David Stagl was planning to follow Mike’s suggestion to use a low-cost AV receiver and hook it up to his MTRX Studio so that he could listen to Dolby Atmos tracks on his studio system for reference purposes. But he stumbled on a new feature in macOS Monterey, which means you don’t need a costly AVR or audio to ADAT convertors. David shared the core of his discovery in the Atmos Music Mixing Professionals private Facebook group, so we reached out and asked him if he could write it up for us. In this article, David offers a step by step guide to his newly found software-only solution. Over to you David…

Introduction

If you're like me and getting into Dolby Atmos, one of the biggest challenges has been figuring out how to listen to commercial releases in your studio for reference purposes. Mike Thornton covered this in detail in his article How To Setup Dolby Atmos Streaming Services For Reference Monitoring. As I write this I have a second Fostex VC-8 on its way from the UK, which like Mike, I ordered to help with this by using it to convert the pre-amp outs on my Denon receiver in my home theater to ADAT and connect it using the unused ADAT ports on my MTRX Studio. However, I don't think I'm going to need that VC-8 now, though, because I've discovered a way to get Atmos from the Apple Music and TV apps on my MacBook Pro without the need for a receiver. 

I really stumbled on this by accident as my full Atmos setup isn't finished, yet. I've just been getting started with a 7.1 setup and was looking for a way to get surround sound references in my studio when I discovered I could get the whole enchilada working.

In this article, I am going to share how I did this and how you can try it for yourself. Plus, the beauty is you don't need a full Atmos setup. You can use a 5.1 or 7.1 setup and still get immersive sound. It may not be the full experience you get with the height channels, but it will still give you a taste. That’s part of the brilliance of Atmos, in my opinion.

Technical Considerations 

First, let's talk a little tech. I'm using a 2019 MacBook Pro running Mac OS 12.3.1(Monterey) as my content playback device. I believe a big part of this equation is the computer AND the Mac OS. I think you need a Mac that will play Atmos content, and I'm not sure how old of a machine will work. Apple Silicon is not necessary, though, as my laptop has a 6-core i7 processor. 

I just updated my laptop to Monterey but did not get to test this with Big Sur. However, I know it does not work on my Pro Tools machine in my studio, which is currently running  Catalina. Atmos isn't even an option in the Music app on that machine. 

So, here is how I got this working step-by-step.

Configuring The Mac For Playback

First up, let's set up the Music app. Open the Music app and then open up the app’s preferences. In the Playback tab, Set Dolby Atmos to "Automatic" or "Always On". As you can see, mine is set to “Automatic”. 

Now, we need to configure our audio output device. For that, we need to open up Audio MIDI Setup. You should be able to find this in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder. If I do a spotlight search on my machine, it's the first thing that comes up when I type "audio". 

In Audio MIDI Setup, we need to select our Audio Device to configure for Atmos. I am using Dante Virtual Soundcard, which I have configured for 16x16 Audio Channels on my laptop. Soft-patching Dante can get confusing for me so I try and keep the IO setup as small as I can get away with. I see no reason why you couldn’t use a larger configuration, although, I have seen some reports this only works with a 16x16 configuration.

I don't think Dante is necessary for getting Atmos from a Mac. I would expect you could get away with any audio interface with enough outputs or an Aggregate Device that provides the necessary outputs. I haven't tried it, though, so your mileage may vary.  [Mike says, I agree, the important thing is macOS Monterey and the corresponding Apple apps like Music and TV that facilitate this solution. You can choose how to get the Dolby Atmos out of your computer running Monterey and into your studio setup.]

Personally, I like Dante for this because I can keep everything digital and maintain the original levels of the release which isn’t so easy when outputting analog from a receiver where the receiver’s volume setting affects the analog line output levels. Plus, Dante is only a single Cat5 cable to connect. If you have never used Dante Virtual Soundcard, I'm sure there are tutorials floating around the interwebs to guide you in setting it up. 

Now, in the Audio Midi Setup window, select the device you will be using and click the "Configure Speakers..." button in the bottom right of the window. If the button isn’t available, make sure you are on Output and not Input for the device. 

Click on the menu for “Configuration” and select “7.1.4 Atmos Surround” in the Atmos section of the menu.  The Atmos options do not appear if your device doesn’t have enough outputs to accommodate it.

You may select different channels for each speaker output, but I left it as 1-12 in SMPTE order. Click "Apply" in the bottom right. 

You can click “Done” and close Audio MIDI Setup at this point, but I suggest leaving it open. If you look at each speaker channel in the Configure Speakers window, you’ll notice the “Test” column on the right. Each of those little speaker buttons sends a burst of noise for checking the setup, and that will come in handy in a bit. 

If you do not have a full 7.1.4 speaker setup, you may select a different configuration here as well. For example, my height speakers are not installed in my studio, yet, so after testing the connection for 7.1.4, I switched to the “7.1 Rear Surround” configuration to match my current 7.1 setup. This folds the height channels down into my studio’s 7.1 setup. If you’re not using Dante or an MTRX Studio, feel free to skip ahead to the testing section of this article.

Configuring Dante

Now we need to patch Dante from our playback device to our receiving device. In my case, my laptop is the playback device and the receiver is my MTRX Studio. Before you do this, make sure all of your audio devices are at the same sample rate. I recommend using 48kHz to start with. I mention this because my HD Native card defaults to 192kHz when I power it up, and my MTRX Studio adapts to its DigiLink port. I could not get any of this patched in Dante until I got the MTRX Studio set to the same sample rate as my playback computer. 

Open Dante Controller on one of your computers connected to Dante. Make sure you are on the Routing tab. 

This window always confuses me because the axes are flipped from many of the soft-patching devices I’m used to. In this case, the left vertical axis lists all devices available as Receivers. Click the “+” sign next to the device to which you will be sending Atmos. In my case, I am sending audio to my MTRX Studio, which is listed here as “MTRXst-031bed” in my Receivers list. Clicking the “+” sign opens up and displays all available channels on that receiver.

The horizontal axis along the top lists our available Transmitters. Click the “+” sign to open up your playback device here. In my case, I am playing Atmos content from my laptop, which is listed as “StaglProd-MBP-2020” in the list. Once again, clicking “+” opens up and displays all available channels to send.

Now, we need to select our receiving channels and patch them to our transmitting channels. In the Audio MIDI Setup’s Speaker Configuration window, I left the transmitting channels on 1-12 so I just needed to choose the receiving channels on my MTRX Studio. I already had 27-28 patched from my laptop to the MTRX so I just added the next 10 in order. 

If you don’t already have anything patched to your receiver, I recommend using channels 1-12 on your receiver because 1-to-1 numbering is easier to remember. Personally, I maintain a spreadsheet for all of this patching stuff because I know a day will come when I need to revisit things that is long past being able to remember what I did in the first place. I can’t even remember what possessed me to originally patch 27-28 when I initially installed the MTRX Studio, but I’m sure there was a reason at the time. So as you’re choosing channels, it would behove you to write down the Dante channels you choose and their respective Atmos channel (ex. Left, Right, Center, LFE, etc.).

Once you’ve decided on receiving channels, click the intersection point between each Transmitting channel and receiving channel. You should see a green checkmark to indicate it’s all patched. Aside from a live recording gig 7-8 years ago, Dante has been pretty solid for me, but if you are running into Dante issues I suggest contacting Audinate’s support. Alternately you might check a live sound group or forum because it has been around in use in that world for many years.

Configuring The MTRX Studio

Next, we need to get the MTRX Studio configured in DADman, and there are a couple of ways to do this. For my initial testing, I patched Dante to my DigiLink port to test the signals in Pro Tools and record some reference tracks for use in the future. If you’re like me, though, you’ll use this primarily as a monitor source so let’s look at that first.

In DADman, open the “Monitor Profile…” under the Settings menu. Click the arrow next to “Control Room” to open up your monitoring, and then click the arrow next to “Sources” to open up your available sources for monitoring. 

Right-click on “Sources” and select “Add new source”. A new source should appear at the bottom of your Sources listed called “New input set”. Right-click on “New input set” and select “7.1.4” from the “Set group format:” menu. 

Now we need to assign all the channels for our new source. The channel order in the box on the right is film order and NOT SMPTE, but the macOS defaults to SMPTE order. So take your time and go one channel at a time. Right-click on each channel and assign it to the proper Dante channel. I recommend you also double-click in the “Label” column at this time and give each channel a name that makes sense to you. In the screenshot above, you can see I have labelled each channel with “Atmos Ref” followed by its respective channel name. These labels will show up elsewhere in DADman and can be helpful for patching. 

Once you’ve finished assigning channels, you may double-click on “New input set” in your Sources list and give your new source a name. I named mine “Atmos Ref”.

Another way we can use our Dante source is for inputs directly into Pro Tools. I found this helpful in my initial setup to use the meters in Pro Tools. I’ll also use this to record some reference mixes for future use.

To get this working, we need to patch the Dante inputs to the DigiLink connectors.

Scroll down to the patching section of DADman. We want “Dante Main” for our Inputs and one of the “DigiLink” options for outputs. Scroll through the Dante channels to find the channels you set up to receive Atmos playback. Again, in my case, these are 27-38. If you labelled your channels when setting up the source in the Monitor Profile window, you should see those names now.

Now select channels on your DigiLink port to send the Atmos to Pro Tools. My MTRX Studio has the onboard Mic/Instrument inputs patched to 1 & 2 so I used 3-14. Click the intersecting point between the input and output channels to patch these just like we did in Dante Controller. 

Now we’re almost ready to listen.

Final Settings & Testing The Connection

One more thing we need to do is select our audio device on our playback machine to be the system audio output. If you have the lovely little speaker icon in your system menu bar, you should be able to select your device here. Otherwise, open up your Mac’s System Preferences. Select Sound and select your output device on the output tab. In my case, I have selected “Dante Virtual Soundcard”.

If you’re using the MTRX Studio, select your new Atmos Reference as a Monitor Source in DADman. Don’t forget to select your Atmos outputs here as well.

Head back to the Configure Speakers… window in Audio MIDI Setup. Click the speaker icon next to each channel to verify it is working and patched correctly. If channels aren’t connected or working properly, double-check all of your Dante patching and DADman patching and configuration. 

If everything is working correctly, now is a good time to test Apple Music. Dolby Labs has helped make this easy by supplying a channel ID track within Apple Music. It is called Dolby Atmos Channel ID 7.1.4 (Ltf/Rtf/Ltr/Rtr). You can access it here in Apple Music.

Load up the track and let it play. In the Now Playing window at the top of the app, you should see a small Dolby logo to the right of the track name indicating you are playing back Atmos content. If all is working, have fun enjoying Dolby Atmos music. 

TV As Well

In addition to Apple Music, you may also playback Atmos content using the Apple TV app. If you run into any issues during playback, click on the audio options for the film or show you are playing in the bottom right corner of the playback window and make sure “Prefer AC3 Passthrough” is unchecked.

Troubleshooting

There have been some reports of it not working for some people. Some of those are saying that they are getting 5.1 audio playback, even though they are successfully getting 7.1.4 routing when they use the noise testing in the Audio MIDI Setup page. In my own testing, I do get some inconsistent playback from Apple Music and it seems connected to playlists. When I try and play songs on some of the Apple Music Spatial Audio playlists, they play in stereo. If I go directly to that artist in Apple Music, though, it will often play the Atmos version.

If you don’t get Dolby Atmos, there appear to be a couple of things that will help…

1. Delete "fsCachedData" and "SubscriptionPlayCache" under Library/Caches/com.apple.Music

2. Make sure the device whether it’s DVS, or something else is set to 16x16. Bizarrely it appears that if you set it to larger sizes like 64x64, Dolby Atmos is no longer offered.

3. If you are getting stereo/binaural then it seems that the Music app needs to be set to Auto on the Dolby Atmos dropdown menu. If it is set to Always On, people are reporting that they get binaural and not Atmos.

It would appear that this method only works on macOS Apple apps like Apple’s Music and TV apps. No one has reported that it works on other 3rd apps like the macOS version of Tidal or Amazon Music Unlimited.

For those wanting to use this on the same computer then there are reports that it doesn’t work with Soundflower or Dolby Audio Bridge but does work with the BlackHole virtual audio interface and Source-Nexus from Source Elements. There have been mixed reports about Loopback but there are reports it works as long as it is set to 16x16.

Using Rogue Amoeba Loopback To Audition Dolby Atmos Reference Material

Talking of Rogue Amoeba’s Loopback software to achieve the same result as his technique using Dante, regular contributor Mike Thorne got in touch with us to share the story of how his colleague Josh Holland has been doing exactly this with Mike at Rimshot Studios, which has recently installed a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos system based around a Trinnov and monitoring by HEDD. Here is a six-step guide to Josh’s process. Over to Josh…

Being able to monitor and record into any DAW of your choice Atmos music for referencing is a major benefit and this solution is very cost-effective compared to the previous alternative using hardware but at this time I am aware that Apple Music is the only streaming platform which allows Dolby Atmos playback on macOS. [Ed: David and others have confirmed that Apple’s macOS TV app also works.]

Step 1

Using Loopback create a virtual 12 channel (7.1.4) audio device. For good measure name it Atmos 7.1.4. It will be easier to find in the next step.

Step 2

In Audio MIDI Setup navigate to the virtual sound card you have created. Select the configure speaker button in the bottom right of the window.

Step 3

In the drop down menu at the top next to title Configuration. Select the 7.1.4 Atmos Surround option. Make sure the individual channels are routed to the correct outputs on your interface.

Step 4

Select the newly created virtual audio device in the MacOS sound output menu.

Step 5 

In Apple Music settings make sure that Dolby Atmos is set to Automatic.

Step 6

Navigate back to the Loopback window and you should see all 12 channels showing audio being passed through.

What About macOS 12.4?

We are seeing reports that this solution is still working in macOS Monterey 12.4, which is good news.

Conclusion

There you have it, a way of listening to reference tracks in Apple Music or TV shows mixed in Atmos using the macOS Apple TV app all without needing to buy an expensive Dolby Atmos enabled AVR and the necessary converters to get the audio from the AVR into your studio setup.

As mentioned in the article, although David used Dante to get the audio from his laptop into his studio rig, you don’t have to use Dante to make this work, the key here is macOS Monterey and the relevant versions of Apple Music and Apple TV apps. We can see no reason why you can’t use something like an audio interface to pipe the Atmos audio out of your computer and into your studio rig. As you can see Josh at Rimshot Studios has been able to set this up using Loopback from Rogue Amoeba, to work within one computer running macOS Monterey.

We hope this helps someone and do post your experiences in the comments below as to how you get on with this solution.