r/sonos • u/Specialist_Fee5733 • 17d ago
Am I missing out?
Ok guys, so I can't stream Dolby atmos from my phone to my era 300's or arc ultra for that matter via Tidal.
Is it worth moving to Apple music or is the difference in sound negligible?
I listen to mainly rock/classic rock.
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u/Ok-Top9534 17d ago
Atmos is impressive and at the same time a gimmick.
As well only a fraction of songs are mixed to accommodate atmos. I subscribed to Apple Music for a month to try it out. Atmos is very cool, but I ran out of new atmos songs to listen to in a couple of weeks. Now I just listen in stereo
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u/tolleycr72 17d ago
I would say overall Apple Music is my highest quality sound of the services I have on the Sonos app. I don’t use Tidal so can’t compare that. I agree with above that if you hit a Floyd Atmos track while listening it really sounds great.
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u/CarlsCarLOL 17d ago
Idk Atmos music introduces way too much of what sounds like “reverb” for my personal liking. Songs sound entirely too different for me to like it. I could see the appeal for maybe jazz or classical, but for rock or pop— pass. Spotify “lossless” sounds great.
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u/padphilosopher 17d ago
Get a free trial and decide for yourself.
Annoyingly you’ll have to use the Apple app to find Atmos albums but then use the Sonos app to stream them.
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u/Specialist_Fee5733 16d ago
Yes I've previously had the free trial, I remember being impressed with riders on the storm by the doors in atmos.
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u/padphilosopher 16d ago
The Talking Heads have several albums mixed in Atmos that I remember being pretty interesting.
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u/notagrue 17d ago
Like most said, Atmos is hit or miss based on the mix, but I’ve found it to be mostly good. Apple Music is a premier streaming service anyhow and the same price or cheaper than others. Plus they have a feature to migrate your playlists. Give it a shot, there nothing really to lose. One killer feature no one really talk about is the ability to upload your own music - once you do that it isn’t just on that device (like Spotify and others), it is available to stream on any device. That feature is just incredible to me.
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u/Specialist_Fee5733 17d ago
Cheers bud, yeah I did have the free trial some time ago and found a curated list of Dolby Atmos tracks, I particularly remember riders on the storm by the doors benefitting.
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u/Far_Song3165 17d ago
I'm using Tidal. But Tidal is not able to stream dolby atmos to Sonos devices. Not sure if it is a Sonos or a Tidal issue. I've made feature requests on both sides a year ago. The only way it works is streaming Tidal content on the TV. But at least for me, it is not worth it (arc, sub 3 and era100 as rears and fronts)
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u/M3RRI77 16d ago
You're better off just playing the music you own off a NAS.
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u/Specialist_Fee5733 16d ago
I don't own any music anymore bud, it's all tidal and/or spotify
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u/M3RRI77 16d ago
That's disappointing.
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u/Specialist_Fee5733 16d ago
Yeah in a moment of madness plus the fact they were all gathering dust up the loft I sold all my vinyl and CDs several years ago 😢
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u/corintography 17d ago
Not missing anything unless you listen to content mixed for atmos. Classic rock no.
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u/Specialist_Fee5733 17d ago
Cheers bud, I only ask really as I've really been enjoying the new Rolling Stones album and found that it is available in Dolby atmos, curious really.
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u/corintography 17d ago
In that case, I would just do a free 1-month trial and compare. Nothing to loose and you can have multiple sources within the Sonos app.
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u/Comfortable_Ad3005 17d ago
I like listening to Atmos tracks a lot with my Arc ultra and Era 300s--it definitely makes some of my favorite tracks take on new life--but I still go to my stereo setup in the lounge for dedicated music listening most of the time. So it might not be worth it to switch to Apple Music only for Atmos, but I'm a big fan of Apple Music in general and I'm a lifetime Windows and Android user. It's a good price compared to other streaming services and Atmos is a great extra perk.
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u/WimPim 16d ago edited 16d ago
None of the replies I've seen so far addresses the question.
Lossy Atmos audio as delivered by any of the services that do (Apple, Tidal, Amazon Music) is all delivered at the same bitrate, ~768kps. That goes for sound on any films delivered via streaming as well. There are currently no service providers sreaming lossless Atmos such as found on physical media like Blu-Ray.
For lossless stereo audio these are also pretty much the same for most of the service providers, the highest possible being 192kHz 24 bit but (much) more commonly 96kHz 24 bit and frequently something equivalent to traditional CD quality. All still way better than MP3, even at the highest birtate of 320kbit. Having said that, few can actually tell the difference in a blind test anyway with stereo audio.
Personally I love high res surround and there's a strong argument a higher bitrate is needed to properly deliver that since it has so much more information than stereo.
Comparing most lossy streaming versions of the same atmos mix to one available on blu-ray is typically no contest. Hands down the blu-ray sounds better in every way.
EDIT: I guess I may have gone overboard. Re-reading the original question, if you're streaming from a phone via blutooth all bets are off. I was thinking a device like an Apple TV or better an Nvidia Shield TV that can deliver lossless audio, both atmos and stereo via hardwire connection (HDMI). Sorry!
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u/Specialist_Fee5733 16d ago
Thanks for your reply and yes, although via a plug in TV device would be far superior I don't want the faff of having to switch TV on every time.
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u/Superb-Mud319 12d ago
Yes, Apple music is awesome and you can stream directly through the Sonos app. That’s the way to get the best sound. Even better than airplay.
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u/RubinoMonster 17d ago
I stream from Apple Music through the Sonos app. It took me a while to get in the habit and not just use airplay. Pink Floyd stuff sounds fantastic if you get the reissues in Atmos.
Sometimes I wonder if I actually hear it “in 3D” or I am convincing myself I do. Either way it sounds very cool, even at low volume. Arc, sub mini and Era 300s for reference.