Immersive Audio and How to Achieve It

So I dug into the "New Atmos Arrival" Playlist on Tidal tonight, the jaw dropping, face melting, heart stopping tracks (so far) which (if you have a system that is capable and a subscription) are:

1) Tubular Bells - Incredible

2) Let’s Stay Together- Al Green- Listening to this I understood why God gave us center channels. Anything less for Reverend Al is heresy.

3) Chicago- 25 or 6 to 4- OMG, the horns! Incredible depth, tone, separation, the guitar solo, beautiful.

4) God Only Knows- Beach Boys- The harmonies in stereo are a bit squished, in atmos, each voice as an object, breathing in their own distinct location, breathtaking.

5) Englishman in New York-Sting- The woodwinds, the strings, the tone, it is like you never heard it before.

6) Linus and Lucy- Vince Guaraldi- The piano, crystal clear in the soundstage but the percussion, WOW, its like you never noticed it until now.

New drops by the Stones, Pink Floyd. McCartney, Clapton, Luther Van Ross, and sooo many other. Oh yeah, Sinatra, incredible, breathtaking, dare I say...priceless??

Link to the Tidal playlist:

https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/842c6d95-a332-48dc-af28-92c573bd4fdc

 

I do enjoy my music ’live, and in person’...

...until recently.

3 venues: In order, a symphony hall, a medium club, and a larger hall.

The symphony: Not ghastly seats, but the performance came off as weak....in an acoustic level of quality....but an enthusiastic response from the audience, in a polite fashion (typ. for the crowd...) = 😎

The club: ’Meh’ acoustics, but they’ve been around long enough to play to the strengths of the venue....a rambunctious crowd that seemed to go off at a cough, not so much.... = 🤨

Larger hall: Loud lousy mix, and a crowd that was able to drown out the performance at will, and they definitely had enough of one. The performance and performers intrigued, but not enough to make me tolerate the audience.... = 😖

I think I’ll invest my ’entertainment $s’ at home....when ’we’ can drown the performers in sheer spl....

I’m out.

....and so much for ’live immersion’.....

At home, be it ever so.... I can Immerse self easily, happily, and painlessly.

Linkwitz once commented on ’ignoring the room’ with his dipoles in the 4 ’corners’; made a lot of sense to me, and still does.

Esp. with omnis....such as the Walsh format, which Yes, one can play loud enough to thrill (or whatever you need to experience.....) with 2, L & R.

Funny thing about them....4, L,R, F & R....’perceived loudness’ increases nicely, and doesn’t lead to frying the coils or creasing cones....or both. *S*

This doesn’t mean that they’re the only things I listen to, no.

But...they are the ones I prefer to do so.

Surround myself....and give up. *L*

Happily yours, J

I think I’ll invest my ’entertainment $s’ at home....when ’we’ can drown the performers in sheer spl....

and you don’t have to travel, stand in line, and have people coughing on you LOL.

Linkwitz once commented on ’ignoring the room’ with his dipoles in the 4 ’corners’; made a lot of sense to me, and still does.

That is exactly what the new Sony HT-A9 does, 4 speakers and instead of dipoles they use proprietary tech to map the room.

You can't replicate the "object based" experience with channels, no way, no how. For consumers to dump $$$$ into channel based tech without ever having compared to an object based experience is lunacy, given the growing amount of content available in apple music and tidal. Yes, object based has tradeoffs too, but the experience is stunning in my room, stunning!

https://www.ibc.org/features/object-based-audio-immersive-experiences-and-personalisation/9214.article

 

 

This seems like a discussion between a surround sound system vs 2 channel.

Why, in 2023, would anyone voluntarily use only two speakers to recreate this illusion of a live performance in a large room?

It simply sounds better. Usually, the sonic quality of 2 channel speakers are significantly better than the surround transducers. Also, the cost to buy additional speakers, controllers, amplifiers try to reach the comparable sonic level is usually price prohibitive. Many value superior sonics more than surround sound immersion.

it’s not one size fits all. Some 2 channel’s systems do not translate easily to a surround system: low powered tube amps, nearfield listening like with monitors,
Also, room set-up is different. A space for 2 channel is not the same as surround, not everyone has the space available.

I consider video surround sound system (immersion from multiple speakers) a different goal separate from my 2 channel system (fidelity).  Trying to accomplish both in a single system is usually cost prohibitive.  I looked at several surround sound systems that can be in the ballpark of the fidelity of my speakers (which have Herculean dampening which isn’t inexpensive). The Perlisten surround will be ~$40k, then matching quality electronics and amps, makes this extremely cost prohibitive. Same with the YG surrounds.

For video surround, I’m going to try the Nakamishi Dragon 11.4.6 . Fantastic reviews, and at $3.9k much more affordable route and it’s wireless - I don’t have to run wires. Pre-sales is sold out.
https://dragon.nakamichi-usa.com

On a side note most of us has spent considerable time, effort, deliberation, and resources to get to where we are today. Radical change to surround requires additional cost, time and effort for sonics that may be immersive surround but likely won’t match our subjective sonic level of high end audio is a risk few will take.

Very importantly, relative to 2 channel music, there is a very limited amount of audiophile level multichannel content available- perhaps I should have started with this.

@kennyc

This seems like a discussion between a surround sound system vs 2 channel.

Well it sounds that way, but not. Surround sound never stuck, DVD-A, SACD, never caught on and while better than redbook, SACD or DVD-A were more expensive than CD’s and most of the content was simply stereo recordings that were converted. It was also channel based.Atmos is object based, it sounds different than surround sound. Here is a video by engineer Steve Genewick from Capitol Studios that breaks it down. Steve has mixed tons of 2 channel stuff too:

https://youtu.be/5x0sK-8dofA

Usually, the sonic quality of 2 channel speakers are significantly better than the surround transducers.

If you are talking dipoles yes, I agree. You have a good point too, if your speaker/amp budget is $25K do you divide it among two speakers and one two channel amp? You can get a killer stereo with that budget. Or, do you get a killer atmos setup like the one I link to below that can do reference level channel based audio AND MCH object based audio:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ImmersiveSysF--focal-7.14-immersive-audio-studio-monitor-system

For video surround, I’m going to try the Nakamishi Dragon 11.4.6

I think that’s fantastic, congrats! Atmos music will work with that setup.

I consider video surround sound system (immersion from multiple speakers) a different goal separate from my 2 channel system (fidelity).

I get that, I wasn’t convinced my surround processor could deliver great stereo until I did a side by side comparison with a reference level two channel preamp. Marantz rocks for my taste and budget on both atmos and stereo with my processor.

On a side note most of us has spent considerable time, effort, deliberation, and resources to get to where we are today.

You left out MONEY! Big money, into five figures, some members into six figures. This is where I see the fork in the road. Spending BIG money on a system that is only capable of channel based audio in 2023 is fine if you are NEVER going to be capable of trying new tech. I get that and I see the temples of audio in the virtual system area and when you got a six figure stereo, you are "good enough".

I am not in that camp. I am in the camp that a good system can play music or movies, channel or object based audio, has LOT’s of available content on streaming services (atmos music is exploding in this regard thanks to Apple spatial audio), and is simple enough to use a kid can do it (Alexa, play Miles Davis in Dolby Atmos on Tidal, done).

Very importantly, relative to 2 channel music, there is a very limited amount of audiophile level multichannel content available- perhaps I should have started with this.

I have amazing news, all you need is atmos capable headphones to start, the content is quick, easy, and available on apple music or tidal.

See:

https://www.dolby.com/experience/headphones/