I get the most out of my Dolby Atmos setup by avoiding these mistakes

Summary

Dolby Atmos is best experienced with a full setup, not through soundbars or phones.
Proper equipment setup for Atmos can be costly, but worth it for quality audio experience.
Apple Music offers Atmos support, but listening without the right setup may lead to suboptimal experience.

Dolby Atmos has been growing in popularity as of late, and if you’ve been in the market for a soundbar, you’ve likely seen the name. Dolby Atmos is an audio format that many 4K Blu-rays support, and most of the major streaming services support it too. The idea behind it is to create a 3D soundscape, and a lot of people write it off as marketing lingo.

To be fair, a lot of what Atmos does is already covered by traditional surround sound setups. Where Atmos sets itself apart is the use of height channels that give you a better sense of overhead sounds — think helicopters or bullets whizzing over your head. You won’t get this type of experience without putting the money into your setup, or by heading over to an AMC Theater location and seeing something like Mission: Impossible or Top Gun: Maverick in Dolby Cinema.

Although your soundbar at home might market itself as a Dolby Atmos-capable device, I can promise you that that’s far from the case. I’m not saying you won’t get good audio from a soundbar, but I am saying that it doesn’t replicate Atmos, and you’re not getting the most of what the format has to offer if that’s what you’re using.

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Dolby Atmos is available on your soundbar, but it’s far from the ideal way to listen. With Atmos’ main draw being the directional sound, you just won’t get that out of a soundbar. Some soundbars can perform various tricks, such as upfiring speakers to mimic overhead sound, which can sound good, but it’s not the real deal. I feel that a lot of people who think Atmos is a gimmick don’t know what Atmos sounds like on a setup that supports it. Dolby has a nice guide to follow to ensure you get the proper setup.

I don’t have the full-fledged version as I only have 5.1.2 surround sound, and my Atmos height speakers aren’t great by any means. If you have the means, you can go all out with your Atmos setup, but I don’t have enough room to add that many speakers, and I don’t want to spend that much on a receiver either. Even though I can go so much further with my setup, I still really enjoy my Dolby Atrmos sound.

While I have a large physical media library packed with 4K Blu-rays that have Dolby Atmos support, the biggest gain I’ve seen is with Apple Music. I actually bought my Apple TV 4K, which I now love, because of Atmos support with Apple Music. For some reason, Apple lets you enable Dolby Atmos on Apple Music on your phone, and I see countless people complaining online that the mix sounds strange — and that’s probably because it does. Atmos needs additional speakers, and your phone’s audio is not equipped for that at all. I don’t get why Apple even lets you listen to Atmos without having the proper setup, but I think that’s leading to a lot of confusion about what Atmos can even do.

Apple Music has many songs, and even entire albums, mixed with Atmos, but they’ll sound odd if you don’t have the right setup. Even if you have a proper Atmos setup, your mileage may vary. I think Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo both sound great with Dolby Atmos enabled, and it was well worth grabbing an Apple TV 4K because of that. When compared to listening through my surround sound speakers or my phone, it’s a night and day difference. However, it’s easy to see how people are led astray because of that decision from Apple. I hope people don’t write Atmos off completely because of a suboptimal listening experience just because they didn’t have the right equipment.

To put it simply: ditch the soundbar, invest in Atmos height speakers, grab a receiver, and watch something that lets you hear the difference in sound. Many modern blockbusters take advantage of Atmos, so pop in your disc of Top Gun: Maverick and reap the rewards.

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It’s not a cheap hobby to have

Get ready to spend some cash

I won’t lie and say it’s cheap to get a proper Atmos setup, because it’s not cheap by any means. I feel like this is why a lot of people settle on soundbars, even the pricier ones like Sonos Beam, because it’s still cheaper than picking up a minimum of seven quality speakers on top of an audio receiver.

To make matters even worse, many suggest saving up to buy quality products instead of cheaping out when you get started. Admittedly, I cut some corners on my speakers, and it led to me replacing them sooner than I would’ve otherwise. Fortunately, those speakers have found new homes in other rooms of the house, but you’re definitely better off buying a quality product first.

I feel that a lot of people who think Atmos is a gimmick don’t know what Atmos sounds like on a setup that supports it.

An underrated aspect of your surround sound setup is the subwoofer, and that’s an area you want to dump a fair amount of your budget into. Whether it’s music or movies, your subwoofer is activated a lot during Atmos. What I’ve noticed is your actual height speakers matter less than your traditional surround sound ones. Yes, it’s cool to hear the overhead sounds, but those won’t always be activated during a movie. From my experience, you’ll be lucky to get even a few minutes out of most movies, so you don’t have to break the bank on those. You might be able to get away with a pair of small satellite speakers depending on your room size.

There are some other ways to save money on your Atmos speakers, and depending on how low your ceiling is, you might be able to get away with upfiring speakers. These sit on top of your front surround speakers, and the idea is that they face toward your ceiling to shoot sound up that will then reflect onto your seating area. I haven’t tried these out myself, but some people swear by them. On the other hand, many people call them a waste of money, so your mileage may vary.

At the end of the day, Atmos is one of the best audio formats available, but only if you have the proper equipment for it. If you’re using a soundbar or your phone’s audio, you’re leaving a lot on the table, and I fully understand how you’re coming way underwhelmed. My best advice is to find a way to test Atmos in person with everything configured properly, and then you’ll change your tune.