Billie Eilish in Dolby Atmos sounds WAY better (to me) - here's why

Billie Eilish's new album sounds so much better to me in Dolby Atmos it's not even funny.

And the same is true for most other music, too

There's a simple explanation, which has nothing to do with surround sound or spatial audio, and in this video I demonstrate exactly how it works - and why we should care.

For a general introduction to Dolby Atmos, and a demonstration of how surround-sound can work on headphones, click here:

[MusicTechExplained]

Thanks Ian for picking up the topic of Dolby Atmos and giving your expert point of view regarding mastering, loudness, and dynamics.

[kelvinfunkner]

WOW! Such a massive difference! I appreciate how you've been a crusader for dynamics and I've been a fan of more open and dynamic music for most of my career. It always makes me cringe when I give the client my first "open" dynamic and punchy mix and then they ask if I can make it "louder"...I always tell them that it will be a sacrifice of the integrity of the music...at least now there's hope for the future so that clients can make an educated and audible comparison with music that they're familiar with and see firsthand how "louder" or more precisely "limited" doesn't always sound "better" and actually just sounds more "limited". Great work as always.

[vaibhavahujate]

Thank You for the amazing video Ian. As someone who has been 'theoretically' studying Atmos for a while now, I did notice Dolby's requirements about the loudness level being -18LUFS and really wondered about the change dynamic range. this is exactly what was needed!

[gxtarer]

I feel like this can kind of reduce the Loudness War too. There's a different between stereo and Dolby Atmos. The stereo verson sounds flat and dull while Dolby Atmos version sounds more alive and more real.

[RubenKelevra]

I feel like the flat voice in the "normal" versions is the real game changer. It sounds so flat, like a cheap radio with a mono speaker vs a live performance in comparison.

You normally don't really focus on the drums, so this is just a better "framing" for the better voice dynamic.

[Daniel-pufi]

As an amateur, I didn't expect to be able to notice the difference, but it's HUGE. And that distortion on No Time to Die, though...

[nunyabizfam]

I'm having a hard time finding any useful information on atmos for music. I found that on netflix itx -27lufs and -2db TP. You mentioned that the lufs requirement for music in atmos is -18 but is the true peak also -2 like netflix? or -1 like standard releases on streaming platforms? also, when mixing for tv/film the lfe is EXCLUSIVLEY reserved for fx, How is it being commonly used in atmos?

[adventdude]

Thanks for this very interesting video, Ian. The Atmos versions seemed to sound noticeably brighter, but I'm also wondering whether some of the spatial processing may also help to "make more space" in the front by dulling elements that are placed more toward the rear, thus allowing more clarity in the overall result.

[jnthnofficial]

for some reason, the Atmos versions (specifically the billie one) sound unpolished and poorly mixed. The stereo sounds a lot cleaner, although I did notice the distortion. Still, I preferred the stereo.

[JimijaymesProductions]

Tidal should give you royalties at this point, had no reason to get it because I use Spotify and Youtube music but these atmos mixes sound great in stereo just proper dynamics, not completely destroyed.

[AvithOrtega]

Great video, i completely agree with your argument about dynamics to be a very important factor of why this Dolby Atmos versions are sounding better.
I just have one question. I hear those Atmos versions to be downmixed to Stereo, so if you had the versions in real Atmos (with its spatial qualites) how much the dynamics would change? I think we can hear that in Youtube, just rendering the whole Surround mix and hear and analize those actual Atmos versions, that would be interesting.

[XtremeKremaTor]

Stereo mixes compared to Dolby ones are muddy, behind the veil, without certain frequencies pronounced and with distortion. I'm shocked, actually, how night and day difference that is. Similar to the Crystalyzer but taken to the higher level. Hats off to them. Music is exiting again.

Great Video.
Vocal EQ seems different in the atmos version of Ed Sheeran as well. Clearer. And the snare is a pretty big difference. It's more dynamic but also brighter? I'm wondering how much loudness plays a part. They probably could have made a more exciting stereo mix that would be louder but more in line with the atmos EQ and Levels? Not saying the dynamics don't play a part, pretty big difference there as well. Many of these masters sound like there are significant EQ differences which makes it hard to isolate the loudness element.

[theiammike]

The real point here basically is we can have both albums like "Happier Than Ever" and albums like "An Evening with Silk Sonic". Mixed and mastered exactly as the artists and producers intended, whether or not it's originally done in Atmos.

I hope someday though that there'll be big mainstream albums that will be first and foremost mixed and mastered in Atmos. :)

[wrightd]

This is definitely the thing I'm most excited about with Atmos on streaming. I didn't truly hear Olivia Rodrigo's SOUR until I heard it in Atmos.

[kaori-]

Thanks, great video as always.
I wait for all platforms to adopt -18LUFS, to be even more free in dynamic possibilities.

Interestingly, the last track seems to be so compressed in the mix to begin with, and in the regular stereo version I guess the mastering engineer did something to counteract this compression. While in the Atmos version the mix was more audible as it is and thus sounded more compressed at times. Just a thought. :)

[eeXpi]

Very interesting indeed. And definately a step in the right direction!

Can you listen to these more dynamic mixes on PC with just stereo speakers with a Tidal subscription? Or do you need to have some kind of Dolby certified hardware to get access to these?

[mrmist]

Interesting comparison. It would be interesting to also know a bit more about the stereo mixes you are comparing to. How you have aquired them.

[halrinach]

Thanks Ian, very interesting comparison. The point here is that the stereo version was the approved master for CD (album release) and as you already know most mastering engineers do not prepare a special version for streaming. Only when an artist release a single is possible to have a dynamic version for streaming. The Dolby Atmos version is intended for -18LUFS integrated as a result it sounds more dynamic.

[Journeymanlive]

Great video ! did you compare the mastered stereo version vs un-mastered ATMOS? John Haynes mixed the Coldplay one, and he said he wasn't sure you have the MASTERED atmos tracks. Anyway what a joy to listen to NON-loudness war tracks! I'm excited with this medium.