can go into the Apple Music settings and set spatial audio to “always” in which case it will force any pair of headphones or speakers to play the Dolby Atmos mix of a song if available.
By default though, it’s only set to “automatic” where it will only play the file when a supported audio product is connected.

Ah, I see. In other words, both of us were both right and wrong. The truth was basically split right down the middle. The default is standard Stereo and not Spatial Audio, unless you’re using AirPods.

For what it’s worth, it looks like you can turn off Spatial Audio entirely in Settings, or you can turn off head tracking or Spatial Audio in Control Center via a long press of the volume control when you’ve got compatible headphones on. What can you do with HomePods in terms of turning off Spatial Audio? I’ve taken a look in the Home app settings but didn’t see anything, and I’m not on my home network to be able to test.

 

[justanthonylee]

I personally have been loving the Spatial Audio mixes and versions of songs. If you don't it's an easy music settings toggle but if given the choice Spatial all the way.

 

[zubikov]

Apple has a hardware problem with Spatial Audio. It's barely noticeable on Homepods or Airpods. Even if your 2.1 home system or a Sonos sound bar have upward firing speakers for that Atmos effect, it's still difficult to tell.

If you have a 5.1 surround system that's where the immersiveness really comes in and you feel like the whole Atmos music thing is worth it, and kinda cool. Then you really start to enjoy it when you have a 5.1.2 system with actual speakers firing down at you from a ceiling or high up on a wall. And the complete experience comes in with a 5.1.4 system, where you create a virtual box with your speakers, and can actually replicate the environment as the audio engineers have it in their software.

So how much longer can Apple continue to use marketing to sell Spatial Audio, before most customers understand that you need real hardware to hear the difference?

 

[zubikov]

Incorrect.
The entire point of Dolby Atmos is that it’s adaptable, meaning no matter how many speakers you’re listening to it on, it’s still a different mix than the stereo mix.
Even on stereo speakers, it’s a different mix, usually done by a different mixing engineer, using the original multi-track tape or whatever kind of format it was stored in at the time.
Even on stereo headphones and stereo speakers, you are still not listening to the original stereo mix if you have Atmos/spatial audio enabled.

Yep, you need 5.1.4 for the height object to be played correctly. I'd argue this is more important for movies and games with things flying over your head. For music, 5.1.2 will play a simplified height object (if provided), and will still immerse you in the sound in a way that traditional stereo and even older 5.1 systems could not.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

Spotify >

 

[neuropsychguy]

Spotify >

Spotify is greater than nothing?

 

[kc9hzn]

Apple has a hardware problem with Spatial Audio. It's barely noticeable on Homepods or Airpods. Even if your 2.1 home system or a Sonos sound bar have upward firing speakers for that Atmos effect, it's still difficult to tell.

If you have a 5.1 surround system that's where the immersiveness really comes in and you feel like the whole Atmos music thing is worth it, and kinda cool. Then you really start to enjoy it when you have a 5.1.2 system with actual speakers firing down at you from a ceiling or high up on a wall. And the complete experience comes in with a 5.1.4 system, where you create a virtual box with your speakers, and can actually replicate the environment as the audio engineers have it in their software.

So how much longer can Apple continue to use marketing to sell Spatial Audio, before most customers understand that you need real hardware to hear the difference?

I suppose there’s the difference between Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio. Spatial Audio is really a technique for mixing Atmos down into traditional Stereo (with head tracking to allow the soundstage to change in vaguely the same way it may when using actual surround sound). Basically, the idea is to get pseudo-surround onto mobile devices that won’t ever have actual surround sound, like smartphones and tablets, or into rooms where actual surround sound might not be very practical.

 

[Makosuke]

I had a recent music experience that made me much less skeptical of things like this (if not specifically this) being a gimmick.

There's a particular duet track I like that is not recorded in Spatial Audio, but does have very strong stereo separation of the two singers, basically one from each speaker. It came up on shuffle when I had Spatial Audio turned on on my AirPods, and I stopped what I was doing to listen because it was so different than I'd ever heard it. Specifically, I could turn my head to "face" one of the two singers, and listen to them directly, with the other in the background literally behind me.

That didn't feel like a gimmick, it felt like experiencing a song I was very familiar with in an entirely different and strangely more participatory and intimate way.

3D audio would not necessarily work this way unless carefully designed to, but that certainly illustrated to me how remixes of existing tracks can be more than just decorative.

The more mundane example would be some choral Christmas music I was listening to last night on my 7.1 home theater system. The tracks aren't anything fancy (old stereo CD rips), but must have been recorded in matrix audio because there's a pseudo-rear channel. Switching between all-channel stereo and surround music sounds very different--flat but room-filling, versus sounding like you're in a concert hall with the choir in front of you and reverb coming from behind. I imagine that a proper Atmos remix of a similar track would be even more interesting.

 

[GraXXoR]

I'm so happy I've been building and maintaining my own music library for 20+ years (and counting)

I really don't want Spatial Audio for stereo music, and I especially don't want older songs "upgraded" to SA

This is just more "trying to find a new thing" from Apple.
Very forced

Me, too. I have my library of music stored in triplicate for backup purposes and includes every album I’ve ever bought since I was a university student. There is something to maintaining your own library that you can browse through in your own home, reflect on and reminisce about your past.

Something I fear the “own nothing” generation will never get to experience.

 

[PS8409]

I have this turned off for Apple Music as it sounds horrible for most of the songs imo. Hopefully it doesn’t affect normal stereo sound.

I liked it for like one song “Summer of 69” by Brian Adams. But then it gutted all the other songs I ever tried and I can’t stand it now. The main lead vocals get pushed back in some of them and the hard punching drums get dampened it’s terrible. It sounds like such a cool idea but then it just falls so flat on its face.

 

[turbineseaplane]

There is something to maintaining your own library that you can browse through in your own home, reflect on and reminisce about your past.

1000% -- For my library, the exact order of things is hard coded into the filenames and the Comments metadata field.

Going through my library is literally like a trip through a life diary for me.
Scrolling along and seeing the songs brings back memories all across my library, going back into the late 80's and 1990's, as I've kept the order of things fairly accurate for music I added later, but had acquired at a certain time in life in the 1980's/1990's

It's something streaming simply can't ever match for me.

 

[svish]

Use the feature sometimes. Expecting to see more songs available on Spatial Audio after the latest move from Apple

 

[T-R-S]

Apple needs to force iTunes connect providers like DistroKid from charging artists $30.00 per song to upload ATMOS tracks - Apple charges Distrokid $0.00 for ATMOS tracks! A 12 Song Album can cost an Artists over $300.00 to submit and album! Distrokid are scumbags for ripping off artists.

 

[Mother Nature]

Question - Does spatial audio do anything on non-headphones? I listen to the majority of my music on stereo speakers at home, or in the car.

Some Android devices and I think Windows laptops allow you to force a "Spatial Audio" experience in any headphone, which can be heard in some IEMs and devices while others don't sound any different. However, Apple does not offer anything like that, you need to have headphones that support Spatial Audio and then they will allow you to use Spatial Audio system wide.

 

[Mother Nature]

Somewhat long story short: The Beatles Love Soundtrack (Cirque Du Solei) was mixed for surround sound to play at the Mirage. I've seen the show a few times and it sounds fantastic.

When it (the soundtrack) was rolled out as optical disc (maybe 10+ years ago) one could buy the CD for stereo version and DVD-Audio for the 5.1 surround version. I've had both since originally released but could only play the latter on disc players. The latter sounds great on surround sound systems.

I keep hoping for a way to convert DVD-Audio "surround" to Apple Spatial Audio so I can drop it into Apple Music and enjoy it... but I don't think there is a consumer way to do that yet??? Is it still "stream only"? If there is some (own it, store it locally) option, I'd love to know about it. I do know a way to get approx. there by using FCPX to make a video for the TV app, but would love to have my own Apple Music version as a spatial audio track.

I do believe such conversion wouldn't result in an Atmos track, the reason is that surround is not 100% equal as to object mapping = Dolby Atmos, additionally, I think this would be as lyrics, you can add your own lyrics to songs but that wouldn't allow synced lyrics or karaoke mode.

 

[Mother Nature]

Like I needed yet another reason to never consider Apple Music for my streaming needs, not even for free.

Spatial audio is fine, maybe even great, for movie/show audio. I have absolutely no interest in Apple mangling music purely so it can sell more AirPods (I quite like my AirPod Pros, but spatial audio is permanently turned off).

(YMMV, my opinion is my own, enjoy music the way you want to listen to it, I'll do likewise, everyone wins, etc.)

Do you understand that SA (same as lossless) is optional and Apple is not forcing any option? Actually, Apple is giving you MORE options than the competition?

Why do people always have to complain at everything?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I do believe such conversion wouldn't result in an Atmos track, the reason is that surround is not 100% equal as to object mapping = Dolby Atmos, additionally, I think this would be as lyrics, you can add your own lyrics to songs but that wouldn't allow synced lyrics or karaoke mode.

Yes, not ATMOS but true Dolby Digital 5.1. The original soundtrack on the disc is not ATMOS.

Still, unless something has changed recently, no way to turn 5.1 channels into a playable MUSIC file that can be put in Apple Music. The only workaround that I know works is to make a blank video (black screen) and put the 5.1 track in as a surround audio track. I'd like a true music file option that works... even if it is not true ATMOS and lacks lyrics & karaoke options. I just want the audio on the disc to be the audio that plays back from the file.

There are many other discs released with ATMOS audio tracks. I'd love to see a way to buy the disc, "rip them" for Apple Music and enjoy them just like ripping stereo tracks from CDs. If this is possible, I'd love to be educated on the process and tool(s) to accomplish it.

 

[cateye]

Do you understand that SA (same as lossless) is optional and Apple is not forcing any option? Actually, Apple is giving you MORE options than the competition?

Why do people always have to complain at everything?

Because unquestioning corporate servitude is boring. It's my money—Of course I have some opinions about how I spend it and what I consider a useful feature or over-hyped marketing garbage (like spatial audio). Others, including you, may have different opinions. That's great. Let's hear 'em. We may disagree, but I respect that your needs and wants may be different than mine. However, if dissent toward Apple makes you uncomfortable, that's not my problem.

 

[MrGIS]

I have this turned off for Apple Music as it sounds horrible for most of the songs imo. Hopefully it doesn’t affect normal stereo sound.

If you turn off Atmos, then you will hear the Stereo mix.

 

[MrGIS]

It was my understanding, though, that Apple Music’s support for Spatial Audio is a vendor specific thing limited to Apple audio products. If you’re listening on non-Apple devices (such as a 3.5mm headphone jack), I don’t think Apple Music is delivering the Spatial Audio version (mixed down to stereo in any way). It definitely doesn’t support the 3D sound stage aspects of Spatial Audio without head tracking or the HomePod line’s speaker arrays.

Spatial Audio (Atmos) is NOT limited to Apple and Beats products. Atmos works with ALL Headphones and earbuds when you select 'Always On'. Apple and Beats products will use the Atmos mix using the "Automatic" setting.

Beyond that, Atmos will work with a surround speaker system that supports Atmos.

 

[Eldaerenth Faexidor]

If you turn off Atmos, then you will hear the Stereo mix.

Although I already knew that, thanks for the tip still, bud. Appreciate it!

What I meant was that I hope they still keep the stereo version in the future and not replace it by the spatial sound/Dolby Atmos only. I’m a bit old school, I guess. Lol.

 

[MrGIS]

Although I already knew that, thanks for the tip still, bud. Appreciate it!

What I meant was that I hope they still keep the stereo version in the future and not replace it with the spatial sound/Dolby Atmos only. Im a bit old school I guess. Lol.

Stereo isn't going anywhere anytime soon, but at some point spatial will become dominant.

 

[Eldaerenth Faexidor]

Stereo isn't going anywhere anytime soon, but at some point spatial will become dominant.

I’m only willing to acknowledge the former but will vehemently reject the latter 😤. We shall resist this nonsense, brother! 🫡

 

[DarthDon]

How I love my high-resolution music... 24 bit, 32 bit... It took an incredible amount of work, but it will stay there forever. If you can hear these incredible depths of the room with a great pair of headphones, with a glass of whiskey - dissolved into the finest nuances...
Sorry - spacial what? 🤣

 

[Schnegg]

How I love my high-resolution music... 24 bit, 32 bit... It took an incredible amount of work, but it will stay there forever. If you can hear these incredible depths of the room with a great pair of headphones, with a glass of whiskey - dissolved into the finest nuances...
Sorry - spacial what? 🤣

I can get on board with this take. But not even a very nice Scotch can make me forget the fact that even the Stones use auto-tuned voices now and overly bassy Justin Bieber like production. The tastes of modern music production bug me way more than the format gimmicks.