Logic, ProTools, Dolby Atmos renderer all play 7.1.4 well in my room. But Apple Music only seems to play 5.1 if “Dolby Atmos: Automatic” is selected and 2.0 if “Always On” is selected.
I’ve gone into Audio-MIDI setup and configured 7.1.4 there with all the right output, but Apple Music is maximum 5.1.
And solutions?
I found out how to get this to work. If your audio interface has more than 12 outputs, Apple Music and Apple TV will not see it as an ATMOS output device. You need to use something like Rogue Amoeba and create a virtual device with only 12 channels (or use Ginger audio Ground control sphere), which passes audio to your interface.
tl;dr All of the extra outputs of your interface will cause playback to run at 5.1. You need a virtual device with only 12 pass through output channels.
I found out how to get this to work. If your audio interface has more than 12 outputs, Apple Music and Apple TV will not see it as an ATMOS output device. You need to use something like Rogue Amoeba and create a virtual device with only 12 channels (or use Ginger audio Ground control sphere), which passes audio to your interface.
tl;dr All of the extra outputs of your interface will cause playback to run at 5.1. You need a virtual device with only 12 pass through output channels.
Thank you very much for your advice!! I can now play 7.1.2 by making 10ch virtual device using Loopback as you advised.
(The music app somehow start to play 5.1 again after I configure speakers on MIDI setup, so I configured them by changing routing on MOTU Audio control and it worked fine.)
I'm running a Lynx Aurora N 32 thunderbolt and it won't matter even when the NControl update is released for Atmos and SPQ. I've spoken to techs at Dolby and if Apple won't fix the decoding that happens from Apple Music to whatever audio interface or output is assigned to it, then our Lynx interface will still behave wrong. So far in testing Loopback works and Ginger Audio Sphere works to pass 7.1.4 through to Lynx or whatever audio interface is attached to stream Apple Music playback in Atmos or Apple TV.
Sphere does work as a workaround, but at $400 it's a bit much as a workaround. Loopback for $99 works as well, but you will notice that sometimes your Top channels in a 7.1.4 mix get grouped into 2 stereo pairs... as in "top front right" will be paired with "top rear right" so effectively making your 7.1.4 a 7.1.2. Still annoying, but just be aware that if you are mixing in Atmos you may get some strange smearing in your panning positions and not know why until you watch the Loopback meters.
BTW I also have an Eventide H9000 that I normally only use via AES/EB, but is actually also a USB sound interface. I remembered it reports as 16/16 to the Mac so I decided to give it a try as the sound interface to see if the Mac would output Atmos properly and sure enough it seems to. I say seems to because all I did was check that when it is in 5.1.2 mode it outputs sound to all 8 channels when playing an Atmos movie in the TV app or Atmos music in the Music app. With the Lynx I only ever get the 6 channels (5.1) output no matter what the Atmos setting is.
True to the threads all over the internet, it seems like if your sound interface has more than 16 channels the Mac has a serious bug. Apple you need to fix this! It makes referencing commercial Atmos material on the same system we're mixing on (showing clients etc) super difficult.
Mixing is not the problem here, that's not the context. It works perfectly in Logic, Atmos Renderer etc. The issue is when the MacOS built in Dolby Atmos renderer is used by eg. the TV app, Music app etc. It renders incorrectly if you have more than 16 channels even if the AudioMIDI setup is correct. This seems to be a broadly known issue, I can only hope Apple gets it fixed.
I'm running primarily a Lynx Aurora (n) 32 so I'm also vaguely holding out hope that the promised Dolby Atmos release of their drivers some time soon will fix the problem. I believe the release is mainly about supporting room correction / EQ / Sonarworks etc but one can always hope.
I'm running Ventura 13.3.1 and I indeed have the option for 9.1.6 ... the setup works great. White noise test from AudioMIDISetup confirms that I'm all setup properly ...so half the battle is won, BUT some songs that I know use these extra channels (7.1.4 vs 9.1.6) in their mixes do NOT playback with a full 9.1.6 render of the songs through the Apple Music app. (I know this because I also have an Emotiva RMC-1 setup for 9.1.6 playback from Apple Music on via AppleTV4k... and this works GREAT!!!) It's as though the Atmos Playback Renderer in the current Apple Music app tops out at a 7.1.4 output. C'mon Apple, fix this!!!!
Hi chx.uk,
What you're experiencing may be expected behavior with Apple Music. Here's how you can ensure you're listening to Dolby Atmos on your Mac: About Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos in Apple Music - Apple Support
Choose how to listen to Dolby Atmos on your Mac
1. Update your Mac to the latest version of macOS.
2. Open the Apple Music app.
3. In the menu bar, choose Music > Preferences or Music > Settings.
4. Click the Playback tab.
5. Choose Automatic, Always On, or Off.
If you choose Automatic, here’s what you need
Supported songs automatically play in Dolby Atmos when you're listening with:
* AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, AirPods (3rd generation), or Beats Fit Pro with Spatial Audio turned on
* AirPods (1st or 2nd generation)
* BeatsX, Beats Solo3 Wireless, Beats Studio3, Powerbeats3 Wireless, Beats Flex, Powerbeats Pro, Beats Solo Pro, or Beats Studio Buds
* The built-in speakers on a MacBook Pro (2018 model or later), MacBook Air (2018 model or later), or iMac (2021 model)
If you choose Always On, here’s what you need
If you want to use other headphones that don’t support automatic playback, choose Always On.
Regards.
Oh great to know we've got the same interface, I'll report back if I find anything out but I guess it'll have to be Loopback for now. I've got a ticket open with Lynx also to work through it with them. I was thinking basically the same thing you are in terms of it being solely an Apple problem, except that I've noticed on various tutorials online that some people have more Dolby Atmos options in the AudioMIDI app than I do. I only see 5.1.2 or 7.1.4 under the Atmos section (not 5.1.4, 7.1.2, 9.1.4 etc) whereas I've seen ppl with difference sound interfaces have many more options. This made me wonder if there is actually something more going on with the drivers, where the interface driver is reporting capabilities to CoreAudio. If that's the case, it is also possible that they are not reporting properly to enable Atmos I suppose.
Well then I’m glad I never updated to 13.5. I’ll be sticking with 13.3.1 if thats really a 13.5 bug! My setup is a bit unconventional but here goes...
I am running GROUNDCONTROL SPHERE as my monitor controller and I have THREE 9.1.6 source inputs:
I run a single 9.1.6 OUTPUT from SPHERE via another custom Loopback 16 channel virtual buss mainly because I use two separate IO devices to hit my speakers. I run the LCR channels out to a MOTU 8D for my LCR speakers (JBL 708s) and the other 13 channels (all subs, surrounds, wides and tops) are routed to the analog outputs on the Lynx Aurora 16 and ultimately to amps and speakers.
I’ll often listen to Apple Music off of my AppleTV4K, which is plugged into the EMOTIVA RMC-1 (SPHERE Input 2) via HDMI and I gotta say that ATMOS music sounds **** terrific, often utilizing the full wide spatial spectrum of 9.1.6 (assuming the mix of the song used objects to hit the wide channels)
That same song I play off of my AppleTV4K (in 9.1.6) will only play in 7.1.4 off of the AppleMusic app from my MacStudio fed through the (SPHERE Input 3) virtual 9.1.6 buss…. Argh. SO CLOSE.
Hi,
I have the same question. I'm a professionnel producer and I made several Dolby Atmos records that are available on Apple Music.
Last year, I was able to playback directly from Apple Music in 7.1.4. but somehow, without making any updates of, it automatically revert to 5.1. We have 2 * M1 and 2 * M2 at my studio, running either Ventura or Monterey, they all plays 5.1...
I tried different manipulations found here and there (like trashing Music app preferences) nothing helps... how can we play 7.1.4 as before !?
bests
It's unnerving when we get these type of responses from Apple. I've tried support at Dolby and they are clueless that this is happening and say Apple Music should not be folding down 7.1.4 to 5.1. Then these responses from Apple acting as if we all are listening on airpods is annoying. If Apple is going to push Immersive / Atmos audio, then get it straight when answering questions about it. Those of us who mix Atmos in professional environments and have spent 10s of thousands in Atmos rigs to produce and mix for Apple Music Immersive are getting real tired of this constant 5.1 fold downs. We are trying to showcase to clients songs they are familiar with and what that same track can be in Atmos / Immersive, then we get this semi lame 5.1 surround mix on our 7.1.4 and it's underwhelming and ridiculous that we keep getting answers assuming we are all wearing dumb earbuds.
@rizman5150 what IO interface are you using, how many input and output channels does it have? I'd love to have a working 7.1.4 output setup for now, but it's broken because of the >16 channel bug that appears to be in MacOS 13.5 at least for now
the jeffrey,
Thanks so much for this solution with Loopback. I had been looking for this answer for about a year. I did have one hiccup with the speaker setup in Audio Midi Setup. The speaker labels got out of order so I changed the speaker order to fix it and it broke it back to 5.1. So, it is also important that you don't change the speaker order in the speaker setup. It only works if your speakers are 1-12 in numerical order.
Yeah I only see 5.1.2 and 7.1.4 now in 13.5. AFAIK Ventura introduced 9.1.6 support but it seems to be broken in MacOS 13.5
Apple Music plays 5.1 instead of Atmos
