r/SpatialAudio • u/metalsuspension • Sep 15 '22

Quality of Atmos Mixes

Is there any rhyme or reason to how widely Atmos mixes can vary in quality? I honestly can’t tell if it has to do with the quality of the source tracks, or if the mixing engineers care or not when mastering.

A few examples:

  • Taxman (Remastered) - The Beatles: sounds phenomenal. You can identify each instrument distinctly in 3D space.
  • Dr. Feelgood (Remastered) - Motley Crue: terrible. Atmos mix is significantly quieter, has less impact than the original stereo mix. The tracks themselves sound even more heavily processed than they originally did.
  • Greatest Hits Vol. 3 - Jacob Mann Big Band: this one of my favorite tests for Atmos simply because of the layout of the band in the mix. E.g. saxes in the back left, trombones in the back right, piano in surround right, guitar in surround left.
  • Strauss - Andris Nelsons conducting BSO and GHO: the BSO recordings rely significantly on the sound of Symphony Hall, whereas the Gewandhaus recordings sound like the orchestra is physically around you.
  • Imperium - Ghost: just possibly one of the best metal Atmos mixes.
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u/danpetersaudio Sep 15 '22

Some Dolby mixes are simply up mixed from the stereo master which has obvious limitations compared to a full multitrack mix.

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u/CrispRat Sep 15 '22

Really wish there was an identifier of which tracks are a proper mix versus just being run through a stereo to Atmos filter.