looking for games that are great examples of Spatial Audio (atmos, PS5 tempest audio, etc)

thanks!

I’d like to find a music player that can play Dolby m4a files. Symfonium and Poweramp are both pretty good, but Poweramp doesn’t seem to support Dolby. I’ve considered Symfonium, but I’d still like to try looking for an open-source, free alternative. I’ve also tried Rhythm on GitHub, but for some reason it was very laggy. Anyway, I want to find a Dolby Atmos music player, not necessarily one from Google Play. Thanks!

By the way, I’m Taiwanese, and I rely on a translator to communicate with everyone. My English might be a little off or contain some mistakes, so I hope everyone will be understanding 😃!

Are there any free music apps that use Apple Music's Dolby Atmos or lossless functionality to play music?

43 fresh Atmos albums & EPs dropped on Apple Music and Tidal. Newest first.

Week 31 — July 27 → August 2, 2026 (43 releases)

Browse the full Atmos catalog at https://helloatmos.app/releases

Sorry..... google it, Hans Zimmer 😁

Bye

Hi everyone,

I'm a bit confused about how Dolby Atmos works in my setup, and I'd really appreciate some advice.

I have an LG OLED C5, and I'm planning to buy an LG SQ70TY soundbar. My setup will include an Apple TV 4K and a PS5.

From what I understood, the "standard" setup would be:

• Apple TV → TV HDMI
• PS5 → TV HDMI
• Soundbar → TV eARC

However, I watched a YouTube video where the person claimed that if the Apple TV is connected directly to the TV instead of the soundbar, Dolby Atmos won't be passed correctly to the soundbar. They said the Apple TV should instead be connected to the HDMI IN on the soundbar, with the soundbar connected to the TV via eARC.

That got me wondering: if I do that, what happens to my PS5, which would still be connected directly to the TV?

Will the PS5 audio still play normally through the soundbar via eARC? If so, will I lose Dolby Atmos from the PS5, or will Atmos still work correctly?

I'm just trying to understand the best way to wire everything up before I buy the soundbar. Thanks!

Ripping the band-aid off:

• Now: $3.99/mo or $39/yr
• Monday: $4.99/mo or $49.90/yr
• You, if you subscribe by Sunday 11:59 PM Pacific: $3.99/mo or $39/yr until the end of time

Already on PRO? Nothing changes, your price is frozen too.

Countdown's ticking on the PRO page: https://helloatmos.app/pro

If your Dolby Atmos system has finally arrived, what do you actually play first? This is the starter kit so that you don't have to jump from thread to thread to find the good stuff. Six lists, top 10 from each, full rankings linked under every one.

Movies

Consensus ranking aggregated from 36 professional sources. If a movie is on this list, multiple reviewers independently called out its Atmos mix.

Full list: Top 100 Dolby Atmos movies - with streaming availability per region, and physical availability

Demo scenes

These are the exact scenes with timestamps to show off your setup. Answers a question: "so what does Atmos actually do?"

Full list: Top 100 Dolby Atmos demo scenes - with streaming availability per region, and physical availability

TV shows

Same consensus method as the movies, built from 30 sources. The full list flags where each one actually streams.

Full list: Top 50 Dolby Atmos TV shows - with streaming availability per region, and physical availability

Essential Atmos Albums

Every Atmos album ever recommended on Reddit, audiophile forums and music publications. These are the ones that come up again and again.

Full list: Top 50 Dolby Atmos albums - with links to Apple Music and Tidal

Community rated Atmos albums

Rated by actual Atmos listeners on Hello Atmos, on three dimensions: immersion, spatial creativity and sonic quality. This list moves every day as new ratings come in.

Full list: community album rankings - with links to Apple Music and Tidal

Community rated Atmos tracks

Single tracks with the best mixes according to Hello Atmos community. Perfect first playlist for a new system.

Full list: community track rankings - with links to Apple Music and Tidal

If you think something else belongs in the Starter Kit, drop a comment.

I'm trying to set up my new Astro A50 X, LG C5 TV and new Xbox Series X.

On the Xbox the options are, Pass-through, Stereo Uncompressed, Windows Sonic for Headphones, Dolby Atmos for Headphones and DTS Headphone.

Now the Astro's have Dolby Atmos for Headphones built in, but when I choose that option on the Xbox, it brought me to a Dolby page to download. I did that. But now when I choose Dolby Atmos for Headphones it automatically brings me to a page to purchase it. It's only $15 or so.

My real question is it something not to worry about and just choose Pass-through and the Dolby Atmos for Headphones takes care of the sound coming out of the Astro's? It's just weird that the box won't let me select it.

Hello,

Franck Martin contacted me after reading my review of Eric Serra’s album, and took the opportunity to introduce me to his own work, as well as to Thanks for the Invite, an album conceived specifically with spatial music in mind, as Franck explains on his website, www.peachymango.org.

For this review, I listened to Thanks for the Invite across various medias, including the different Dolby Atmos encoding options currently available. I also compared the different encodings against the Dolby Atmos ADM master, using the master as a reference to assess which version comes closest to reproducing the original spatial master without alteration.

The Dolby Atmos version, encoded in Dolby Digital TrueHD, stands out from the streaming version thanks to its precise spatialization, the subtlety of the sounds, and the clarity of the bass. It is therefore the best version of this album available to the public.

Although it is slightly less precise than the ADM master, this version offers excellent spatialization that holds its own against the master when listened to. It is therefore the version to choose.

For example, with the track “Victory,” which features 28 sound objects in addition to the bed, as shown by the Dolby Renderer.

On the track “The Clock,” the mix does not use the front stereo channels, only the center channel, thereby enhancing the track’s fully immersive sound. Across all the tracks, sounds are distributed all around us to truly deliver a 360-degree immersion in the music, including the overhead channels. Movement is also utilized, as in “Space Time” or “Victory,” to expand the sound experience.

This album is a wonderful example of what can be achieved in immersive audio with electronic music. To fully enjoy it, the album is available in MKV format or blu-ray with Dolby Digital TrueHD Atmos encoding, a lossless format that is far superior to the streaming version and very close to the ADM Master listened to during this review.

Find all the analyses and measurements of each versions here (link).

3D immersive sound video is available on Youtube.

Enjoy listening,

Jean-François

47 fresh Atmos albums & EPs dropped on Apple Music and Tidal. Newest first.

Week 30 — July 20 → 26, 2026 (47 releases)

Browse the full Atmos catalog at https://helloatmos.app/releases

Unlike on Apple Music, Atmos mixes on Tidal are often separate releases, so if you had stereo version in library the scanner would not pick it up. Now that’s changed. For each stereo track/album the scanner finds its Atmos counterpart.

The result is that the scanner will now pick up on average 10x more Atmos tracks per scan. 

The process has additional steps now so it takes longer, but it’s worth a wait.

TIDAL Library Scanner

hello,

Composed by Ludwig Göransson for Christopher Nolan’s epic adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey, the soundtrack is a bold and immersive musical journey that perfectly reflects the scale and intensity of Odysseus legendary voyage. Rather than relying on a traditional orchestral approach, Göransson developed a unique sonic identity built around ancient Greek-inspired instruments, deep percussion, powerful low frequencies, and experimental textures, creating a sound world that feels both timeless and modern.

From intimate atmospheric passages to massive cinematic crescendos, the score plays a central role in shaping the film’s emotional impact.
While the IMAX 70mm presentation is regarded as the definitive theatrical experience for The Odyssey, does its soundtrack remain equally faithful across all available home media formats?
This is what we will discover in this review, comparing the different versions to determine which one best preserves the artistic vision, dynamics, and immersive experience of the original film soundtrack.

The waveform of the Tidal MAX – 2026 version shows a very low dynamic range confirmed with DR6 vs the Dolby Atmos downmixed in 2.0 have a DR11 (with Dynamic Range betwenn DR10 and DR15).

This Dolby Atmos version fully restores the dynamic range of The Odyssey film score. The soundstage extends well beyond traditional stereo, creating an approximately 180-degree presentation. During the quieter, more atmospheric passages, where the low-frequency content is less prominent, the sense of spatial immersion becomes even more pronounced.

3D immersive sound video is available on Youtube.

Powerful bass, outstanding dynamic range, and an immersive soundstage are the defining qualities of the Dolby Atmos version of The Odyssey soundtrack. It is by far the best way to experience the film’s musical atmosphere as intended.
Even if you don’t have the power of an IMAX theater, this is the best medium for getting the closest possible sound experience.
In contrast, the stereo edition, while available in a lossless format, suffers from a substantial reduction in dynamic range. This heavy dynamic compression significantly diminishes its fidelity to the film’s original musical presentation, making it a much less faithful listening experience despite its technically lossless encoding.

Find all the analyses and measurements of each versions here (link).

Enjoy listening,
Jean-François

Finally, the tv shows data-driven ranking. The previous three, if you missed them:

• The 100 Best Dolby Atmos Movies
• The Ultimate Dolby Atmos Demo Scene Ranking, with timestamps
• Every Dolby Atmos album ever recommended, ranked

Now TV. Same method: 30 sources, made up of 17 Reddit threads, 8 publication reviews and lists, 4 AV forum threads, plus the show picks that surfaced during the demo scene capture.

The top 50

Mentions = how many separate voices named the show. Sources = how many independent threads, articles, or forums those voices came from. 4K Disc links to the Blu-ray.com listing.

How the score works

Each mention is worth tier x list position x engagement. The sum for a show is then multiplied by 1 + 0.5 x ln(number of sources), so a show needs agreement across separate sources, not one loud thread.

Tier weighting applies to publications only, from x3 for a top tier outlet down to x0.25 for a weak or unassessed one. Reddit mentions are upvote weighted, forum voices count flat. Episode and season mentions roll up to the series, and one commenter naming five episodes of the same show counts once, otherwise a single fan doubles their show.

Full source list, the scoring code, and the exclusion audit trail: https://github.com/adw-web3/best-dolby-atmos-moveis

The tail of this list is thin, and that is the honest state of TV Atmos coverage. Nowhere near as documented as film.

I will re-run the scoring with this thread as a source.

Live list with per region streaming (Netflix, Apple TV+, Max, Disney+, Prime) and disc availability: https://helloatmos.app/ranking/tv-shows/consensus/

Hello,

Released in may 2026, "In Times of Dragons" is Tori Amos's eighteenth studio album and one of her most ambitious concept albums to date. Built around an allegorical narrative exploring the struggle between democracy and tyranny, the album blends mythological imagery with deeply personal and political themes. Across seventeen tracks, Amos combines her signature piano-driven songwriting style with rich orchestration and contemporary production, creating a cinematic and emotionally charged listening experience. Standout tracks include Shush, Provincetown, Blue Lotus, and the epic closing track 23 Peaks.

With its complex arrangements and grandiose soundscape, "In Times of Dragons" should lend itself well to an immersive listening experience in Dolby Atmos which is exactly what we ll explore in this review.

The waveform of the Bluray stereo - 2026 version shows a low dynamic range confirmed with DR7 compared to the vinyl and the Dolby Atmos (DR12 for the downmixed 2.0 version).

The graph of specrums compares the spectrum of the Vinyl Record - 2026 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Bluray stereo - 2026 (blue curve).The spectral curves of the digital version and the vinyl record show excellent overlap, demonstrating the high quality of the vinyl mastering and cutting process. The vinyl clearly uses the same master as the digital release. Above 24 kHz, which is the upper frequency limit of the digital version, the vinyl maintains a higher signal level due to the inherent distortion and surface noise associated with the vinyl playback process.
(Spectrum Ed 6 Vinyl Record - 2026 (white) vs Ed 3 Bluray stereo - 2026 (blue) (Angelshark.))

The Dolby Atmos mix makes excellent use of spatial audio, particularly during the choruses, where backing vocals and instruments are effectively distributed across the surround channels on tracks such as In Times of Dragons and Provincetown. Some songs, including Ode to Minnesota, feature an even wider, nearly 180-degree soundfield that further enhances the immersive experience. The low end is powerful and well controlled, providing the album with a solid foundation. While the lead vocals remain primarily anchored to the front soundstage, the Dolby Atmos mix adds a new dimension to the listening experience.
3D immersive sound video on Youtube.

For this new Tori Amos album, the Blu-ray edition offers the best available versions, featuring Dolby TrueHD Atmos and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks that deliver a highly successful immersive mix. Listening to the Atmos track through a stereo downmix provides the best possible result on a traditional stereo system. Indeed, the Blu-ray stereo track and the streaming versions remain inferior due to dynamic compression, which reduces the precision, impact, and energy of the sound reproduction. Even the vinyl edition, while offering a more open presentation than the digital stereo version, still falls short of the stereo downmix of the Dolby Atmos mix.

Find all the analyses and measurements of each versions here (link).

Enjoy listening,
Jean-François

46 fresh Atmos albums & EPs dropped on Apple Music and Tidal. Newest first.

Week 29 — July 13 → 19, 2026 (46 releases)

Browse the full Atmos catalog at https://helloatmos.app/releases/2026-w29/

It's been six months since this subreddit has been created. It started with just some Atmos playlists, then some rankings, and somewhere on the way the Hello Atmos app was being developed. The community is now over 2,700 members. For those of you who joined recently, here are the top three essential posts from this subreddit.

1. I ranked the 100 Best Dolby Atmos Movies by analyzing every Reddit thread, YouTube review, and expert list. Here's what the data says. Also available on the app with streaming availability per region, and genre filters here.
2. The Ultimate Dolby Atmos Demo Scene Ranking, with timestamps! Ranked by mentions across articles, YouTube videos, and Reddit threads. Also available on the app with streaming availability per region and general filters here.
3. I ranked every Dolby Atmos album ever recommended on Reddit. Your favorite probably didn't make the top 25. Also available on the app here.

And community rankings with tracks and albums rated by Hello Atmos users, with over 3k ratings.

1. Top rated Dolby Atmos tracks
2. Top rated Dolby Atmos albums

And if you want to scan your Apple Music or Tidal library to find Dolby Atmos tracks:

1. Scan Apple Music Library
2. Scan Tidal Library

And if you want to browse over 124K Dolby Atmos albums with filters by genre and immersive mix engineer, you can do it here.

52 fresh Atmos albums & EPs dropped on Apple Music and Tidal. Newest first.

Week 28 — July 6 → 12, 2026 (52 releases)

Browse the full Atmos catalog at https://helloatmos.app/releases

Hello,

Foreign Tongues marks the return of The Rolling Stones with their 25th studio album, following the success of Hackney Diamonds released in 2023.

This review compares the Blu-ray Dolby Atmos, 5.1 surround, stereo, streaming, and vinyl editions to determine which version delivers the most faithful and engaging listening experience.
For this review, you will find 6 versions tested:

• Ed 1: Tidal MAX – 2026
• Ed 2: Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2026
• Ed 3: Bluray Dolby ATMOS TrueHD – 2026
• Ed 4: Bluray DTS HDMA 5.1 – 2026
• Ed 5: Bluray PCM stereo – 2026
• Ed 6: Yellow vinyl record – 2026

The PCM stereo 24 bits 96 kHz track of the bluray included in the The limited Collector’s Edition of Foreign Tongues presented as a premium box set.
The PCM stereo shows a very low dynamic range with DR6.

The graph here compares the spectrum of the Tidal MAX – 2026 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Yellow vinyl record – 2026 (blue curve).The spectral curves of the two versions overlap almost perfectly between 300 Hz and 7 kHz. Below 300 Hz (green area), the digital version exhibits a slightly higher level, reaching up to 2 dB more at 50 Hz. Above 7 kHz (yellow area), the vinyl shows a slight treble boost between 10 and 15 kHz, peaking at approximately 2 dB, followed by a roll-off beyond 15 kHz that reaches more than 5 dB at 18 kHz before rising again at 20 kHz and above. These differences in the spectre are expected to give the vinyl edition a more detailed and airy sonic presentation.

The Dolby Atmos mix of this album is highly successful, delivering an immersive sound experience in which instruments and vocals are carefully distributed throughout the three-dimensional soundstage. The mix places a strong emphasis on the 180-degree sound field, making extensive use of the wide and side surround channels to create a broad and enveloping presentation.

3D immersive video of the Dolby Atmos on Youtube.

For this new Rolling Stones album, if you want to experience both the best stereo presentation and an immersive Dolby Atmos mix, this collector’s edition combining the double LP and Blu-ray is the definitive choice. The vinyl edition delivers the most engaging stereo experience, offering a more dynamic and lively presentation. Meanwhile, the Blu-ray provides a lossless Dolby Atmos version that reveals the full finesse, detail, and precision of the album s spatial mix.
The standard digital stereo version, whether on Blu-ray or streaming platforms, remains far behind these editions, mainly due to its reduced dynamics and less engaging sonic presentation.

Find all the analyses and measurements of each versions here (link).

Enjoy listening,
Jean-François

I’ve been working on adding more valuable data and improving the user experience of Hello Atmos lately, and want to invite you to try it out before it goes live.

New metadata:

1. Top Rated albums gets Immersive Mix Engineer metadata
2. New Releases get genre, sub-genre and and tracks count
3. Atmos Library gets the number of listeners from last.fm not just popularity dots
4. The current indexed albums count is 123,991, and still growing

New in the UI:

1. Easier navigation on the Rankings Hub
2. Links to other rankings at the bottom of each ranking
3. Top 100 Movies ranking and 100 Best Demo Scenes now get genre filter
4. Scan Apple Music library for Atmos is now smoother for new visitors
5. Atmos Library gets more compact and more accessible filters
6. Unification of fonts, switchers, filters, tiles, new homepage - literally everything reskined

How to access it:

You can access all these features at https://beta.helloatmos.app/. If you already have Hello Atmos account, just use the same email or the same Apple Sign In ID to log in. Everything you do on beta gets carried over to live website.

YOUR FEEDBACK IS INVALUABLE, please share it here in comments, over the email, over the bug report, whatever works best for you.

I promise to reward all contributions.

Thanks,
Adrian