I Listened to Dolby Atmos in a Rivian SUV: Is It the Future of Automative Audio?

I insisted that I cannot call ATMOS in the “Catmos”. However, Catmos is the latest application for Dolby -based surrounding technology. We have already talked about its quality to add a height to the film’s sound in the theaters, how most medium and high -end sound tapes contain some atmos functions and how they were built even some headphones. But in the car?

Well, yes, in reality. These days are the car where most people listen to most of the music. In some respects, it is also a great place to create a convincing peripheral sound, since listening sites are fixed, and the system is designed to integrate and replace where the loudspeakers are exactly. There is no of these things at home, and even in the theater, does not focus.

One of the biggest problems in most of the audio sincerity of cars is the surrounding noise. One way to significantly reduce this problem is to completely remove the engine. A sophisticated electric car manufactures the best script in a mobile ocean sound system, and to specifically, I was invited by Rivian and Dolby to hear their 1000 watts system, 18 drivers in ATMOS in R1S SUV at an event in Venice, California, 15 miles from The place I live in. It’s Los Angeles, so shy after two hours, you were all the ears.

Atmos to-G

Let’s back back up and Talk about Atmos. It is a great technique, and its “based object” approach provides a different way to mix movies and music. The traditional way of mixing sound, which had been present for decades, was to set a sound or tool for one of five surrounding channels or an amplifier – also known as 5.1. Three introduction, two in the back or sides. Some films have more channels, as seven channels have become somewhat common, allowing side and rear channels.

Atmos changes all with the ability to deal with sound or tool as an “object”. In the mixing process, the sound designer can move this object anywhere, and ATMOS encoded will understand where the sound designer means in the physical space. For example, the ATMOS decoding unit, in the theater, creates a virtual map of the loudspeakers and can translate “Door Creak in the left left corner” until the audience hears this position. This accuracy was difficult, if not impossible, before Atmos. The designer can want a sound in a specific location, but there will be no way to adjust what this means in the stage with five seats, 50 or 500.

Thanks to this most accurate way to move the sounds around them, loud amplifiers were much easier to use. Now the sounds can be conveyed convincingly from behind the screen, top over your head, and “landing” somewhere behind you. It is done properly, it’s very immersive. If the theater of high amplifiers does not have the ceiling, ATMOS will continue to work, with the unit of the decoding coding stop the sounds to the sides. So it is still disgusting, not only convincing as it was in a more detailed system. Atmos decoding process is “smart”, mainly understanding what speakers and space, and control so you can do the best that it can with what it was.

The sword with a two -boundary in this case is that ATMOS can work, at some point anyway, with less detailed systems. For this reason there are monochromatic and even TVs with “Atmos”. They have upward speakers at best-often, a wide treatment to simulate the sound of height with different levels of success.

This brings us back to Atmos in the car. All listeners are in well-known places, there can be high speakers, and it is easy to get rear speakers because all modern cars-especially the SUVs-the size of the hall anyway.

Rivian Premium Voice with Dolby Atmos

2025 R1S Gen 2 I saw it proud of Dolby Atmos with 18 drivers, operated by 960 watts of amplification. Most of these speakers have been somewhat typical, as some were in the impulse, including a central channel in the center, loudspeakers in the doors and the sound of sound in the trunk.

What is less common is loudspeakers in the roof line, above the doors but below the glass ceiling. R1S is a huge car, so it can be considered high amplifiers for everyone, and if you are long enough because this is the ear level, you will not be able to see the windshield.

You need an atmos encrypted content to get a real Atmos experience. To this end, the entertainment system inside the car contains Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music and audible. During my illustration, we listened to many tracks, including Ariana Grande 7 episodes and as it was by Harry Styles.

The path that fully benefited from Atmos was Pink Floyd: The iconic cash record that began somewhere began somewhere behind the back of the rear passenger side, then advanced to the dashboard, then working on its way inward. After that, the actual tools filled the space in a traditional way struggling with it (this ATMOS mixture was approved in the way of the band). I cannot completely judge the sound quality based on a presentation of the pre -chosen music, but in general Treble was clean and Bass Puncly, especially with the pattern path.

While there are good sides of the peripheral sound, others are not. The above mentioned the road noise. Given that the R1S is electric, I assume that the road noise is less than, for example, MIATA. The other is positive and negative. On the one hand, the engineers know exactly where there are potential listeners, and they are almost. The fact that they are spreading, near the “walls”, not to mention different distances on a large scale for speakers, all of which add an unimportant challenge. The mixture in the R1S is biased towards the driver and the front passenger, which is not very surprising as you will always have one of these at least. The back listeners will still get the effect, and there are high amplifiers there as well, but to a lesser extent. Cheap seats, if you will.

Based on the three -song illustration, I cannot say where the Rivian system accumulates between the high -end weapons sound systems that I heard (which are few). However, I can say that the peripheral side was clear and more popular than anything I heard before. Therefore, perhaps unexpectedly for some, it was one of the best experimental performances that I heard outside the stage.

They hear me, Roline, a curiosity

Rivian is not the only company including entertainment inside the car with Dolby. There are also ATMOS systems installed in or planned models Cadillacand Lotusand clear And the Chinese auto industry for me. One clear direction between all of these is that Dolby Atmos does not come cheap. The R1S Rivian is located in the “SUV Premium” category and can easily cost more than $ 100,000 (which most of these large electric trucks cost). The excellent sound system is combined with the glass ceiling as part of the Sound + Vision package of $ 2,500. You need to subscribe to one of the above broadcasting services and Rivian Connect Plus, which costs $ 15 per month or $ 150 a year. This also includes a data connection and can convert R1S to a hot point, as well as some other features. For such an advanced car, it is disappointing that there is no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

Is it worth it? I only had a brief experimental offer, in a fixed car. I am also very cheap, not to mention being a broken writer (Buy my book!), To spend about $ 100,000 on a car, but $ 2,500 for some wonderful sound sound, not to mention a glass roof that I cannot imagine that it is not in a truck like this, it seems to be a reasonable addition of approximately 2.5 % of the total price. So, maybe?

Will we see atmos in low compounds? maybe. Car companies cooperate with sound companies for a long time, and although these days are usually Bose or some flavor HarmanCar manufacturers know that there is a chance to win a better voice. Do they pay for engineering and additional control for ATMOS devices properly? Or even work only? The brands may be high -end, but we are unlikely to see the ATMOS system with high amplifiers in something like Nissan on the contrary.

Then again, if there is a request, who knows. I am sure that there are some executives who love Atmos and want to put it in a more budget car. Kind of hadith Pontiac GTO – Except for a huge V8, it has Catmos. [You’re fired. —Ty]

In addition to covering sound and width technology, Geoff makes pictures of museums and cold sites around the world, including nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers and castles dating back to the Middle Ages and epic road trips with an area of ​​10,000 miles and more.

Also, check out Budget travel for dollsAnd his book, and for him The best science fiction novel About the city’s submarines. You can follow it Instagram and YouTube.