Life in Surround

The Rush — 2112 Atmos review is live:

👉 https://youtu.be/7oF9DDniT98

I’d love to know what you’re hearing — whether it’s about impact, spacing, dynamics, or moments that surprised you. What stood out to you most in this mix?

5 days ago | [YT] | 5

Life in Surround

New review is live.

Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome in Dolby Atmos.

This is a dense, intentional Atmos mix that rewards attention. Front-anchored where it should be, expansive in ways that matter, and carefully controlled even at high playback levels.

I focus specifically on how the Atmos presentation works, what Steven Wilson does with space, and why this mix holds together as an immersive experience rather than a gimmick.

Watch the full review here:
https://youtu.be/NIUGXiQqFIg

1 week ago | [YT] | 4

Life in Surround

The Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Welcome to the Pleasuredome” Atmos review is now live for channel members.
It will go public tomorrow morning.
Just a heads-up for anyone who enjoys early access.

1 week ago | [YT] | 25

Life in Surround

When an Atmos mix works for you, what do you notice first?

1 week ago | [YT] | 18

Life in Surround

I just published a new video showing the immersive & surround albums I’m beginning my 2026 with — physical media I already own and am planning to spend focused time with this year.
No rankings, no lists of “must have,” just what I actually have on hand and what I’m getting to.

If you’ve checked it out, I’d love to hear:
• which of these you already know
• which ones you’ve been meaning to revisit
• or what’s on your immersive front this year

Watch it here: https://youtu.be/sjb0vzhYcXY

Here’s to 2026 being filled with great listening and good sound.

1 week ago | [YT] | 4

Life in Surround

These are the immersive albums from 2025 that didn’t just impress me once.
They’re the ones I keep reaching for.

Physical releases. Surround and Atmos mixes. Albums that reward repeat listening and still hold up after the review glow wears off.

If you care about which immersive releases actually last, this video is for you.

https://youtu.be/vVnrg-NKvKw

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 4

Life in Surround

Jeff Buckley’s Grace has quietly arrived in Dolby Atmos, mixed by Steven Wilson.

I’ve just published my review, focusing less on novelty and more on whether this approach truly serves an album that means a great deal to a lot of people. If Grace is important to you, I’m genuinely interested in how this Atmos mix landed on your system and emotionally, not just technically.

Have you spent time with it yet?

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 2

Life in Surround

Quadio Batch 10 is live. Four albums, four very different quad approaches, and one clear standout for me in this batch. Always interesting to hear how different systems and tastes shape people’s favorites.

https://youtu.be/LM8LBLZ_Alw

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 1

Life in Surround

Playback note for quad listeners

I have tested the Wish You Were Here 4.0 quad mix on the Sony X800 Blu-ray player and have not found any combination of player or AVR settings that allows the rear channels to play correctly. Across multiple tests, the rear channels consistently drop, regardless of output settings on the player or listening modes on my Denon AVR-X6400H.

I have also searched for documented solutions and have not found any confirmed setting or firmware workaround that restores proper native 4.0 playback from the X800. At this point, it appears that the X800 does not reliably handle native quad playback from Blu-ray. This behavior has been observed with both LPCM 4.0 and DTS 4.0 quad material.

When I switched to an OPPO BDP-103, the quad mix played correctly immediately, with proper rear channel output and no additional configuration required. That is how I completed my listening session. This strongly suggests the limitation lies in how the Sony player outputs quad channel information, not in the disc itself or the AVR.

Anecdotally, some listeners report success using the Sony X800 with newer AVRs or processors, including more recent Denon models. This likely reflects differences in how newer DSP implementations interpret or down-map ambiguous multichannel layouts. Other AVRs, including my X6400H, do not appear to remap this signal and instead drop the rear channels.

Based on my experience, if you plan to listen to a lot of quad material and you otherwise love your AVR, the most reliable solution is to use a player that is known to output quad with explicit, AVR-friendly channel mapping. OPPO players remain a proven option, and Magnetar and Denon also offer players that are reported to handle quad more reliably.

Ripping and modifying files may work for users who are comfortable working with extracted audio, such as creating padded 5.1 files with silent center and LFE channels. However, for straightforward Blu-ray playback, I am not aware of a working, repeatable fix for native quad playback on the Sony X800.

3 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 16

Life in Surround

Prince’s Purple Rain has arrived on Blu-ray Audio with a new Dolby Atmos mix, and it’s already generating strong reactions.

I’ve spent serious time with both the stereo and Atmos presentations at real listening levels, and this review walks through what the release actually delivers, where it shines, and where expectations need to be set.

If you’re considering the Blu-ray, or just curious how this iconic album translates to immersive audio, the full review is now live:

https://youtu.be/sshwglLz0FU

As always, I’m interested in your listening experiences as well.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 8