The 10 best Dolby Atmos soundtracks

Toward the end of Bladerunner 2049, where the waves are crashing on the vehicle.

All the dog fights in Top Gun.

All the action scenes + the storm in War of the Worlds.
🔉🔉🔉
 
I’ve just built a series of 40 minute demo clips stitched together, will make it easier for my forthcoming open day, due to the nature of the event I’ve tried to show films that highlight both picture and sound quality through the demo listings, but all of these have quality sound tracks...

Below are the clips I’ve chosen:

Dolby Atmos CinemaScope Part 1:
Ready Player One
BR2049
John Wick
Fury
A Star is Born
The Greatest Showman

Dolby Atmos CinemaScope Part 2:
Ford vs Ferrari
1917
A Quiet Place
Kong Skull Island
Terminator Dark Fate

Dolby Atmos 1.85:1 ratio:
Pacific Rim
Aquaman
War of the Worlds
Joker
Saving Private Ryan

DTSX Pro:
Gladiator
The Incredible Hulk
Lone Survivor
Jurassic World 2
Bad Boys for Life
I take it these were the movies you were testing at +5db. Not sure my house could take that! Let alone my ears.
Do you have any timings for those clips? Would love to test these and have many of those movies.
 
Are the atmos films on sky much different then say the sound on a disc..
 
Are the atmos films on sky much different then say the sound on a disc..
YES

forget Atmos on Sky, streaming is a little better but both have massive levels of compression.

disc is far far superior
 
Hmmmm.... gonna play devils advocate here.... although I 100% agree that a physical disc will ALWAYS be better than a stream (due to compression) it does depend what you are listening with.... if you have a high end system you will be able to notice the difference however if you have a sub £750 set up it may not be as obvious....

It also matters to the listener as well - some can tell you in an instant others will say it sounds the same!!!!

In regards to Sky I have to say I have been happy with the Atmos content, though I have to stress I am not expecting reference quality audio.... the footy in Atmos is a definite upgrade to the old 5.1, sky original content has implemented Atmos well (& am glad to see that sky have commited to the format) and some of the movies have decent DA as well.... I watched Spider-man far from home, Detective Pikachu, Secret Life of Pets 2 (yes I have a child!!!) & Annabelle comes home (1 for the grown ups!!!) and all had pretty good tracks! I checked Spider-man on 4k disc & yes the physical format was superior as expected (LFE & mids were a little more engaging) but I would say the Sky mix was about 80% there.

I personally have a surround set up around the £1500 mark so definitely not super high end and I am happy with the Sky content.... not blown away.... but happy!!!
 
My lg sn11 is pretty impressive. Flicked through pearl harbour last night and it was literally like being there
 
Hmmmm.... gonna play devils advocate here.... although I 100% agree that a physical disc will ALWAYS be better than a stream (due to compression) it does depend what you are listening with.... if you have a high end system you will be able to notice the difference however if you have a sub £750 set up it may not be as obvious....

It also matters to the listener as well - some can tell you in an instant others will say it sounds the same!!!!

In regards to Sky I have to say I have been happy with the Atmos content, though I have to stress I am not expecting reference quality audio.... the footy in Atmos is a definite upgrade to the old 5.1, sky original content has implemented Atmos well (& am glad to see that sky have commited to the format) and some of the movies have decent DA as well.... I watched Spider-man far from home, Detective Pikachu, Secret Life of Pets 2 (yes I have a child!!!) & Annabelle comes home (1 for the grown ups!!!) and all had pretty good tracks! I checked Spider-man on 4k disc & yes the physical format was superior as expected (LFE & mids were a little more engaging) but I would say the Sky mix was about 80% there.

I personally have a surround set up around the £1500 mark so definitely not super high end and I am happy with the Sky content.... not blown away.... but happy!!!

You are right, the higher spec the system, the more obvious it is.

They are heavily compressed in comparison though, you only need to look at the size of a UHD download on sky - circa 5-8gb, whereas discs are up to 60gb. This though is a combination of both audio and video.
 
I take it these were the movies you were testing at +5db. Not sure my house could take that! Let alone my ears.
Do you have any timings for those clips? Would love to test these and have many of those movies.

I can't tell you exact timings, but I can tell you which part of the films I have as clips:

Dolby Atmos CinemaScope Part 1:
Ready Player One - Race scene - around 10 minutes in
BR2049 - First 10 minutes
John Wick - Nightclub scene, approx. 60% into the film
Fury - Tiger tank battle, approx 60% into the film
A Star is Born - Stage song, 30 minutes in
The Greatest Showman - Jenny Lind stage song - 70-80% in I think??

Dolby Atmos CinemaScope Part 2:
Ford vs Ferrari - Final race - any part of this is ok
1917 - Cave scene, 20% in
A Quiet Place - Opening 10 minute
Kong Skull Island - Helicopter scene, 20 minutes in
Terminator Dark Fate - Opening fight, 10 minutes in

Dolby Atmos 1.85:1 ratio:
Pacific Rim - Kaiju / Jaiger city battle, 70-80% in
Aquaman - Fight between aquaman an his brother, 50% in ish?
War of the Worlds - cellar scene, around 70% in
Joker - Joker running away from the cops onto the underground - 70% in ish??
Saving Private Ryan - Opening beach battle

DTSX Pro:
Gladiator - Opening battle
The Incredible Hulk - Hulk/Army battle, around 50% in
Lone Survivor - opening gun battle with insurgents, around 40% in
Jurassic World 2 - Volcano scene - 30% in
Bad Boys for Life - Car/motorbike chase, can't remember timings, around 60%
 
You are right, the higher spec the system, the more obvious it is.

They are heavily compressed in comparison though, you only need to look at the size of a UHD download on sky - circa 5-8gb, whereas discs are up to 60gb. This though is a combination of both audio and video.
You are definitely right re compression being as much as a 1/10th (ish!) of a full fat disc but it is also worth taking into consideration that compression techniques are getting better and better as well - I will always take a disc over a stream/sky but I have become more selective with my purchases as they are nowhere near as bad as they used to be!!!
 
My lg sn11 is pretty impressive. Flicked through pearl harbour last night and it was literally like being there
Glad to hear the SN11 is treating you well.... I want a sound bar solution for my bedroom & am always on the look out for a cheap Q90R but have been put off by the lack of calibration...
 
Watched the first bladerunner last night. Wow the rain effects were fantastic
 
Just watched Angry Birds 2 on Sky (UHD version) & the sound was not great at all.... not much active in the rears or the heights.... I did think that maybe defending Sky DA was the wrong choice LoL!!! I decided to check a few online reviews of the 4k disc & they actually gave it some not so favourable reviews either.... so not just Sky!!! A shame as the score could have really worked with some better object placement and made a mediocre kids flick into a decent one!!!
 
kinda off topic at atmos better than dts ?
The answer to this question is the same as the previous battle. DTS tends to mix their tracks hot. For DTS that meant more bass (most recent Blu-Rays use DTS). For DTSx that means more bass but sometimes more activity in the height channels as well.
 
I’ve just built a series of 40 minute demo clips stitched together, will make it easier for my forthcoming open day, due to the nature of the event I’ve tried to show films that highlight both picture and sound quality through the demo listings, but all of these have quality sound tracks...

Below are the clips I’ve chosen:

Dolby Atmos CinemaScope Part 1:
Ready Player One
BR2049
John Wick
Fury
A Star is Born
The Greatest Showman

Dolby Atmos CinemaScope Part 2:
Ford vs Ferrari
1917
A Quiet Place
Kong Skull Island
Terminator Dark Fate

Dolby Atmos 1.85:1 ratio:
Pacific Rim
Aquaman
War of the Worlds
Joker
Saving Private Ryan

DTSX Pro:
Gladiator
The Incredible Hulk
Lone Survivor
Jurassic World 2
Bad Boys for Life
If you are not worried about showing how deep Atmos tracks can go then this list is almost faultless. Not sure about Joker.
 
If you are not worried about showing how deep Atmos tracks can go then this list is almost faultless. Not sure about Joker.

trying to convey image quality And surround effects within the audio, easy to just keep showing crash bang wallop, but subtle effects like the underground train noise In this particular clip cocooning you in a bubble works pretty well.
 
trying to convey image quality And surround effects within the audio, easy to just keep showing crash bang wallop, but subtle effects like the underground train noise In this particular clip cocooning you in a bubble works pretty well.
Just show A Quiet Place by itself :)
Subtle atmospheric effects? Check.
Environment sound bubble? Check.
Crash, bang, wallop (rip Mike Reid)? Check.
Excellent picture quality? Check.
 
Just show A Quiet Place by itself :)
Subtle atmospheric effects? Check.
Environment sound bubble? Check.
Crash, bang, wallop (rip Mike Reid)? Check.
Excellent picture quality? Check.


not full screen though 😎

picture quality is also only an 8/10 for me as well.
 
My top 10 are:
A Quiet Place
Hacksaw Ridge
BR 2049
Bloodshot
Everest
12 Strong
Fury Road
Gravity De Luxe version
Ready Player One
by far the best, most active, and precise use of Atmos I've heard isn't from a film but Kraftwerk 3D Blu-Ray
 
Sorry for the question
some body could you please tell me if the audio quality of Atmos in blu ray 1080 is the same as in 4K?
thanks
 
Sorry for the question
some body could you please tell me if the audio quality of Atmos in blu ray 1080 is the same as in 4K?
thanks

Exactly the same
 
Hmmmm.... gonna play devils advocate here.... although I 100% agree that a physical disc will ALWAYS be better than a stream (due to compression) it does depend what you are listening with.... if you have a high end system you will be able to notice the difference however if you have a sub £750 set up it may not be as obvious....

It also matters to the listener as well - some can tell you in an instant others will say it sounds the same!!!!

In regards to Sky I have to say I have been happy with the Atmos content, though I have to stress I am not expecting reference quality audio.... the footy in Atmos is a definite upgrade to the old 5.1, sky original content has implemented Atmos well (& am glad to see that sky have commited to the format) and some of the movies have decent DA as well.... I watched Spider-man far from home, Detective Pikachu, Secret Life of Pets 2 (yes I have a child!!!) & Annabelle comes home (1 for the grown ups!!!) and all had pretty good tracks! I checked Spider-man on 4k disc & yes the physical format was superior as expected (LFE & mids were a little more engaging) but I would say the Sky mix was about 80% there.

I personally have a surround set up around the £1500 mark so definitely not super high end and I am happy with the Sky content.... not blown away.... but happy!!!

Yep I totally agree with this. I honestly don’t think the difference is remotely night and day, and I’m using Monitor Audio Apex speakers and twin BK XLS400 subs in a 5.1.4 set up so not a basic system. Yes the lossless tracks are better but I very very rarely feel like I’m being shortchanged with a lossy atmos track on Apple TV. Same with the picture, yes 4K disc is better but the price gulf is often very large and I don’t think the difference in sound quality is worth the price gap. Each to their own of course and I’ll always get a disc of a genuine favourite film.
 
... I’ll always get a disc of a genuine favourite film.
That's the way I basically do it. The films that I will enjoy or are my favourites I will always buy the disc. My only problem is that I like so many films for many different reasons. For some it is the film, for others I love the spectacle and some have both. I've bought more than I have sold which is the exact opposite to what I was trying to do.
 
Watched Sicario again tonight and the Atmos in this film is absolutely tremendous. One of the best
 
Yep I totally agree with this. I honestly don’t think the difference is remotely night and day, and I’m using Monitor Audio Apex speakers and twin BK XLS400 subs in a 5.1.4 set up so not a basic system. Yes the lossless tracks are better but I very very rarely feel like I’m being shortchanged with a lossy atmos track on Apple TV. Same with the picture, yes 4K disc is better but the price gulf is often very large and I don’t think the difference in sound quality is worth the price gap. Each to their own of course and I’ll always get a disc of a genuine favourite film.

On my system it is night and day.

My system is in my signature.
 
On my system it is night and day.

My system is in my signature.

Wow that is a system! Must be amazing. I imagine in that case the difference is very noticeable. My point is just that for the vast majority of users I really don’t believe that the difference is that great, and there seems to be an assumption sometimes (and I don’t mean from you) that anyone who thinks lossy atmos tracks from Apple TV etc sound OK is due to the fact that they are using TV speakers or a low-end soundbar. I don’t think the Monitor Audio Apex range and BK subwoofers are low end, and the sound on ATV is still very good for the vast majority of the time.

I don’t believe streaming services will go lossless for a long time, if at all, but they could easily raise bitrates on the soundtracks.
 

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