Understanding Dolby Atmos
Music is no longer limited to two speakers.
With Dolby Atmos, sounds take their place around you. A new way to experience the detail, space, and emotion of a song.
Glossary
Six words to understand it all.
The terms you will read on your delivery and in your distributor's portal.
- Dolby Atmos
- Immersive format where every sound is an object positioned in space, rendered on any system, from headphones to a 7.1.4 room.
- 7.1.4
- Reference layout of Atmos studios: seven speakers around, one subwoofer, four ceiling speakers.
- ADM BWF
- The Atmos master file: a WAV enriched with metadata describing the position of every object. This is what distributors ask for.
- Binaural
- Headphone render of the Atmos mix that simulates spatialisation. This is what listeners hear on Apple Music with earbuds.
- Spatial Audio
- Apple's commercial name for streaming Dolby Atmos tracks, with head tracking on its earphones.
- Certified studio
- Control room checked by Dolby (acoustics, calibration, monitoring). DSPs require an Atmos master to come from one.
Stereo vs Atmos
Two formats, side by side.
What concretely changes for your track.
| Criterion | Stereo | Dolby Atmos |
|---|---|---|
| Space | Two channels, left-right. | Objects placed in width, depth and height. |
| Dynamics | Heavy compression to hold loudness. | Normalised at -18 LKFS: more air, more dynamics. |
| Platforms | Everywhere. | Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music — with editorial and algorithmic promotion. |
| Deliverable | 16 or 24-bit WAV. | ADM BWF master from a certified studio, + MP4 listening export. |