How to experience Dolby Atmos on headphones
How to experience Dolby Atmos on headphones
Dolby Atmos is ready to go, wherever you go. Headphones are a fantastic way to block out the distractions of the world whether you are travelling, working, or wanting to dive deep into the entertainment experiences you love. You can use headphones to really focus at work, or to gain a competitive edge when gaming – plus, they make workouts more enjoyable. Even better, you can experience your entertainment in Dolby Atmos on any set of headphones and take your audio immersion to a whole new level with greater clarity, detail and immersion.
From enjoying a blockbuster film, to bingeing your favourite show, or battling to stay in the game, Dolby Atmos put you at the centre of the action. With fully three-dimensional immersive sound, fighter jets scream overhead, footsteps creep up from behind, explosions shake the walls and engines rev all around you. Dolby Atmos renders each experience with unprecedented depth, even in headphones.
Artists can place instruments all around you, even overhead, putting you right in the middle of their music. Guitars, pianos, synths, vocals… once overlapping and fighting for their place in the mix, now have their own space to breathe. Like conductors of orchestras, artists are in total control of the sound with Dolby Atmos.
Gaming with precise directional sound helps you stay in the game longer. Being in the studio with your favourite band, or in the front row of the hometown show brings you closer to the artists you love. And with Dolby Atmos, you’ll always have the best seat in the cinema, even when on the road, or when working up a sweat in the gym.
Although you don’t need special headphones to experience Dolby Atmos – just a Dolby Atmos-enabled device, and some content to play in Dolby Atmos from your preferred streaming service – headphones optimised for Dolby Atmos guarantee you a premium entertainment experience. We’ve rounded up five that will give you the immersive audio experience you didn’t know you were missing.
RIG 800 Pro Series
Anyone serious about gaining a competitive edge with enhanced positional awareness is looking at the wireless RIG 800 Pro HD for PCs and the 800 Pro HX for Xbox with Dolby Atmos. Pinpoint your enemies from the direction of their footsteps in Counter-Strike or immerse yourself in the machinery of war on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II with crisp weapon reloads, thundering missiles, and the rattle of distant gunfire. Or enrich the sound of your street racer’s roaring engine as you charge through Mexico’s streets and off-road landscapes in Forza Horizon 5.
Using full-sized headphones brings deep bass and clear sound to games, music, and films without disturbing the people around you. You can enjoy the full impact of sound effects and music in your films and games without missing the fine details.
Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless XT
The Corsair Virtuoso RGB XT wireless headphones for PC are an outstanding gaming headset optimized for Dolby Atmos that can give you a competitive edge in games. But it can also do double duty as your work headset. If you’re doing hybrid or remote work, this headset — with its reliable connectivity and excellent microphone — makes video meetings easier, whether you’re a listener or a speaker. Working from home, a co-working space, or the local coffee shop means that you need to hear your calls clearly without anyone overhearing business conversations. A comfortable set of headphones that can be worn during the day and still feel great after-hours makes a big difference. You get multiple connection options, including a 2.4GHz wireless dongle, a USB, and a 3.5mm wired connection, as well as Bluetooth, meaning you’ve got the option to go portable.
LG TONE Free 90Q
An ultra-compact form factor is the first thing you’ll notice about these in-ear wireless earbuds optimised for Dolby Atmos. We’ve focused this list on over-ear headphones, but we wanted to mention that earbuds can offer immersive spatial audio experiences as well, letting you enjoy sound that moves you when you’re on the go. A lot of people like using earbuds for working out or other activities that require a lot of movement. The LG TONE Free 90Q earbuds make it convenient to take Dolby Atmos anywhere, and they slip easily into a pocket when not in use. They also feature Dolby Head Tracking to increase immersion in music, films, series, and games. They weigh in at just 5.3 grams and connect to your device using Bluetooth. If you want sound that you can experience but have limited space in your bag, consider a set of earbuds.
Beats Studio Pro
If you’re in the mood to block out the world and crank up the bass with Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy or kick it with Nas, the Beats Studio Pro excels in everything from pop to hip hop – and it brings the noize for every genre. With Beats Studio Pro, you get sound that hits deep. Dive into the multidimensional soundscape as you listen to your favourite music enhanced with detailed instrumental accompaniments and airy sounds in immersive Dolby Atmos. The Beats Studio Pro gives you 24 hours of listening time with active noise cancellation enabled. The headset includes a 3.5mm headphone cord for analogue wired listening and USB-C connectivity for digital playback from devices with USB-C ports. Offering multiple ways of connecting is a useful feature in a set of headphones because it gives you flexibility in how you connect to different devices. Thinking about how, when, and where you’re going to use your headphones will help you select the best connectivity options to experience crisp, clean sound.
Apple AirPods Max
Enjoy clearer, richer sounds in a spatial audio environment designed around you when you listen to tracks in Dolby Atmos on Apple’s stylish over-ear AirPods Max. These all-metal headphones offer up to 20 hours of playback time with active noise cancellation turned on, letting you block out external noise and immerse yourself in the sound. They also let you automatically play songs in Dolby Atmos from an iPhone, iPad, or iMac. Listening to music in Dolby Atmos on Apple AirPods Max means that you experience a new wave of sound created for you by your favourite artists. Streaming films and series in Dolby Atmos with AirPods Max gives you cinema-like audio with unmatched detail. It will push you to the edge of your seat when a twig snaps in Stranger Things and transports you to the forest floor as an ant colony goes marching in Our Planet.
Your entertainment, your way
There’s a ton of series and films in Dolby Atmos on Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Netflix. You also get a more immersive gaming experience and enhanced positional awareness with Dolby Atmos spatial audio in titles such as Forza Horizon 5, Battlefield 2042, Call of Duty Warzone, and many more on PCs and Xbox. And you can experience music with the clarity, depth, and space that Grammy®-nominated artists wanted you to hear when they created their recordings in Dolby Atmos, with tracks available on Apple Music, Amazon Music, and TIDAL.
Learn more about how to kick out the jams with Dolby Atmos.
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