Now that Pioneer has a Dolby Atmos car radio (called the SPHERA), and Car Toys is heavily promoting the new technology with special demo rooms, will we see more of Dolby Atmos products in the aftermarket?
First, Dolby Atmos is considered one of the first surround sound technologies that is likely to be successful and stick around: think of past attempts such as 5.1 sound, or even quadrophonic sound in the 1970s. There was always the problem that sufficient software was not available to enjoy the technology.
Since Apple has backed Atmos and incorporated it into its Spatial Audio feature in its headphones and AirPods and pushed it in its Apple Music catalog, there are now millions of songs recorded in Atmos that consumers can enjoy without a premium subscription.
We are told by two industry sources to expect that another head unit supplier will join Pioneer in bringing Dolby Atmos to an aftermarket radio. Officially, however, Kenwood and Sony said they do not comment on future products and Alpine said it is not planning an Atmos deck.
However, the widespread adoption of the technology in new cars is expected to filter into aftermarket builds. As one leading supplier said of the technology, “A lot of things have come and gone but I think this one has more staying power.”
In June, the chief engineer of General Motors for Cadillac BEVs, John Cockburn, said of Atmos, “I think this is going to be like the transition from mono to stereo back in the 1970s,” noted the DuPont Registry.
Car makers supporting Dolby Atmos include Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Volkswagen, Genesis, Rivian, Volvo, Mazda, BMW, Smart, and Lucid.
A Side Benefit to the Aftermarket
Surround sound expert Andy Wehmeyer, founder of Audiofrog and former Global Line Product Manager at Harman, said that the factory systems with multiple speakers (12, 18 or up to 36 – from BMW) supporting Atmos, will give the aftermarket a boost as many consumers like the immersive sound of multichannel audio systems—whether Atmos or some other algorithm.
Until now, many aftermarket members have said “All you need is just the front speakers at a sub,” and that was fine with customers, Wehmeyer said. But already, he’s seeing prospective customers online seeking a more immersive sound that can be enjoyed in more than one seat and that requires more speakers. “So this is an opportunity to make some of our customers super happy, but we may have to grow out of a 40-year-old, 2 speakers is enough mentality,” he added.
Upgrading a factory installed Atmos system “is not going to be any different than upgrading a Logic 7 system, or a DTS system like the ELS system in an Acura, Dolby PL2 or whatever else. Essentially, this is just another name for multi-channel,” added Wehmeyer.
We should note that Wehmeyer described Atmos is a Dolby sub-brand that provides a wide range of immersive audio performance. Atmos in a movie theater with front width speakers, height speakers, sides and rears provides a significantly different experience than Atmos played back over a pair of stereo speakers or a soundbar. Helping our customers understand the difference is a significant opportunity.
