Most have tiny 50mm speakers that on the 20Hz to 20kHz frequency response scale get around 1-6kHz (mid-to-upper mid) for clearer dialogue.Īny non-Dolby Atmos TV can benefit from a 2.1 (stereo and sub-woofer) or 3.1 (stereo, centre and sub-woofer) soundbar that uses its own digital signal processor to add a bit of volume and some bass from say 60Hz and treble to 10kHz. TVs universally have poor sound because that is all they need to deliver free-to-air TV that has PCM 1.0 (mono) or stereo 2.0 sound. Again it is marketing BS to claim it has Dolby Atmos sound when all it has is a decoder chip. Similarly, a TV with Dolby Atmos processing simply down-mixes content to the physical number of speakers – usually 2.0 or 3.0 channels. This simply does not happen – no two speaker system can add height! Sorry but that is Easter Bunny territory. It is ridiculous to think that a Dolby Atmos equipped smartphone with two mismatched speakers (earpiece and down-firing) can produce an expansive sound stage. Something with Dolby Atmos does not have to do anything more than decode the Dolby Atmos metadata stream and allocate it to the physical speakers it has. Creators have a total of 128 channels routed to up to 64 speakers.īut I can get Dolby Atmos on a smartphone – even a toaster!ĭolby Atmos has become the gold standard in 3D sound and it has expanded its reach from movies and music to smartphones, gaming and even appliances – yes you can get a toaster with Dolby Atmos.īut it has become one of the most misused and abused marketing terms. Technically it expands on existing surround sound systems by adding ‘height’ channels, allowing sounds to become 3D objects.

So, if a plane flies overhead you hear it tracking its course ‘up there’ while other sounds on different ‘planes’ still occur.

This allows movie makers to capture sound movement as it goes at the speed of sound from microphone to microphone (phasing sound). Think of Dolby Atmos as 128 microphones spread around, up, over and back from a movie sound stage. This guide is about Dolby Atmos TVs and soundbars – we will add dedicated Dolby Atmos AV receivers later. Audiophiles can stop reading the Dummies guide to Dolby Atmos and DTS now. Chances are that it will be nothing more than a stereo device. So we developed the ‘Dummies Guide to Dolby Atmos and DTS’ to demystify and clarify just what you are getting when you buy a Dolby Atmos TV or a soundbar expecting that it will magically have Dolby Atmos 3D sound. Why a Dummies guide to Dolby Atmos and DTS? Because 99% of the reviews we read get it wrong and 100% of users are equally confused by the terminology.

Dolby dts sound bar