My Favorite TrueHD Dolby Atmos Music, 2023 Edition

    Audio: Listen to this article.

Well, it is that time of year again folks. No, not the Christmas holidays and the forthcoming New Years festivities. Nope. It is time for the end of year top 10 favorite lists. Come on, I know many of you audiophiles eagerly await these lists even more than a sip of egg nog spiced with whisky or your favorite libations or gifts under the tree. My contribution to the joyful holiday season is a list of my favorite Dolby True HD based Atmos music mixes. 

I know it seems that Atmos is a bit of a controversial subject on internet audio forums. It is even so in my local audio group. Some get it, others hate it and many seem to be somewhere in the great middle or just oblivious to the whole thing, What I have included here are the files or discs I use to demonstrate what the Atmos system is capable of delivering. There are many speaker combinations possible. Some mixes use all of the speakers available, some less. Some are using the speaker base, others use an object based set up. Some bring the musical performances out into the room, others are more recessed with a greater sense of depth while some extend out past the boundaries of the room. Others are just fun. Imagine that!  I have limited my selections to the lossless True HD Atmos mixes because I simply find them to sound better than the lossy Dolby Digital + Atmos mixes featured on streaming services such as Apple Music. I know that this is a more limited pool from which to draw selections, but, I do find the lossless mixes to be more compelling. Hopefully, more and more will become available for purchase in 2024 and beyond.

The mixes I have selected do all that. This was not an easy list to compile as there are a ton of great mixes available out there. While I am a jazz centric listener, I  have tried to include other genres outside my wheelhouse.  Despite the different mixes, all of these selections have one thing in common which I would describe as coherence. The sound of all of the speakers blend together surrounding you and placing you in what I would describe as a cocoon of sound. It is relaxing and thrilling at the same time. There has never been a better time to be an audiophile.

1.      Polarity - The Hoff Ensemble

Selecting my favorite mix was a tough decision, but there is just something about this mix and music that pulls me in every time. Polarity is from a Pure Audio Blu Ray disc from the 2L label and was engineered and mixed by Morten Lindberg. You will see that name on a number of my selections. While some of the music he records doesn’t exactly float my boat, his mixes are always amazing. Polarity combines great music and stellar engineering featuring the musical genre I like best, jazz. While 2L is more known for classical recordings, I wish Morten would do more jazz like this release. The album features The Hoff Ensemble featuring Jan Gunnar Hoff on piano, Anders Jormin on bass and Andun Kleive on drums. All speakers are active in bringing the soundstage forward out in front of the plane of the three front speakers yet still capturing all of the reflections and reverb of the Sofienberg Church in Norway. The sound is dynamic with a robust bottom end and plenty of natural sounding detail. I really love this recording.

Purchase: 2L Shop

2.    A Shade of Blue - Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio

There is not much I can really add here to Chris Connaker’s review of this title (link). It is sensational.

Purchase: Immersive Audio Album

3.      Feel Like Making Live -  Bob James Trio

I have written about this recording before regarding Atmos and my feelings have not changed. This release features Bob James on piano and Fender Rhodes, Michael Palazzolo on bass and the great Billy Kilson on drums. This recording was made by Evo Sound and the same immersive team as A Shade of Blue. The instruments are positioned the same as A Shade of Blue with keyboards on the left, bass in the middle and drums on the right. This release does not have the reverb that A Shade of Blue has and is drier as it was recorded in a studio vs. a large hall such as the venue for A Shade of Blue. The results are nonetheless stellar, at least to these ears. It is claimed that Bob James is the most sampled musician of all time. The reason why is evident in this release. The immersive mix is available on Immersive Audio Album. For those like me that love 4K video, the recording session was recorded on video and is available on 4K Ultra HD Blu Ray video. The video presentation graded with HDR is every bit as good as the audio.

Purchase: Immersive Audio Album

4.      Jane Ira Bloom - Picturing the Invisible-Focus 1

This album was nominated for the 2023 Grammy for best immersive album. The fact that it didn’t win is surprising given this mix. The winner must be incredible. This recording on both a sound and technical level is amazing. It was recorded virtually at the height of the pandemic, with each musician performing in real time in their respective residences in New York City. The album features Jane Ira Bloom on sax, Allison Miller on drums, Miya Misaoka on koto and Mark Helias on bass. The stellar sound one hears on this recording is a testament to the incredible skills of the engineer Jim Anderson and the immersive mixing team of Ulrike Schwartz and Morten  Lindberg. The sense of space and dynamics is superb.

Purchase: Immersive Audio Album

5.       Modern Cool - Patricia Barber

I suspect the inclusion of this recording on this list will come as a bit of a surprise as it is a 5.1 mix, not 7.1.4. The recording won the Grammy for best multichannel recording in 2013. As great as Atmos is, this album is a testament to what is possible in a non Atmos 5.1 system. I have the Blu Ray release and gave it a spin to compare to the new Atmos version. They are very, very close with the same sense of space and instrument separation, rock solid low end and low noise floor. Keep in mind that the multichannel Blu Ray is DTS HD Master Audio at 26/96 and the Atmos at 24/48. I enquired of Jim Anderson as to why the Atmos was rendered in 5.1 and he graciously responded as follows:

Back in 2012, we digitally transferred the 1998 Sony DASH (digital audio stationary head) 3348 multitrack recording of "Modern Cool" to ProTools. That PT session was taken out to Skywalker Sound in northern California to mix in 5.1 surround. I used the Skywalker Neve 88R Legacy console to create the 5.1 mix. The resulting 6 channel mix was mastered by Darcy Proper at Galaxy Studio (Belgium) and released on Blu-Ray. That release won the Grammy for Best Surround Sound Album in 2013. With the latest release, Morten Lindberg at 2L (Norway) mapped the original mix in Dolby Atmos for immersive release. We wanted to stay true to the original mix but have it available in present day formats, such as Dolby True HD.

So, there you have it, the recording is in 5.1 Atmos because the artists involved wanted to maintain the integrity of the original award winning mix. I checked for the availability of the original Blu Ray and it is long out of print. The costs on line for the Blu Ray are rather steep. However, with this new Atmos release you can enjoy the album as intended by the artistic team with the same award winning sound. A win-win in my book.

Purchase: TBD

6.        Stories - Jan Gunnar Hoff

This is yet another stellar Atmos recording engineered by Morten Lindberg at 2L. The album features some original compositions, traditional Swedish folk songs and the song God Only Knows penned by Brian Wilson. The album was recorded at the Sofienberg Church in Norway. Yes, it is solo piano, beautifully played by Mr. Hoff, but the recording captures the size and sound of a real piano in a real space like no other two channel recording I have ever heard. As of now, as far as I can tell, the Atmos mix is only available from disc from 2L. Native DSD has the Auro3D for sale but not the Atmos mix. Come on NativeDSD! Look for this release, it is well worth the effort.

Purchase: 2L Store

7.        Point - Yello

And now for something completely different. Look, is this great music?  No, but is great fun to listen to. I love the mix, with sounds pinging back and forth and around the sound field with some deep bass. Sometimes, sheer fun is enough. This album, in Atmos, is just one of those times. For a similar type of music and Atmos release, check out Booka Shade’s Movements, which is quite good also. This type of electronic music is made for Atmos.

Purchase: Pure Audio Recordings

8.       Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 -  Rembrandt Frerichs

This is a superb recording from the Dutch audiophile label trptk. It features the original compositions of pianist Rembrandt Frerichs accompanied by the Alma Quartet, Dominic Seldis and Vincent Planger and was recorded at Studio 150 in Bethlehemkirk, Amsterdam. While the music in mainly of the classical genre, one of the selections has a rather jazzy feel, sounding a bit like a Django Reinhardt piece with guitars replaced by violins. Along with the percussion accompaniment, is is very effective and compelling. The presentation here is a bit different than some of the others mentioned here as rather than bringing the musicians forward, the musician are placed deeper in the soundstage yet with a tremendous sense of depth, tone and dynamics.

Purchase: TRPTK Store

9.  Our Roots Run Deep -  Dominique Fils-Aime

I am somewhat ashamed that I had not heard of this artist before hearing this release. Ms. Fils-Aime is a wonderful song writer and singer. If I had to compare her style to someone it would be Sade, although she is a bit funkier and rhythmic that Sade is. This mix is well tailored to the material, using the surrounds and height speakers to create sound that wraps around you, again, like a cocoon. The surround channels do not call attention to themselves or distract from the front activity but rather complements it. The two exceptions are the tracks The Voices (Intro vibes) and Quiet the Voices. In both, the lyrics talk about quieting the voices in my head all the while her voice pings around the sound field, mimicking hearing voices in your head. I found this to be a very effective use of the tech and a wonderful release in total. 

Purchase: Immersive Audio Album

10.  Live in Prague -  Hans Zimmer

The  final selection for this end of year top 10 list is a, gulp, Blu Ray video release of the concert video, Hans Zimmer Live in Prague. In this concert, Zimmer, backed by a large orchestra and chorus, goes through his best known movie scores, including selections  from The Dark Knight films, Gladiator, The Lion King, Interstellar, inception and Pirates of the Caribbean among others. The concert was performed in a huge space, a hockey arena in Prague and the Atmos mix captures the sound of a concert in such a venue perfectly. The bass on this release is insane, in a good way. Despite the cacophony, the individual instruments are not lost in the mix. In addition to capturing the overall sense of space, I love how the height channels are used to place the chorus above the orchestra in the sound field , just as they are situated above the stage at the concert venue. This is just another example of the versatility of Atmos and another go to demonstration of the system for me. The 1080p video is excellent as well with incredible color and black levels. 

Purchase: Pure Audio Recordings

Bonus Pick - Peter Gabriel i/o inside mix

While I can’t say that this artist is the kind of music I gravitate to, I found this to be an enjoyable release and an excellent mix that totally complements the music. Even though the surrounds are used aggressively, it totally fits the music and the mood the music is intending to communicate. If you are a fan of Peter Gabriel, you owe it to yourself to experience this release, in Atmos.

Purchase: Peter Gabriel Store

Well, that’s all folks. It has been almost a year since I waded into the Atmos pool and it has been a fantastic experience. I very much look forward to more Atmos releases and hopefully more and more True HD Atmos releases either via download or physical media in 2024. Wishing the AS readership a Merry Christmas, happy holiday season and a happy 2024!