High End Munich 2024 was filled with more two-channel systems than the StereoNET team could shake their collective sticks at. However, PMC brought the big guns to one of the larger rooms on the ground floor—many big guns. In fact, 21 loudspeakers were arranged in an impressive 11.4.6 array, all rigged up with the necessary electronics to deliver 48,000 watts of power and plumb down to 15hz, so we were told.

Those figures are probably why PMC wasn't allowed to play this set-up in one of the rooms upstairs, as relatively normal systems still managed to bleed through to their neighbours on occasion—such is the way of hi-fi shows.

The event included some tracks played and an explanation of what Dolby Atmos Music can offer the listener. Atmos Music evangelist, musician, and spatial audio producer Steven Wilson presented this in his usual friendly, plain-speaking and enthusiastic way.

PMC's heavy artillery consisted of an LCR trio of the flagship PMC BB6-XBD-A floorstanders bolstered by four potent BST subwoofers. The rest of the 11.4.6 layout was supplied by Ci Series surrounds, which have quickly become the standard for many studio installations, let alone domestic applications. If you are wondering what such a thing would cost to put in your own mansion, call PMC with €300,000 ready. No, this wasn't the most expensive system at the show.

While it was acknowledged that this particular barn-filling, scaffolded speaker system wasn't wholly practical for most people, as Steven Wilson pointed out, the beauty of Atmos Music is that if you don't have a multi-speaker system, it will automatically convert to a binaural mix, which still benefits from the spatial treatment. This is one of the format's benefits and where it trumps the likes of 5.1, for instance. He also added that this year's Grammy-winning records were all released in the format.

We were treated to a couple of tracks to demonstrate what this system and the format were capable of, although other sessions throughout the show would focus more on the music rather than Steven's presentation and Q&A. Naturally, the source material was the highest-quality Dolby Atmos Music, and, as an aside, Wilson stated that the best way to experience spatial audio was via Blu-ray. However, with streaming services now offering the spatial audio format and the cost of entry being no more than an ably-equipped soundbar or headphones, it's well worth giving it a whirl before committing to a more immersive speaker system.

And a more immersive system is what we have right here. Having had the opportunity to record in Dolby Atmos Music with the format in mind from the very start rather than the way Wilson does it “all in the box”, I have experience in how the songs are created and the decisions made when mixing in Atmos. It was refreshing to hear the man who gets commissioned to remix classic tracks into Atmos Music does it by simply going by what sounds right to him while admitting that he's a musician and not a producer. This is one aspect that will keep the format interesting - there are no fixed rules aside from common sense. For instance, you might want to avoid hearing Keith Moon's drumming planted in the left corner height channel or a Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar solo placed far back in the rear channel speakers.

Steven Wilson kicked off the playback session with the Prince-penned Sinead O'Conner classic Nothing Compares 2 U. The track started off in its already spectacular original stereo format before seamlessly opening up into multichannel and made ample use of those 21 PMC speakers.

The difference wasn't subtle but in all the right ways. While there is nothing wrong with the stereo mix, far from it, the spatial mix literally envelopes the listener, putting you in the middle of the instrumentation and vocals. Additionally, something that is oft remarked upon in reviews of decent systems and speakers is the space and sound staging; here, it was almost possible to walk around the players. The bonus was that there was a greater sense of detail and emotion from the piece and, partly due to this behemoth of a system, the dynamic range was awe-inspiring. Looking around at my fellow audience members, I noticed enough smiles and nods when this track moved to spatial audio, making me think this experiment may well be working on even the most hardened stereo purist.

The next track was one of Wilson's own, the final cut from his latest album, The Harmony Codex, Staircase. Here was the sound of a man entirely at home with the format. It had all the hallmarks of a Steven Wilson track if you are already familiar with his work. He has a knack for utilising the entire frequency range to the best of a system's ability, giving the music great height, depth and width. With backing vocals placed above and other elements sweeping in from the sides or appearing behind, it certainly makes for a more entertaining and immersive experience. It is sometimes difficult for me not to get drawn into the technicalities of “Oh, I wouldn't have thought to place that there”, but overall, I considered this quick introduction to Atmos Music a success. 

With the caveat that PMC's system deftly presented the music with such power, speed, and clarity and so helped the case put before us, I find it impossible to believe that it failed to leave people at least more curious about the format and, perhaps, already considering dipping their toes into immersive audio waters with a capable soundbar, headphones, or entry-level multi-speaker set-up.

My takeaway from the session was that Dolby Atmos Music and spatial audio are here to stay for the foreseeable future. The format has already been adopted by many leading studios, and heaps of classic albums are being treated to spatial remixing, many by our host, Steven Wilson.

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