All posts tagged: Atmos

Focal Mu-So Hekla Soundbar Review: Dolby Atmos With 1 Speaker

Focal Mu-So Hekla Soundbar Review: Dolby Atmos With 1 Speaker

Published by skeptic

I watched Avatar: Fire and Ash using the Fandango at Home app, and in one scene, there’s an alarm chime during an attack sequence that fills the room. A main character is running out of oxygen, and you can hear the warning beeps move from the side to the center. Even when I watched Crime 101 using the Amazon Prime app, the droning synths and pounding drums sounded ultrarealistic, even compared to my own floor-standing speakers. All good so far, but I will be curious to get my hands on the LG Sound Suite speakers, because they are the first to support Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, which lets you put speakers anywhere. With the soundbar, sub, front, and rear speakers, the LG system could be a top pick for its unique feature, just as the Mu-so Hekla is for its one-box setup. For movies, the Mu-so Hekla could even replace an AV receiver if you are space-constrained. I hate running speaker wire everywhere, so a stand-alone speaker does have a certain appeal. In side-by-side testing, however, …

Dolby Atmos and the (sound) objects of my affection: How Cadillac, AKG, and Maroon 5 helped me enter my spatial-audio era

Dolby Atmos and the (sound) objects of my affection: How Cadillac, AKG, and Maroon 5 helped me enter my spatial-audio era

Published by Jenni Sidey

Sign Up For Goods 🛍️ Product news, reviews, and must-have deals. I was somewhere around East Hollywood, at the onramp of the 101, when the buzz began to take hold. You know the buzz. That indefinable thing when people catch something from music. I’ve been chasing the buzz for over a year, through SUVs, concert venues, convention centers, and recording studios. From behind the wheel to behind mixing desks. From consoles to consults. I’ve been chasing the buzz while learning how Dolby Atmos and object-based audio have expanded the immersive nature of music. It’s January 2025. I’m in the front passenger seat of a Cadillac OPTIQ all-electric SUV, foot traffic and metadata swirling around me. But we’re sitting totally still. It’s CES, and we’re parked in the lobby of Dolby Live at Park MGM Las Vegas. It’s not my first listening session in an EV. But it is my first time really hearing what multidimensional in-car entertainment can do, and what this 19-speaker AKG Studio Audio System in particular is capable of.  Prince’s “When Doves …

Your Dolby Atmos doesn’t sound awful because of your hardware, it’s this

Your Dolby Atmos doesn’t sound awful because of your hardware, it’s this

Published by skeptic

Dolby Atmos is the way to go if you want a totally immersive experience with your music playlists and/or movie soundtracks. The 3D surround sound technology adds both height and depth to audio such that, with the right setup, source device, and content, you can feel the sounds all around you, not just in front, behind, and at the sides. It’s no wonder, then, that Dolby Atmos is the go-to choice whenever available. You can truly feel like you’re right there at a concert, or in the action during an intense thriller movie. The same experience can be had for Dolby Atmos game titles. However, you might be disappointed if you set everything up only to find that the audio sounds awful. Isn’t that the opposite of what should happen? If you have ruled out your gear as being the culprit, you might find that the reason can be attributed to a few other potential reasons. Related What Is Dolby Atmos? How Does It Work? Dolby is associated with high-quality audio, and that doesn’t look …

Best Premium Soundbars: Dolby Atmos, Hi-Res Audio, and More

Best Premium Soundbars: Dolby Atmos, Hi-Res Audio, and More

Published by skeptic

Honorable Mentions Not every premium soundbar reaches my elite list, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth consideration, depending on your budget and setup. Here are some other choices that I or other WIRED reviewers tested and liked. Marshall Heston 120 for $1300: This first soundbar from the legendary amplifier and (more recently) Bluetooth speaker maker provides some real perks. I love the classy design highlighted by sparkling gold control knobs and groovy strips of vinyl that recall Marshall’s iconic instrument amplifiers. The sound is musical, detailed, and balanced, and adds solid Dolby Atmos expression. The main drawback is that the sound that feels restrained, something I was especially aware of when the action ramps up, which is the opposite of what you’d expect from a bar steeped in rock ‘n roll heritage. The price also rose $300 after launch, further dampening the vibe. Yamaha True X Surround 90a for $3,500: Yamaha’s return to the soundbar market certainly has the “premium” part down in the staggeringly expensive 90a. The package includes a wireless subwoofer and …

Stop letting your TV speakers interfere with your expensive Dolby Atmos setup

Stop letting your TV speakers interfere with your expensive Dolby Atmos setup

Published by skeptic

Dolby Atmos is a spatial audio format that works virtually on supported TVs or speakers and physically on surround sound speaker systems. For the best experience, you need a Dolby Atmos receiver and a 5.1.2 surround sound speaker layout to provide full spatial coverage. Dolby Atmos includes object-based sound imaging and uses down-firing speakers mounted above you to create a three-dimensional listening effect. This is how the audio format works when you have at least a 5.1.2 layout, but there’s one thing that could throw a wrinkle in your spatial listening experience. Regardless of whether your inbuilt TV speakers support Dolby Atmos, you should make sure they’re disabled when using a dedicated surround sound speaker system. Check your TV’s audio output settings to confirm your ARC/eARC, digital audio out, and passthrough audio preferences are configured correctly for your Dolby Atmos speaker system. If they aren’t, your TV speakers could be inadvertently interfering with the Dolby Atmos system or forcing it to fall back to basic stereo sound. Here’s what you need to know about connecting …

Soundcore Nebula X1 Pro Dolby Atmos Projector Review: Big, Brilliant

Soundcore Nebula X1 Pro Dolby Atmos Projector Review: Big, Brilliant

Published by skeptic

The first-person perspective used in F1: The Movie, makes for thrilling home cinema, particularly up close on a 100-inch screen, enveloped with accurate, spatial audio. Sinners was also engaging, although I was impressed by the sound effects more than the soundtrack, with music a little too bass-heavy in places. It’s a very minor grumble, though, considering that most portable projectors lack bass. Photograph: Chris Haslam It’s all impressive, and because I can slot the speakers away again and wheel the X1 Pro off into a corner, surprisingly practical. With none of the technical know-how or installation costs, or interior-design disruption of a dedicated cinema room to factor in. A clever negotiator could argue this makes the X1 Pro great value, if you’re lucky enough to have the space to hide it and a screen when not needed. Liquid Cooled Despite the beer fridge dimensions, the Nebula X1 Pro is remarkably quiet. This is thanks to a liquid cooling system—first used on the X1—that replaces a traditional fan. It’s brilliantly effective and means you don’t have …

Dolby Atmos is great until you realize your setup isn’t actually using it

Dolby Atmos is great until you realize your setup isn’t actually using it

Published by skeptic

Dolby Atmos is a surround sound audio format that brought spatial audio mainstream. Rather than invest in an expensive surround sound speaker system, users can now experience spatial audio in Dolby Atmos with many of the earbuds and headphones they already own. Dolby Atmos is available for music, TV shows, and movies, and it creates an immersive and three-dimensional listening experience. The mastering process for Atmos content is object-based with a focus on spatial height, so you can really feel where sounds are coming from in a song, show, or movie. It’s rather easy to use Dolby Atmos with mobile devices and headphones. As long as your phone, streaming service, and headphones all support Dolby Atmos, you’re all set to start streaming spatial content. However, home theater or home audio setups are a bit more complicated. Dolby Atmos support on the best home theater and audiophile gear is still inconsistent, and you must seek it out. If one link in the chain isn’t compatible with the spatial audio format, you won’t be able to use …

Best Sonos Speakers (2026): Soundbars, Headphones, Dolby Atmos, and More

Best Sonos Speakers (2026): Soundbars, Headphones, Dolby Atmos, and More

Published by skeptic

I’ve tested every major Sonos product, from the ancient Play:1 and Play:5 to the latest Era 100, Era 300 speakers, and flagship Arc Ultra soundbar. Apart from their recent app troubles, my experience over the years has always been overwhelmingly positive. Here are my favorite aspects of Sonos: Simple setup, loads of options: The Sonos app guides you through setting up a new system or adding speakers to an existing one. Some Google Assistant speakers offer similar setup and features, but it’s not as seamless to group them. My favorite Sonos competitor is Wiim, which offers similarly intuitive products, but only two standalone speakers (testing to come). Wiim focuses more on streaming amplifiers like the Wiim Amp Pro for connecting traditional speakers. Sonos has many more product models for different use cases, from soundbars to headphones. Easy streaming: The Sonos app supports almost every major streaming service, and Sonos gear supports in-app services like Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect for direct streaming. Sonos soundbars like the Arc Ultra provide impressive home theater support, while also …

Check these 3 things before streaming music in Dolby Atmos

Check these 3 things before streaming music in Dolby Atmos

Published by skeptic

Music streamers can listen to their favorite songs in surround sound with formats like Dolby Atmos. This Dolby format creates a three-dimensional immersive audio experience using object-based masters. Producers and artists can choose exactly where to place a sound in a virtual spatial environment for maximum effect. This sounds impressive to people used to traditional surround sound formats, which rely on fixed-channel sound that lacks dimensional height. Dolby Atmos is over a decade old, but it’s become more common for music streaming, so you may be trying it out for the first time. However, listening to music in Dolby Atmos isn’t as easy as flipping a toggle or enabling a setting. The format requires specific streaming services, phone models, and audio gear to work properly. All it takes for your songs to revert to stereo is having one part of your audio setup that is incompatible with Dolby Atmos. Avoid Spotify and YouTube Music Make sure your music streaming service supports Atmos Creating a Dolby Atmos master is a manual process. Producers and artists use …

Check these 3 things before streaming music in Dolby Atmos

3 reasons why you shouldn’t use Dolby Atmos

Published by skeptic

Dolby Atmos is an immersive audio format that allows for further detail and spatial sound effects than a typical stereo recording. With songs mixed in Dolby Atmos, you can hear an object-based audio experience that places sounds spatially in your surroundings, including above and below you. Recordings mastered in Dolby Atmos provide a rich listening experience while retaining relatively low file sizes, making them an excellent option for music streamers on platforms like Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Tidal. That all makes Dolby Atmos sound great, but until music streaming services make it possible to download songs in both lossless and spatial formats, it’s not for everyone. If you have audio gear capable of handling lossless audio, or gear that can’t handle Dolby Atmos, downloading spatial tracks might create a worse listening experience. Dolby Atmos isn’t lossless Dolby Digital Plus, used for streaming, is lossy It’s a common misconception that Dolby Atmos is a lossless audio format, or works in tandem with a lossless audio format. That’s partly because music streaming services like Apple Music, …