Can The Beatles Stay Relevant in 2024? Apple Dolby Atmos Spatial REVIEW 

After coming up to 52 years after their official break up the Beatles seam to be going strong in the media. As a second generation fan, I would have never thought we would still be talking about as much as we do today. I think it all comes down to the magic of their wonderful music.

I gladly welcome any formats (remasters, remixes, spatial, surround, etc) that further reveal the complexity and ingenuity of their recordings. Even a “bad” mix is valuable for us fans if it offers something we haven’t heard before! I do agree that The Beatles in Atmos are a mixed bag, and pop/rock generally doesn’t translate well for the format (whereas jazz, classical, and electronic can be fantastic). Ultimately, I don’t think these formats have much to do with what attracts new audiences to The Beatles. My parents had low-fi AM radio and 45s, while I had crappy 128kbps MP3s. No matter. It only comes down to one thing: falling in love with the songs themselves. Congrats on the 100th video! 👏

I'm 14 and i love most of The Beatles songs I've been listening to them since late 2020 so I'm still new to their history and stuff like that but i still appreciate their music. Especially their later stuff

I had to smile when you mentioned the "hifi salesman's trick" while commenting on how frustrating it must be for musicians to work so hard on getting their mix just right, only to have it "spatialized" for the listener in the end. When I was in a working band in the 90s I learned a lot while in the recording studio, but sitting in on the mastering process for the first time, done at Metalworks in Toronto, was where the real education occured. I learned that proper studio monitors have an almost completely flat frequency response, and all regular consumer home stereo speakers, even the very best ones, always have a profile with certain frequencies either raised or lowered in order to "pre-equalize" the sound. The result of course is the hifi salesman's trick, except in this case it's the speaker manufacturers doing the tricking. They know you'll buy their speakers if they sound better than the ones next to them, and adding a little built-in eq flavour signature is very effective. In time, I grew to love the sound of good studio monitors. After all, they are the surest way to hear exactly what a band and mixing engineer heard when they finished mixing a song or album, called it a day, and began the cutting process. I want to hear exactly what the mix sounded like at that moment. No added sweetness, sizzle, or anything else! And the best way to do that outside of borrowing the tapes from Abbey Road, is to listen to the record through studio monitors with a flat frequency response.

Save? The Beatles have always stayed relevant, George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass 50th Anniversary” made it to number 7 in the US billboard last year, if that’s not a testament to their timeless music, I dont know what is! It was a feeling of a lifetime to see Harrison in the chart, competing with modern artists

As someone very active on the Beatles subreddit, it is clear to me (often painfully so) that it is overrun with new/teenaged fans. However, one thing that is also very clear to me based on the posts there, is that these young fans love the music in its original form or the Giles Martin remixes. They don’t yearn for new spatial audio mixes or any other new audio party trick. Most of the time, they just want the mono mixes to be available on streaming platforms, or if looking to purchase, which vinyl releases are the best. Apple needn’t worry about reinventing the wheel to try and capture a new audience, it’s perfect the way it’s been for sixty years.

I'm a subsitute teacher, and I'm always astounded by the number of students who don't know who the Beatles are and cannot name John, Paul, George, and Ringo. When I was growing up in the 80s, most of my friends knew who the Beatles were at least, even if they didn't listen to their music. I recently tried playing the song Yesterday to a 4th grade class, and many students started laughing. One sutdent asked me, "Is this country music?" I should have given that class detention.

A great new video. The beauty of being a teenager in the 1960s was the prospect of a new Beatles album. I still recall the anticipation and the excitement when a new album was released, especially Sgt Pepper and the almost instant myths surrounding it. Each album released in the 1960s was a great progression on the one before and streets ahead of anything that other bands were issuing at the time. It was a wonderful time to enjoy the gradual unfolding of this catalogue of music as it changed and matured, something fans born after that time can never truly experience.

Thank you, Andrew! I’m definitely not the target audience for this. I have no interest in listening to streaming, especially on tiny earbuds. Give me a decent stereo system with two speakers and I’m set. For many, listening to music has turned into something in the background while doing something else. My listening habits have not changed. As a kid I would sit on the floor of my bedroom listening to the music coming from my stereo, reading and rereading the album liner notes and studying the front and back covers. It’s still the same today except I am now sitting in the recliner in my living room.

Honestly, the only Beatles songs I'd really like to hear in 5.1 are the raga & psychedelic ones, especially Revolution 9 and Tomorrow Never Knows

"Keeping the Beatles relevant to the next generation" through fancy audio tricks reminds me of what the record companies did to 1930s/40s big band recordings in the 60s and 70s. They thought the recordings sounded flat in the era of LPs and stereo sound. So they tried to modernize them and keep them relevant by processing them with the same audio trickery that they used to make fake stereo versions of She Loves You and the second half of I Am The Walrus... and with a healthy dose of reverb to boot. Now we listen to those fake-stereo mixes 50 years later and ask what they were thinking.

Im 15 yrs old and I found out about the beatles when I kept getting ads about get back... NOW ILOVE THEM!!!

When comes to process of music production,i sat 15.years in my best friends studio,and for me best sound has " raw," not mixed material. "Growing," in music production i learned a lot sitting in studio during recording process,witch is most boring process,dispite people watched "Get back,"like my self and think it' s great because Beatles did it. At the end and closing studio on old adress i got one CD with " raw" not mixed proposition music for some festival.Sounds great,has kick,bass,drums... So,no matter how much you mix,and for my taste " kill," raw power of original,vinyl and gramophone are best at reproduction of Beatles music. Nice video Young Master Andrew.

Happy 100th Andrew! Loved this episode! I’d read years ago that George Martin (or an engineer at that time) thought that A Hard Days Night had an odd out of phase issue from the get go…and any changes done to the tune just brought it out more or it was hidden through different eq’s. All of what you were mentioning seems that if you’re moving frequencies and hard notes around there’s a chance it’s gonna get muddy or hammered into oblivion. There were tons of 5.1 and quad mixes around years ago, and with Beatles music it was always hit and miss. I would love to chat with you about that! Anyway Atmos is being discussed all over these days from music outlets to online blog/blogs dealing with digital software and such so it is a big thing. Glad you brought it up. Very good show!!

amazing episode yet again! I'll gladly watch the next hundred videos every week!

I predominantly listen to The Beatles on vinyl, but's it's crucial for the future of the Beatles that all of the 2009 stereo albums are phased out of streaming platforms as they simply don't work for the ear bud wearing generation. The hard panning is alien to younger listeners, and makes it unlistenable if you want to share headphones. I can't help but imagine if that was how I first heard the Bealtes, I'd be put off. And for better or for worse, streaming is where most people discover new music. Ideally, they'd use the mono mixes but it's probably more likely that new stereo mixes will need to be done. Even if a separate mix is done compared to physical releases, that focus on how music is played through headphones, it will help new listeners enjoy the music without thinking that their earphones are broken or there's something wrong with the song.

Congrats to 100. Well done

I grew up with the Beatles and I’m 22 and I still have them in my life. Their music will never die because of parents of todays kids

I really appreciate your review here. Being a RU-vid Music subscriber, I've been sad to miss out on these tracks. sounds like I'm not missing anything good at all.

Congratulations Andrew on celebrating the channels 100th video! Regarding new technology to listen to Beatles music, I'm of the opinion that the Beatles intended their music to be listened to as it was originally mixed for either mono or stereo formats. Whilst I'm happy with the new archive releases, tampering too much with the sound spectrum spoils how the Beatles intended their audience to listen to their music was.

A thought provoking 100th video. I prefer "1" in stereo. Looking at the era that the songs were recorded in either mono or stereo were the prevailing standards. 7.1.2 wasn't even a thought. Technology does move on, but we will eventually come to the conclusion that some things are best left to their own moment in time. Colorized movies loose their appeal, when you see the original B&W version. Let's not stretch an older format to the point where there is no saving it.

...Sundays are now with an added bonus, Church days and now new Parlogram Auctions episodes. Thanks again Andrew, this was a GREAT episode. Again, having been raised on the 'official' canon of the Beatles music on CD, I've never had an affinity (or proper equipment) for vinyl (in general). This is just my ears though; I mean no offense to anyone who disagrees. But this video...man, thank you, it was awesome and "relevant" to today's generation. I LUV your opinion with musical things, and this was just another example of your prowess. Thank you!!!

100 videos!! Well done Andrew - looking forward to the next 100 - your in-depth and well researched videos are a joy. Cheers Matt

I listened to 1 in my car, which has DTS Neural virtual surround. Heard nice effects on Yellow Submarine. The Elton John Diamonds Atmos mix sounded superb.

An excellent way to commemorate your 100th video! Congratulations and well done, you! The last Beatles recording that really impressed me was the one on the "Yellow Submarine" DVD back in the 1990s. Thanks to you, I'm feeling energised to try some of these new, intriguing mixes and find out how I feel about them. Cheers!

The original mono recording of the beatles and rolling stones and many other artist are fenominal and great. They are originally made to be enjoyed in mono. No stereo, or spatial, or 4D or 7.1 surround is needed.

Congratulations on 100 videos. I've found them entertaining, enjoyable and the production is excellent.

I really dont get why they're pushing this for the 'younger' generation. I'm 21 and like many of my friends, listen to the beatles music casually on spoitfy etc (I have a stereo turntable system too). Very few of them know about Dolby Atmos itself, nevermind this new spacial software which uses only 2 channels anyway. Usually its the 2009 remasters that are listened too. I think just a remix, as with all the 50th anniversary editions so far, is the best way to update the sound for my generation, even if it is a mixed bag. The originals will always still be there.

Looking forward to the next 100 Andrew. Really interesting video, I didn't know any of this.

As for the Revolver remix, "Tomorrow Never Knows" on the LOVE album (paired with "Within You Without You") was remixed and that sounds great. The bass and drums are so much more crisp and fresh when compared to the Revolver version. I am sure Giles could do something if his dad could do that over 10 years ago.

I think this type of mixes are getting close to be a Star Wars special edition situation. Just give me the closest thing to The Beatles’ and Martin’s original sonic vision and I’d be happy. The Beatles are doing fine with newer generations. Get Back being on Disney+ helped and when I went to see the rooftop concert in Imax, I saw a lot of young kids with their parents. They are also massive on Spotify. Over 40 songs above 100 million plays. You don’t get to those numbers only with boomers. They have 13 billion plays total. Compare them to Michael Jackson’s 9b, AC/DC’s 7b or The Stones’ 6b. At the end of the day, what matters is the music itself and it is undeniably good. That should be enough.

Congratulations on hitting the hundred, Andrew - you're providing a great service to Beatles' fans everywhere and this latest video is no exception. As to Dolby Atmos, I doubt I'll be trying it - not for Beatles songs, anyhow. I love new technology, but I'm very much into playing Beatles on vinyl, which sounds so great and authentic. I have to say though, that as my own hi-fi has got more revealing over recent years, some of the Beatles' performances, eg on the World Records 1980 set, have their imperfections unfairly revealed. The recordings were never expected to be listened to under an aural microscope. I don't know how long Apple can go on disassembling and recombining every element of the recorded sound. I don't even know what the point is - once technical errors such as clicks and hiss are removed, the songs can't be made to sound any better, just different. Each re-processing loses some of the authenticity of what the Beatles were. I doubt any technical enhancement will ever generate as much thrill and excitement as putting a new Beatles 45 on the Dansette turntable and hearing it for the first time. As you have so often demonstrated, Andrew, their records weren't perfectly recorded, mastered or pressed - but the noise that came out of your Dansette or equivalent player was what the Beatles sounded like - not a 3D simulation though ear pods. If I can be controversial briefly, maybe Apple shouldn't attempt to make the Beatles 'relevant' to present and future generations - the Beatles were very much a band of their time, in an era when they were new and exciting and different. The thing is, it's been done now - the Beatles have been and, sadly, gone; maybe their legacy should be enjoyed as it exists and not represented as something it never was.

The Blu-ray of 1 is as far as I want to go with remixing the Beatles for surround -- and only on a room-filling system. ••• Congratulations on 100 videos! And, yes, here's to 100 more!

Love that you looked at this. Sadly i wasn't born soon enough to see them live or by the records when they came out. But I'm glad they're available online to stream. Love their music.

Congrats on a 100 videos, Andrew!

Another excellent video to bring up the "ton". Here's to the next 100 Andrew.Thanks,Ian

I was wondering what this new audio format was. Thanks for clueing me in.

Hi Andrew! Thank you for explaining Dolby Atmos and Spatial so clearly. I don't have an iPhone 13 or air pods so haven’t heard the tracks for myself but your critique of each '1' track was very interesting. Let's face it, Beatles music will still be listened to in hundreds of years' time just like the music of Beethoven, Mozart, Handel and the other great classical composers so I don’t think we need worry too much about keeping the legacy alive! If it's good, it will be listened to, whether on an expensive hi fi system or a cheap mp3 player !

As a first generation Beatles fan I will always favor their music in "lo-fi" as that was the way I grew up with it.

People who weren't born until 10, 20, 30, I'd almost say 40, years after the Beatles split up know who they were, can name them, can name all the albums, are familiar with most of the songs, can even play them on various instruments. (Mona Lisa Twins, anybody?) I really don't think we have anything to worry about when it comes to keeping the Beatles in the public consciousness. A few years ago my brother, who owned the first 4 Beatles albums on vinyl, lost all of them. He eventually found them in his daughters' bedroom - borrowed to copy them. My nieces' ages at the time? 12 and 9.

Informative video as always and happy 100

First of all, congratulations (100th video and still going strong)! I must have missed a few, shame on me, and will certainly try and track them down! Your interesting and informative analysis in this video apart -- I still don't get the thing with the de-mixing software. Say, on Revolver, they recorded three instruments and a guide vocal on an initial 4-track. They 'bounced down' three tracks on track 1 of a new tape, added piano and another guitar, combined all those on tracks 1 and 2 of a third generation fresh tape and then added vocals and background vocals plus handclaps. The final tape was then mixed down to one channel (mono), which meant adjusting the relative volumes of the final four tracks, or to two channels (stereo), which entailed, in addition to the relative volumes, the placement of the tracks in the stereo image. If I'm not mistaken, the original console at Abbey Road studios did not allow for continuous panning, only left, right, or middle (as witnessed by the funny 'sweep' of the lead guitar at the beginning of Sgt. Pepper's .... Reprise). But that last stage is irrelevant for the new mixes. In my example, you have seven tracks in total (the guide vocal was erased) which you can then place in any position you like in the stereo panorama on a modern mixing console. The only question is if you still have the first and second generation tapes of the session and can synchronize the individual seven first-generation recordings. That's exactly what the Yellow Sub Songtrack people must have done with the Rubber Soul and Revolver tracks. I bet they had no 'de-mixing sotware' and the results were great and stunning in some cases. OK, Giles Martin is the professional and should know, but tell me where and why I went wrong ... Or anybody??

Great stuff! We'd love to add your music on our blog

I wish these were daily! Been checking back all the time!

I’m 24, turning 25 in July, discovered the Beatles after curiously listening to Abbey Road, introduced them to my gf, and now we’re fanatics! Been listening non-stop and working my way back thru the discography after getting well acquainted with the Let It Be deluxe box. Currently extensively listening to Beatles For Sale

Your comments about the difference between the two versions of Love Me Do actually really helped me in setting up atmos for my 5.1 setup at home. Now I know, if I'm hearing the Andy White version, I'm still listening in stereo, just spread across the 5.1. But if I turn on "Always in Atmos", then I get the proper setup.

The Beatles music never needs to be updated or remixed to the latest fad, it stands on its own. It's timeless. People have been listening to it for fifty+ years and will do so for much longer still. The anniversary releases help, rereleasing the music and releasing the bonus material in the box sets and putting the name in the public eye again. But I think The Beatles will continue to be listened to no matter what happens. There never has been another group quite like them.

I love the fact that you give a brutally honest review. It shows integrity. You are not trying to sell or hype which is rare these days. Sounds like you are saying that if there is hard panning to the left or right in the original mixes then Atmos can improve this by bringing the sound more to the center in a more integrated stereo mix. However, the Atmos mixes so far are sometimes bad or do not work. I have never heard Atmos or 5.1 mixes but where I would be curious is with psych albums like Axis Bold as Love. Not big on ear pods though as they have never sounded good to me.

All you need is love, really good mix! Thanks for letting us know about this and explain what’s Dolby Atmos.

Sounds like we're sticking with good old fashioned 2.0 stereo for a while then! Great video as always, Andrew.

Another fabulous video! For better or worse we live in the streaming era and Apple Corp. is trying to bring the Fabs fab music for a new generation of listeners used to listening to digital on their phones. Of course we know vinyl rules!

It's amazing really, they have all this tech available and still can't get it right, and I'm getting a bit fed up with the 'It's a Giles Martin remix it must be good' NO it's NOT, still listen to The Beatles in MONO

Thanks, Andrew. This makes me feel better that I have the phone but not the headphones to listen to Atmos.

Great video and congrats on number 100. I now watch these religiously on Sundays evenings. Slightly off topic - the title sequence to this video went through many formats of Beatles releases and got me thinking: were they ever released on the short lived Minidisc? Not sure if there is enough for a future video?

It would be interesting to hear a surround sound version of Tomorrow Never Knows with the tape loops swirling around your head. Aside from that I'm not a fan of any of these remixes, aside from YSST and the Dave Dexter mono mix of Money

Thanks for the review! Maybe we used different headphones, but I loved the spatial audio version of One. I wouldn’t say that some of the instruments were moved to the center. To me, some were moved to the front and others to the back, and some were left on the right or left, creating the effect of being surrounded by the band. It’s incredible! I would not have touched the earlier songs as they sound better in mono, but the later songs, mostly from 1967 to 1970, sound amazing in spatial audio. Again, thanks for your videos. You are amazing!

Just saying, I love this channel already

Andrew thank you for all the great information.

Another great video. I, like many who love the fabs and have been listening their whole life, have the entire catalog embedded in my brain. So I’m happy to hear any variation of the mix. But it can sometimes come off like a gimmick if not done well. Since you mentioned the recent Let It Be box set, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the other recent remixes. Either general thoughts or a deep dive in future videos. I didn’t find any yet for those but if you already have done them I apologize.

VERY INTERESTING VIDEO. GLAD THEY ARE MAKING BEATLES MUSIC VERY AVAILABLE IN MANY FORMS. TAKE CARE.

Congratulations on your hundredth video! I've enjoyed them all very much! I apologize to everyone ahead of time, this is a long post. Sorry! As for the Dolby Atmos Spatial, I have yet to hear it. I am subscribed to a different music streaming service. However, I do have Dolby Atmos (D. A.) on my phone. As most people, I figured that D. A. would make everything "sound better". Call me crazy, and yes I probably am, but I have discovered just recently that the majority of what I listen to sounds better on the high resolution speakers without the Dolby Atmos turned on. I had recently transferred the Beatles in mono CD'S to my phone. As I was listening to the Revolver album, something just didn't sound right to me. I wasn't sure what it was that I didn't like. I just knew I didn't like it. After trying different adjustments to the preamp and speakers, I still wasn't satisfied. I thought I'd try turning off the D. A. There it was. To my delight, it sounded more like it should (to my ears anyway). I thought I'd compare the stereo equivalent of Revolver from my streaming service with and without the D. A. and came to the same conclusion. I'm probably the only person who thinks this, but, there you go!

Totally agree with your view of “A Hard Day’s Night”.

I think the Beatles recordings are already very well done in themselves. ever since I discovered the Beatles I have always been fascinated by this stereo effect so marked and so clear. The separation between the channels has always given me a listening curiosity that makes the difference with respect to current recordings, that detail given by the separation that can be found in their recordings is already an added value for me that I really like.

Happy 100th! As far as the Beatles’ legacy goes, as cool as the Atmos experience must be - and I never get tired of finding new ways to hear their music - they’d still stand the test of time if they weren’t available anywhere but on ratty old homemade cassette tapes. They’re just that good. (Also, my 6 year old likes them, so I wouldn’t worry about them fading away.)

Thanks so much Andrew 😊 haven't heard these mixes but I'm thinking of giving them a try! I honestly feel that if new generations had the luck of having releases like Anthology, Live at the BBC, and even 1 they'd be much more interested. My generation (90s) was very lucky in terms of new material and good compilations, but lacked appreciation and admire for the Beatles. At least from my point of view based on what I came across as a teenager. Most people used to laugh at me for my musical choices. Nowadays, I think, people understand better what the Beatles meant for the course of music in the last century, and they have more respect to them. But youngsters haven't got any truly new material. Who would buy a limited edition item that's usually overpriced unless he/she is a collector or fan for years? And that's all they tend to release for some years now. Nothing to catch the youth, nothing to lure them, nothing to make them experiment a little. I was thrilled to have 1 released before I started to collect Beatles' albums. It was great listening to those magnificent songs for the first time! And it was regularly priced at that time. Plus there was a lot of promotion all around. And in 2001 again with Paul's Driving Rain (one of my Paul's favourite albums). Unfortunately, George's death came while I was already a big fan, but still, the media took over and promoted even more the 2001 edition of All Things Must Pass. It was times that I felt great (according to my newly fan's perspective) and there was a spark to buy albums, collections, and learn more and more. What spark do the new generations have? What motive? 😥

Thanks Andrew. Just give me well mastered stereo or mono any day of the week. This new technology sure looks like it's more miss than hit.

This is the first time I’ve ever heard of Adobe Atmos I’ve never heard of such a thing until the remixes of some of the Beatles albums remixed by Charles Martin, I love the Beatles remix is when they’re done just right, and being able to hear all the songs and to be right there like you’re at the recording studio with the Beatles and you can hear the Beatles playing in front of you and you can hear every sound every detail big and small. I love listening to the Beatles music on vinyl and CDs I love all those physical formats that I just mentioned and I even love listening to music forwards and backwards which is great.

Happy #100, Andrew! I wonder what the next 100 will hold?

Well presented Andrew! Excellent work! I'm not sure why Giles Martin is apprehensive about using Source Separation Software - as it has advanced leaps & bounds over the last 2 years. I've been remixing mono tracks for a small record company for the last 2 years. I have mixed the 4 Beatles mono tracks ( Love Me Do, P.S. I Love You, She Loves You, I'll Get You) into convincing stereo mixes - with the bass & vocals centered. Maybe Giles has not found a good enough engineer to do this work? With a lot of time dedicated to each song, it can be achieved. I'm sure there's many thousands out there who would like to hear early Beatles tracks in well balanced stereo. This goes for any of 1965 - 1966 tracks with hard panned vocals as well.

The reason the Beatles isn't clicking with younger generations is mostly because of Apple's very shortsighted policy of keeping Beatles music off itunes/streaming platforms for most of the 2000s. Even today, their practice of copyright striking any video with even a tiny clip of Beatles music in it prevents fans from creating memes and content that would introduce more people to the Beatles. They're shooting themselves in the foot here.

Hi I have your new ! Channel I am the first beatles fan some 1963 I am 65 & am still a fan of Beatles so program this channel your no.1 fan

I’m excited for a Revolver rerelease even if it doesn’t sound the best I’m excited for any outtakes and special artwork that’d come with the vinyl box set

Fun video as always, Side note, I do believe I have have watched all your vids, and if not will. As far as DAS, it seems to appeal to more movie then audio. We have a fairly decent music room that creates a nice sound stage, and it's older stereo equipment. When a younger audience listens to The Beatles, they seem to become fans, so maybe this will appeal to them.

I would love to hear every single Beatles album and every single Beatles song remixed and 5.1 - but everything is heard very clearly and everything is brought out and remix just right especially with songs like tomorrow never knows, and revolution nine dollars will be really cold here in Dahl Beach Atmos and special audio and all that type of thing. There’s something wonderful about listening to the Beatles on CDs and on vinyl I even love turning up the sound of the turntable just to hear the warm cracking sound of the vinyl record.

Great, Andrew! I'll try to hear the beatles in this format. I think that apple would bring the old sounding from vinil back again instead of remixing them. But the way the music should sound is influenced by technology. I really miss the old sounding of vinil.

Today I'm hearing this CD. The best yesterday, let it be....ever...😍

Another good video Andy , I'm like you I'd rather listen to them on vinyl and I'd wish they would hurry up and remix Rubber soul and Revolver.

Very informative video. When it comes to these multichannel mixes of material that was initially mixed for mono or stereo, if one messes with the mixes, one won't always like the results. Atmos would be ideal for live concert albums or for albums that have a lot going on/have panning (eg. a track like "The Best Way to Travel" by The Moody Blues). I will stick to the original mono and stereo mixes on LP and 45, thanks.

I always think that great music sounds great on all formats. The Beatles I used to listen to on taped copies as well as LPs back in the early 90s when I properly started listening to them. This atmos looks like another gimmick that won’t outlive vinyl. Great video and very informative. Congrats on 100 videos too.

Oh yeh! It’s the new midnight in Tokyo upload! 😎

Thanks for sharing this review Andrew! I honestly haven’t given these Atmos mixes much thought but I did listen to some of them and, while it’s interesting to listen to I think I will stick with the original stereo mixes. If it helps generate more younger interest in the Beatles music then more power to it! Thanks!

I enjoyed this but I'm still slightly confused as the words "Atmos mix" and "spatial audio" seem to be used interchangeably. Were you listening to the Atmos mixes on speakers? Or were they the spatial audio versions on headphones? Or are these versions essentially the same? Sorry if I'm being a bit dense, great video nonetheless :)

Congratulations with 100 great and informative videos - and thanks for the review. I wouldn't have bought the Atoms Spatial version anyway - but this release/video raises the question of how much the record companies should change an artists work to (try to) attract a new audience. I think (from your review) this release is on the wrong side of that line - wonder if McCartney and Starr consented this ?

Perhaps I'm in the minority here, but I absolutely LOVE the stereo separation on those original stereo recordings, and these attempts to "center" things tends to rob the arrangements and production of their specialness.

The next time you do such a survey about the way people listen to music, I’d be interested to see a distinction made between headphones and earbuds. Since the sound of each can be quite different from one another, that distinction could be very enlightening to engineers, as well as some members of the general public. As engineers, we often ask ourselves, “What the hell are we mixing for? High quality speakers? Cheesy earbuds? GOOD earbuds? WHAT?” And about the “phasiness” you dislike (as do I - phase distortion never sounds pleasant to me if it’s an unintended side effect), part of how Atmos works is through phase manipulation. The effect of this is to make the apparent point source of a given part of a song somewhere other than where it actually is.

That's funny that so many songs sound so terrible on official releases. There has been great mixes of almost all the mono songs in great stereo mixes with near perfect stereo track separation - most instrumnts largely isolated then panned in a great listening experience if you want to hear stereo mixes with the best elements of the mono and stereo together in excellently mixed new stereo mixes that do not go overboard beyond the original visions of the songs. Reduced irritating reveb on most early vocals songs, Both versions of Love Me Do in stereo, She Loves You in excellent stereo to match the other stereo songs around that time. Even decent stereo of the mono Help single. It's a shame corporations can't do as great of a caring job as fans are now doing for free. If you can find any of the volumes of Abracadabra or Evolver by 'Lord Reith' you'll really enjoy the sound and the mixes.

This is is my new go to channel for Beatles related stuff..very well researched and nicely presented..and there is a lot of of competition in this area but very few got this standard..couple of points though..what is Brickwalling?..and I wonder if technology is maybe not a critical factor in The Beatles future as maybe the earthiness is the very thing that will always keep the Fabs close to our hearts?

Nice video but I’d really like to hear your thoughts after hearing on a proper Atmos set up. Headphones arent the same experience. Pepper Atmos is cool on a home Atmos setup but mind blowing in a Dolby Cinema.

Congrats on Video 100 Andrew! I Always thought Dolby Atmos was for Movies.. Not music. I'm not worried about the Beatles music fading into obscurity, We all know their music will be timeless.

I heard a spatial audio mix of some Gilmour tracks but I found it tinny - sounding like it came from a small transistor radio. Send for Steven Wilson

The Beatles songs will be with us forever in any format, clouds sounds and shape but The Beatles belong to the LP generation and Wonderful album covers🍏🍏🍏 I'm very happy knowing that new generations are discovering the magic of the Vinol and the unforgettable sound of the needle touching REVOLVER. 🔊 Great Video... As usual.

No matter how you manipulate and refine a digital signal, such as that discussed in this video, it is still digital. Music that is pieced together from ones and zeros will always suffer from some degree of distortion, because if a one/zero stream can't accurately reproduce a sound, distortion is inevitable. This is why so many people experience digital fatigue, and therefore why digital will never sound as good as analogue. All that being said, there is obviously no getting past the convenience of digital, and it is certainly better than nothing. So there is a place for both. Yes, listen to music on your phone when you're on the go, but when you get home, put the record on, and experience the difference. Respect your ears. They will appreciate the break from that headache-inducing digital fatigue, and you will hear that music as it was really meant to be heard.

Isn't Spatial Audio in the context of mono recordings anyway, just a higher tech version of Duophonic or fake, reprocessed stereo & multi-channel recordings? It does seem to enhance the listening experience of genuine stereo recordings that had a lot of panning and not much centering as you alluded to on "We Can Work It Out". Another great presentation!

It's hard for me to imagine a teen listening to a mono Beatles recording, not liking it, and then hearing it is simulated surround and suddenly loving it. I hear absolutely nobody outside of the industry talking about Atmos encoding. Once you reach a certain level of sound quality, people either like a song or they don't. AFTER they like it, they make go looking for the higher quality versions... but that's not the deciding factor on a song's appeal.

Brilliant video Andrew. I heard it spatial audio and agree it is a little bit of a let down. Maybe you need to hear it in Abbey Road lol

Hi Andrew, Another great video. I'm still sort of new to the whole Dolby Atmos system. But I do know that Steven Wilson is the go to guy for these sorts of remixes. I'm curious as to why they didn't ask him to do it. Thank you for the track by track comparison. .I find these extremely useful. Hope you are doing well. Mark Anthony K

I think the key to keeping the Beatles relevant for future generations is just about getting it heard by them. When I was growing up in the 80s and 90s, there had been very little Beatles music in the public eye. I knew about them because the local oldies station played some of their songs, and as their music was vastly different than other music of the time, I was interested in exploring it more. But I was probably the only 10 year old in my community that was a Beatles fan, which didn’t make me very popular. I had some Beatles t-shirts that I would wear to school, and other kids, being cruel, would yell at me “Beatles suck!” In the hallways, some would even spit on me. It wasn’t until the Anthology came out, when I was in 8th grade, to where people started saying how cool the Beatles were, and the bullying stopped. It’s about getting their music out there and accessible so that younger people hear it and know who the Beatles are that will keep them relevant. Obviously Apple Corp should make the music available on whatever format comes along, gimmicky or not. But they should also keep pushing vinyl, as it seems to continue to be making comebacks over and over, and really is a fun and good sounding medium.

We're back to the 60s when most people listened to pop bands exclusively on handheld transistor radios and didn't care about sound quality. So, what's new? After advancing for 50 years, we have to 'improve' sound quality in order to cater for people listening in 'low' quality environments. Many people even (like they did in the Walkman era) share headphones, one in each person's ear, meaning each of them only hears half! And does anyone know where the 'mono' setting is on their phone/tablet? Not many. Trying to 'upscale' recordings where output channels outnumber originally recorded channels, to me seems like the reverse of, but as silly as, a play or musical performance where there are more people on the stage than there are in the audience.

Im a first generation Beatles fan but I also do mixes in Dolby Atmos. I want to give both Giles and Sam credit for the work and add that Apple Music is not letting us hear the "real" mix as intended and worked out in the studio. Apple spatial audio is "compatible" with Dolby Armos but definetly not the same! (Hence the reactions to muddy and phasy sounding tracks on 1) We only hope that these early days of Atmos Music will improve for the listener that for the most part is experiancing this on hedphones or earbuds. The master files are properly Dolby Atmos encoded and deserves playback on systems that translates this. The headphone experience (at this moment in time) providea only a "representaion" of what the real thing sounds like. I love the sonic qualities of both Atmos mixes of St.Pepper and Revolver. Let's hope for the future of Immersive Sound on headphones - it can only get better

Giles Martin may be George Martin's son, but I often wonder if he's the right guy to be doing this stuff.