Streaming Dolby Atmos Music from Tidal

[TLEW]

I wanted to post about some testing I recently did with this.
Doesn't seem to be too many solutions out there to be able to do this.
I have a Marantz AV10 that uses HEOS, HEOS doesn't support it.
HEOS doesn't seem to support HIRES as well from what I've seen.
With that said I use a Cambridge MNX10 to stream HIRES from both Tidal and Qobuz directly to the AV10.
The MNX10 won't stream Atmos as it only does 2 channel stereo.
What I found that works is an Amazon fire stick running Tidal and either plugged into the TV or directly into the AV10.
Can someone explain to me how these very expensive pieces of gear can't support Atmos music natively, but a $40.00 firestick can?
I use Roon and it doesn't support it either at the moment. Could a future firmware update add this or is there hardware involved.
This is crazy. Let me know if anyone has this working with other options.

 

[Trebdp83]

Tidal and other services decide which devices will support lossless, hi-res and Dolby Atmos tracks from them. Amazon Fire Sticks and Cubes are just some of the devices that support Dolby Atmos tracks from Tidal. The Apple TV 4K, Nvidia Shield Pro and LG and Sony TVs also support Tidal Dolby Atmos tracks.

 

[lovinthehd]

Tidal being steaming something sounds about right

 

[TLEW]

I have an older Sony Bravia smart tv from around 2016 and it appears to do atmos using netflix but it had a message when I went to play Tidal atmos that it wasn't compatible. Fire stick works fine for now.

 

[Trebdp83]

I think Tidal Dolby Atmos support for LG and Sony TVs goes back to 2020 models.

 

[Golfx]

HEOS does support Hi Res from amazon 24/192.

 

[TLEW]

You had mentioned that Tidal decides what endpoints it will stream various formats too. I assume HEOS has the sole rights to controlling what gets streamed to Denon/Marantz as I don't see my AVP listed when using the Tidal app itself.

 

[Golfx]

I have listened to only a few “good Atmos” tracks via Apple TV 4K from Tidal but it was definitely only a few tracks compared to many bad or just hohum ones. Always the atmos tracks had to be increased significantly in volume compared to normal PCM tracks. Which caused LOUD differences if I wasn’t careful in anticipation. Instead I use auromatic upmixer when I want multichannel music. It produces a nice tall wall of sound.

 

[Trebdp83]

It is all such a mixed bag. Those with Denon/Marantz devices will have to go through HEOS for built in streaming apps. Yamaha owners will have to use MusicCast. Integra/Onkyo/Pioneer/ can use DTS Play-Fi but also have a few apps built into the receivers. None of these support Dolby Atmos from Tidal and no device that only supports two channel signals will support Dolby Atmos.

If I want to listen to Tidal Dolby Atmos tracks, I must use my Apple TV 4K, Fire TV Cube Gen 3 or LG C1 TV. I usually use Apple Music for Dolby Atmos tracks from the Apple TV 4K. But, those devices do not support hi-res FLAC or MQA tracks from Tidal. I think the only device that handled MQA and Dolby Atmos from Tidal is the Nvidia Shield Pro. But, MQA is on its way out over at Tidal.

 

[Trebdp83]

You had mentioned that Tidal decides what endpoints it will stream various formats too. I assume HEOS has the sole rights to controlling what gets streamed to Denon/Marantz as I don't see my AVP listed when using the Tidal app itself.

Which "Tidal app itself" are you referring to here?

 

[TLEW]

Mobile app. I have a Cambridge streamer mnx10 that I use in roon to get hires from Tidal and Qobuz over to my marantz. I see this in the Tidal app as Tidal connect or as a chromecast connection. As we know chromecast doesn't do anything higher than cd quality. If I select Tidal connect then I believe it will stream hires directly from the Tidal app.

 

[Golfx]

While intellectually satisfying, 24/192 is way beyond what humans can hear. CD quality, while less intellectually satisfying mathematically, is also beyond what humans can hear. That said, marketing czars are loving the pursuit of hi-res streaming by customers.

 

[TLEW]

With some mixes cd quality is better than 24/192. All of it is better than mp3 and my hearing can tell the difference.

 

[Golfx]

With some mixes cd quality is better than 24/192. All of it is better than mp3 and my hearing can tell the difference.

Most people can tell the difference in blind A/B comparisons of the same tracks between CD quality and MP3. The latter being more compressed with less information included. Also most will have a preference for better mastered tracks as well.

 

[Trebdp83]

Mobile app. I have a Cambridge streamer mnx10 that I use in roon to get hires from Tidal and Qobuz over to my marantz. I see this in the Tidal app as Tidal connect or as a chromecast connection. As we know chromecast doesn't do anything higher than cd quality. If I select Tidal connect then I believe it will stream hires directly from the Tidal app.

Yeah, I believe Cambridge supports Tidal Connect. So, when using Tidal Smart device app, the app acts as the controller and the signal is going directly from Tidal servers to the MNX10. This is not the case concerning Airplay 2, which supports up to 24/48, or Chromecast, which supports up to 24/96 and stream from the device itself and use supporting devices as the speakers. Dolby Atmos was very briefly supported over Chromecast using Amazon Music Unlimited but was snuffed out rather quickly.

Tidal does not support Dolby Atmos over desktop app but I do use it in my Mac for two channel streams and Exclusive Mode, Hi-Res FLAC and MQA are all supported in the Tidal app. There is not a single device that supports Dolby Atmos and hi-res tracks from Amazon Music Unlimited, Apple Music and Tidal. So, devices and services must be orchestrated accordingly.

 

[TLEW]

As far as Atmos music it seems to be an array of various mixes, some good, but some sound like surround at best. For me it's hard to tell. Action movies in atmos are much easier to hear, ie helicopter flying overhead, etc etc...

 

[Trebdp83]

There are newer electronic albums that benefit greatly from an Atmos mix. Older pop and rock albums remixed for it not so much and some are just plain awful.

 

[TLEW]

Grateful Dead American Beauty (Atmos Remix) is ok, but I don't have much to compare it to. Have you heard that?

 

[Trebdp83]

Haven't listened to that one.

 

[TLEW]

Is the same behavior supposed to happen with atmos music like it does with atmos movies? Does the sound of instruments move around on the heights? I've never researched it.