Quote:
Originally Posted by
TheHanes
➡️
Nothing wrong with listening in headphones and AirPods; as you note, most people will be hearing it that way.
My philosophy is to create the best Immersive mix that I can for full Atmos playback and let the technology for Airpod and binaural catch up and get better.
It is like I'm making a painting that is bright and vibrant, but you only see an 8 bit color version of it. Eventually the technology will improve so you can see the 24bit or 32bit color version as created.
But I won't create an 8 bit color version of it now as the original, then there is no future for better presentation.
As you can see from the 7 Rings, things change rapidly in the playback world, things that I can't control. So I just try to create the best source I can. (and no I don't know what changed).
What we are also up against is Artists not wanting their Immersive mix played in headphones to be very different at all! They want it the same as the stereo mix that they worked so hard to create. This is, I guess, another form of Demo-itis, but it is the reality we have to deal with. If I can make the Atmos mix sound identical in binaural, close in Apple Immersive, and wonderful in full surround, then I've done my job!
Yes, more interesting things can be done, and I try to fit some of that into the mix, but when you begin to really mix in Atmos, you understand that there are just some things in music that we are completely used to hearing in front, left and right. They sound so odd elsewhere.
Your answer is quite reasonable and makes me believe that those responsible, in fact, for the uninteresting Atmos mixes are the artists themselves, and not or not just the engineers. I've seen at least 1 Atmos mix you were involved in, Katy Perry's Dark Horse. The beginning of the song already has a subtle difference in movement with that high-pitched voice in the first few seconds of the song. These are the details I talk about, and I imagine you're quite capable of doing things like that, because you've done them before. 7 Rings from the link I left from YouTube is a very interesting example too. If you can, listen to F2020 by Avenue Beat, and also Circles by Post Malone. These are really good Atmos mix examples of what I say about the subtle differences that are immersive. I think it's fair enough to say that you're making the best version and that the technology behind binaural playback still has a long way to go. I've seen people comment that the codecs for Dolby Atmos in Apple Music and Tidal are not the same as those used in Dolby software and that binaural playback really isn't that comparable. Still, having seen that you are a very humble and approachable person, I would like to believe that you would think about it in your next Atmos mixes, trying to bring out these little details when possible. Very nice to have this conversation with you, someone responsible for taking care of the music of such famous people. In the end, it's because of people like you that the songs end up being amazing, not just because of the artists, so with great power comes great responsibility. Good job!