Apple Music - Dolby Atmos - Spatial Audio makes a significant difference?

[Blakeney]

Wanted to see how many others have noticed a SIGNIFICANTE difference when using Apple Music or since the latest update with their sound. Personally I cannot go above a sound level 5 before it becomes too ear piercing..

Then I found out, NOTHING is coming through any of my other speakers except for the dash center channel. I've tried changing to bluetooth and Spatial Audio on and off, 3D enhanced sound etc...

Bluetooth is a bit better, but music from Apple Music and Atmos is brutal. The back ground instruments and vocals are all weird and most of the time you can't even hear them. It's like just the main instruments are firing all over top of each other off the windshield right into your face.

Anyhow notice anything strange?

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[Electrified Outdoors]

I haven't noticed anything strange per se but I feel like and this is just my personal opinion. Others will. I'm sure feel differently. But I feel like Tidal is better for the stuff I listen to. I'm mostly country and classic rock but I listen to other stuff too.

 

[bhlackey]

Not sure if you have something broken, but I prefer Apple Music but with spatial disabled. This still gets the good bit rate and codecs, but not the 3D parkour trick added to many tracks that weren’t designed for it.

 

[André]

I noticed today that not much comes from the rear speaker. When adjusting the sound to come only from the rear to test, may be 5% of the volume is coming out and I only ear the back vocals, no bass and very little of anything else. I never tested that before the update so I don't know if it was like that before...

 

[Blakeney]

my sound was 100% more FULL prior to the update. Now it seems all from front center dash Channel, barely nothing if anything from the doors etc..

 

[Mathme]

I'v been an Apple Music subscriber for years and refuse to pay for another service. For that reason I've only done BT streaming since I got the R1T over a year ago. Since the last update and listening on Apple Music, it's like all of the speakers are now working.

Now if the volume would only be consistent from track-to-track...

 

[memrivian]

Posted similar thing on another thread..I hated the Dolby atmos songs as the vocals were low and treble was too high..non atmos sounded better. But I guess it comes down to the song and whether it was mixed the right way. Oasis Supersonic sounded very bad and Stairway to heaven sounded good.. bass is still louder than rest of the percussion.. phew! Scratching my head trying to figure it out

 

[Ksarat9]

my sound was 100% more FULL prior to the update. Now it seems all from front center dash Channel, barely nothing if anything from the doors etc..

That’s what I’m noting as well. Although I dont know what it sounded like before because the update was already installed when I bought it on Saturday.

 

[chisss]

I am on the trial for Apple Music and not all songs are Dolby Atmos, that being said, where I do notice a difference switching between Apple Music and Spotify playing the same song is between The Weeknd - Save Your Tears. Spotify is very bass heavy and Apple Music is not as heavy and you have instruments and voices you hear behind the driver’s seat that u don’t hear on Spotify.
that’s really the only real song where I’ve noticed the difference back to back.

One thing that keeps be from just going full Apple Music is that podcasts are a separate app where Spotify is all in the same app and I don’t have to switch back and forth if I want to listen to a podcast

 

[Spamthechan]

Some badly mixed atmos tracks seem to come all from the center channel. The good atmos tracks sound good.. the bad ones sound really bad. Overall with atmos turned off Apple sounds a little better but the app is so buggy I am sticking with Spotify (which sounds pretty decent)

 

[Picard]

Definitely play the 'dolby Atmos speaker test' track. You should hear every speaker separately. When I did this, I could only hear the front left and center. I did a soft reboot and voila, all speakers are working and Atmos (for the properly mixed songs) sounds great!

 

[jlstan]

Tidal is still better (IMO) on non-Atmos which is most. But when I run across something that's ATMOS, it really pops. However, I have the Meridien so mileage may vary.

Edit: As noted above, some of the Atmos stuff is just mixed poorly. Those are disappointing for sure.

 

[Bullwinkle]

Wanted to see how many others have noticed a SIGNIFICANTE difference when using Apple Music or since the latest update with their sound. Personally I cannot go above a sound level 5 before it becomes too ear piercing..

Then I found out, NOTHING is coming through any of my other speakers except for the dash center channel. I've tried changing to bluetooth and Spatial Audio on and off, 3D enhanced sound etc...

Bluetooth is a bit better, but music from Apple Music and Atmos is brutal. The back ground instruments and vocals are all weird and most of the time you can't even hear them. It's like just the main instruments are firing all over top of each other off the windshield right into your face.

Anyhow notice anything strange?

I would reset. Something is clearly wrong. My system is working perfectly. Gen 1--not Meridian

 

[epowermarine]

Gen 1 2022 R1T Meridian System here- It's really touch and go for me. I was happy with the old Amazon HD (paid for) tracks and some Spotify 'highest quality' tracks. Would sometimes turn on 3D for certain tracks, off for others. Had the 63 and 125hz sliders down -2. Now with the update I have to go down -3 and there is still too much bass. Atmos songs are a total mixed bag. Seemly nothing at all comes from the roof speakers with Atmos, it does from non-Atmos 3D. Feel like I have to start over with the EQ now.

 

[rivtyler]

Posted similar thing on another thread..I hated the Dolby atmos songs as the vocals were low and treble was too high..non atmos sounded better. But I guess it comes down to the song and whether it was mixed the right way. Oasis Supersonic sounded very bad and Stairway to heaven sounded good.. bass is still louder than rest of the percussion.. phew! Scratching my head trying to figure it out

That Oasis track sounds like total ass! Glad it’s not just me. It clearly wasn’t mastered for Atmos.

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