Dolby Atmos: How It Works

If you're reading this, chances are you love movies. Not just the way they look, but the way they sound. Until recently, if you wanted to enjoy a film in a custom home theater, it'd be through a surround sound system that didn’t quite sound like the one at the local megaplex. But now, thanks to Dolby Atmos and other immersive audio formats, you can enjoy the same quality in your Ponte Vedra Beach, FL property. Sounds exciting, right? There’s just one question: how does it work?

See Also: Dolby Atmos: Why Is It The Best Surround Sound System Setup?

A New Way of Mixing Audio

To understand how immersive works, you need to understand a little bit about how soundtracks get mixed. For a traditional surround soundtrack, Hollywood mixers assign each sound to a specific "channel" or speaker. So, the dialogue comes from the front, center channel, while music and other sounds come from the side and rear channels.

In the late seventies, this was a big step up from two-channel stereo. Movie soundtracks all of a sudden had an unparalleled level of depth, allowing for more detail and nuance. But even five channels wasn’t that much to convey all the detail of a film soundtrack.

So, Dolby, the movie studios, and consumer electronics companies started working on a solution. After all, picture quality began improving at a rapid rate, especially for home entertainment systems. Standard def became HD, which in turn became 4K. Movies looked better, so why wouldn’t they sound better?

Enter Dolby Atmos, a new audio format. With Atmos, sound engineers didn’t just assign each sound to a channel -- they treated each sound like an individual object. And by using advanced software, they could move each of the sound-objects throughout the speaker configuration. That means more natural movement of the sound across your home theater.

In other words, a car that enters the right side of the frame and zooms to the left will sound like it’s moving from right to left realistically. And it’s not just the big sounds; everything sounds as though it’s realistically placed and moving around the room.

Of course, what’s most impressive about an Atmos system isn’t just that it sounds so good. It’s that no matter the size of your system, you can enjoy the same immersive quality.

Creating the “Sphere of Sound”

The most notable difference between a standard surround sound setup and an Atmos configuration is the addition of overhead speakers. These down-firing units help create the "sphere of sound" and allows the audio to move about the room seamlessly.

Because there are no gaps in the audio delivery, and thanks to the advanced mixing techniques, your surround system can sound as good as one in a commercial theater. But Atmos is also the result of precise calibration, and only works when you’re able to enjoy the overhead units. What happens if you can’t install them?

Thankfully, there’s a solution: up-firing speakers. Existing as either separate speakers or add-ons to your current floor-standing units, up-firing speakers use the natural reflections of your room to fill the space with sound.

By working with the hard, flat surfaces of your room rather than trying to minimize them, you can enjoy totally immersive audio.

Is a Dolby Atmos surround sound system right for you? Find out what you need to know by speaking with an experienced professional. Give us a call today at 1-904-ALPHA95 for more information.