Hi,

Currently I'm not using Logic Pro as my main DAW, I used to though and I love every bit of it, I learn about music production in it and moving to Windows system is one of my best decision in life but that's another story (read:fight) for another day.

Anyway, so I watched a Twitch stream by Disclosure recently and he said that "now that we can do Dolby in Logic, we'll probably do that for the next album,". Wondering if this going to be the next big thing in music production ?

I just want to ask all the Logic Pro user, what do you people think about the (not so) new Dolby Atmos mixing feature in Logic Pro ?

Is it a game changer for music production ? and it is THE FUTURE of music production ? Bear in mind I'm talking about the music as we know it today on streaming platform, stereo format, not those in post, videos, films etc

At this moment my knowledge about Dolby Atmos production is near ZERO, I know nothing worth mentioning about it. So should I start planning for another endless journey to the rabbit hole that is Dolby Atmos ? or it's just some meaningless hype. Do you as a Logic Pro user starting to work in this format ie. working in Surround format and planning to get the gears required for it ? or maybe your next album in Dolby Atmos. What about other DAW ? This feature probably already in there for years but nobody cares about it, but since it now available to a more new-gen DAW of the masses, will this be a thing soon, this year perhaps.

 

No clue, just posting so you don't feel alone, bro!

 

10.5 is the last update that will run on Mojave. I'm not going to update an OS over this; not even close.

 

Logic is great and i really like the new ui improvements and yeah atmos in 10.7. When speaking about atmos in logic it's easy to work(at least it seems) on spatial audio mixes than other daws and +it's a free upgrade.

But the fact is, it's still not widely used in current music productions tho(at least for now, who knows). As a music producer(yes i am), I never used atmos in any of my main projects. Maybe this can be great for film scoring or cinematic stuff that mostly played on surround sound systems(then listeners can feel the real power of atmos).

I think for me it's still a no go cuz spotify and youtube doesn't support dolby atmos.

BTW you don't need any other gear to mix dolby atmos in logic. You can select binaural monitoring and mix with your headphones or if you have a surround system you can also use it.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jan 8, 2022

oh I see. didn't know this. thanks

so when the guy said he'll probably do it for the next album, did he meant that it's only for the MV? I seriously have no idea really. I don't even know if there's a thing that can make you listen to Surround mixed in stereo headphone, like you said about the binaural stuff, instead for monitoring but listening as end-user. I believe they'll just make it Stereo compatible but if you have 5.1 then you'll get the full experience.

 

Should add "Logic is not my DAW" or something to the poll, it should give you an idea of how many people still don't consider Atmos a big deal regardless of DAW.

Me? I just think you're indeed, pretty drunk.

 

I carefully write them in blue so the right group of people will answer it, to help me decide so I can plan my budget ie. get a macbook pro etc.

 

It would seem i'm pretty drunk too.

 

Atmos is increasing in traction and will only get more prominent in the future. If you don't prepare for it now, you may find yourself behind in a few years. Options for Atmos in windows are limited ATM, but you can do Resolve Studio. More options should be available in the future.

 

There's something called binaural decoding it can render ambisonic input signal(atmos mix) to binaural headphone signals. This way end user can listen to surround mixes with their headphones,

If:

1.User has a spatial audio supported device/headphones(Like airpods and apple devices now supported).
2.Use a streaming platform that supports dolby atmos like apple music/tidal/netflix/amazon etc(maybe they can stream spatial to binaural through their service).
3.Use a third party app to play ambisonic mixes on your device.

Edit: Listening to spatial mixes through binaural doesn't mean "it's just stereo". You can feel some movements around your head. But you can take it to the next level with a surround sound system.

 

Hate to be that guy but..
Here's two methods for Ambisonics in Reaper,
I don't know how perfected they are in the grand scheme, but the possibility exists..

Using Waves NX and IEM Plug suite..

Or..
Using ATK

About ATK

Ambisonic Toolkit:
https://www.ambisonictoolkit.net/

-About using Ambisonics in itself..
I don't know, it depends on what Media you are working for..

If you're working on VR stuff, or 360º Video/Movies it could be useful or even mandatory..

But for regular Movies, Games or Music,
traditional Surround methods alla 5.1/7.1 etc, are still usable and more standard/supported..

Also while 4ch B-format seems to be more accessible, it's not without its flaws,
low resolution/blurriness, small sweet spot area, precedence effect, comb-filtering artifacts..

So I guess for a more audiophile presentation Higher order ambisonics would be necessary..


But yeah that's the thing,
outside Cinemas, or the living room of some middle-high class homes,
it's not that common to find proper surround systems, or to have them properly installed..

And that's one of the reasons why Surround formats kinda failed,
most ppl have no time, interest, knowledge or the material capacity for this kind of things,
so it has been relegated to Movies and Games, which use it to a certain extent..

Some music exist in surround formats, but it's usually very niche stuff,
only so many Albums, Soundtracks or Concerts use it.. and well, Audiophiles still kinda gravitate towards Stereo or 2.1 setups.

And on top of that, on the last decade ppl has been gravitating more towards shitty Mono Phones and portable JBL speakers,
so the adoption or interest rate for surround sound has waned even more..

You can have a proper Stereo system for little money,
but have a 5/7/9 . 1/2 system of comparable quality will cost you more, and the result is not really granted.


So yeah, it's a great thing for VR or 360º Video,
but for the rest it would depend on what Media are you working, and at what level.

Movies, or a AAA Game could use Ambisonics, or other Surround encoding methods,
but unless the game is of a certain Magnitude and going on Consoles, I wouldn't bother..


(I guess in an ideal world, all media would be made with all types of mixes available:
Mono, Stereo, and Surround in whatever format.. then the user would select the mix that better suited.

But yeah, that means 3x times the amount of work for Producers/Mixers,
are thy gonna be paid for the extra time/effort, in a market that's already exploiting most of them?
If they pay you a good hourly sum, no problem.. but that's not always the case )

 

Last edited: Jan 8, 2022

stereo works pretty well ..tried Dolby Atmos is sort of a mess.. and a CPU eater.. to be honest it does not impressed me that much.. 96 Khz audio recordings impressed me more...

 

If you wait for Spotify to support Dolby Atmos, then you might miss on the trend that is going on the production world right now. Apple has entered the Dolby Atmos support for their Apple Music service (for free) last year and that set a tidal wave in motion in the pro audio world. Spotify, as usual, seems to have other issues. They promised lossless audio by the end of 2021, and it didn't happen either.
BTW, YouTube does not offer streaming music content (like Apple Music, or Amazon) where you can switch between stereo and Dolby Atmos. They offer videos and if you upload your video content encoded as 2-channel Binaural Audio, then your fans can listen to your Dolby Atmos mix the same way they listen to the Dolby Atmos content on Apple Music.

Look at the details around Dolby Atmos and you will understand that Dolby Atmos is here to stay so better learn the new (exciting) possibilities and be left out. Think about, you would the band in the 60s and 70s that releases their record still in mono because you question if stereo will take off.

If you want to learn more about Dolby Atmos and its integration in Logic Pro, check out my video "Logic Pro - What's New in 10.7"