I’ve written my fair share of moans about Dolby technologies over the past year, and while I don’t want to be a negative ninny (look it up) all the time, prepare yourself for another groan.

Well, maybe not so much a moan, but more a pondering on the state of immersive audio in today’s market. If Dolby’s goal was to have its audio technologies in every nook and cranny, then it’s succeeded but I do wonder whether in some circumstances, we get the full expression of what Dolby Atmos Music can do.

What prompted this was a test of the Denon Home 400. By all accounts, this is an impressive wireless speaker, but one area that created some concern was its Dolby Atmos Music performance. I just don’t find it very convincing.

Dolby Atmos Music sounds great… in the right environment

I went to KEF Gallery in central London not too long ago to see the Germany vs Paraguay match in their private cinema (which looked and sounded great, by the way). Before the football started, we were presented with a few demos in Dolby Atmos with music and film. Elton John’s Rocketman got an airing, a track I’ve heard a few times in Dolby Atmos mastering studios, and it sounded blindingly good.

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The spaciousness, detail, clarity, but also the positioning of instruments, voices and backing vocals for a track that’s well over 50 years old breathed new life into it. There was music in front, behind, above and to the sides – in terms of producing true immersion, this is Dolby Atmos at its best.

I’ve also heard Dolby Atmos mixes in cars, and cars make for a surprisingly good space to listen to music in. Like a smaller version of a music studio, you have speakers dotted all around you, so you do feel as if music is happening all around you, and you’re in a little bubble of sound.

The key with this is that you have speakers all around you. But when you have a speaker such as the Denon Home 400 or Sonos Era 300, you’re effectively trying to produce an immersive effect from a single source, and I’ve rarely, if ever, found it to be convincing.

Audio processing can do amazing things. With the Sonos Era 300, it can make it seem as if Dolby Atmos tracks sound much taller and wider than the speaker itself; but I also find this to be the case in specific rooms. In some rooms the Atmos effect sounds good, in others I find it slightly harder to hear what’s happening.

Hearing a preview of the Denon Home 400 before it was announced, I had my doubts about how well it could do immersive audio. Without Atmos, it can produce a soundstage that’s much wider and taller than the speaker itself; but throwing an Atmos track in the mix extends the width and height with the in-app controls, and I find Atmos tracks sound thinner and not as natural-sounding as hearing it in a car or a dedicated room.

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This is not the fault of the speakers themselves. They’re having to try and do something similar with far few speakers. But this is not the only issue with Dolby Atmos mixes.

Not all Atmos tracks are equal

Part of what makes a good Dolby Atmos Music track is in the mastering. Where an engineer decides to place a certain instrument, position reverb, or vocals can make a track that was originally conceived of in mono or stereo and make it sound effortlessly immersive. There’s an artistry to making a good Dolby Atmos track.

But not all Dolby Atmos tracks could use of the extra information (objects) they have at their disposal.

Maybe they can’t because there simply isn’t much in the original stems of the track to do so. Perhaps it’s a failure of imagination to truly re-conceive a track and the mixer tries to be a little too traditional because they don’t want to stray too far from the source. You get tracks that sound bigger and wider but not much else. I could be listening to the track in stereo, and in some cases, I’d prefer to.

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We now have access to a huge trove of immersive audio through the likes of Apple Music, Amazon Music and Tidal; though it’s interesting to note that not every music streaming system offers spatial audio. Deezer dropped Sony’s 360 Reality Audio in 2022. Qobuz is resolutely stereo, Spotify has never seemed too interested in it.

Spatial audio is a mixed bag of quality, with some tracks great and others middling. When everything sounds just so in stereo, immersive audio needs a better hit rate.

Maybe the focus should be elsewhere

I’m not advocating that immersive audio should disappear from every music library, but more so that it has its place, and that place is in environments that can truly do justice to it. Dolby’s march to put Atmos everywhere has led to compromises, and compromise is a thorn in the side of good quality.

Even middling Atmos tracks will sound good in the right environment, even if they don’t make the most of it, they’ve still been mixed in an immersive space to take advantage of what that environment offers. It’s when you scale it down to a wireless speaker that it becomes less impressive and more obviously compromised.

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But perhaps, at least when it comes to standalone wireless speakers, the focus should be elsewhere. The Denon Home 400 is clever in that you can extend the width and height of tracks to create a bigger sound with stereo tracks, and the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker also does the same, eschewing immersive audio to widen and make taller, stereo music.

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So the Home 400 or Sonos Era 300 can keep their Atmos support as a key feature, but it’s best served within a Dolby Atmos system. On their own, maybe wireless speakers such as these should go for a compromised spatial audio performance, and instead take stereo or mono tracks and create an even bigger and more convincing soundstage, which in itself can be just as immersive.

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The KPMG in Ireland finalists are based in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Louth and Monaghan, and offer tech innovations and solutions in a variety of real world fields.

Eight Irish companies have been shortlisted for the national final of the 2026 KPMG Global Tech Innovator competition.

The KPMG in Ireland finalists are based in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Louth and Monaghan, and are nominated for their technology platforms and solutions in the areas of biotech drug delivery, accessible digital products, AI governance and assurance, cardiac health monitoring, management of AI agents, childcare management, AI-powered patient engagement, and menopause and hormonal care.

ArrayPatch has developed proprietary, polymer-free microneedle drug delivery systems that aim to enable painless, targeted and self-administered delivery of medicines. It began as a biotech spin-out at University College Cork.

DevAlly is an AI-powered accessibility compliance platform that aims to assist software teams in building and maintaining compliant, inclusive digital products and websites for accessibility to people with disabilities. Last October, it raised €2m in pre-seed funding to expand its team and scale its presence in the US.

Disseqt is a compliance testing platform designed to enable IT teams to discover and resolve undesirable AI agent behaviours for maintenance of standards and compliance by an organisation’s agentic systems.

Galenband offers an upper-arm wearable designed to capture up to 90 days of continuous electrocardiogram data without adhesives, daily charging or apps, with a specific focus on aiming to improve detection of silent atrial fibrillation after stroke.

Jentic offers a platform and agentic process aiming for safe connection between AI and enterprise APIs and platforms. It became the first Irish company to be selected for the AWS generative AI accelerator last year, and completed a €4m pre-seed raise in 2024.

Öogo has built a childcare-focused infrastructure layer to connect parents, caregivers, employers and hospitality partners on a single platform for the purpose of matching families with trusted service providers.

Spryt provides an AI-powered patient engagement and medical care organisation platform aiming to improve efficiencies in booking, planning, scheduling and care delivery through an integrated AI ‘medical receptionist’. A January investment valued the company at around $12.5m.

The MenoPal offers a unifying intelligence layer for menopause and hormone health by aiming to combine fragmented symptoms, wearable data and clinical information into structured and predictive insights.

Anna Scally, global head of technology, media and telecommunications at KPMG, said: “Our finalists are all focused on solving real world issues. From childcare and women’s health to management of AI agents and effective delivery of drugs, these companies cover almost every corner of the tech landscape and are superb examples of the breadth of innovation occurring across the island of Ireland.

“Each of the CEOs and founders are also hugely ambitious for their companies and the impact their technology can deliver.”

The panel judging the eight finalists will comprise Scally; Cyril McGuire, entrepreneur and CEO of Infinity Capital; Colin Goulding, vice-president for trust and safety at Google; Caroline Gaynor, partner at Lightstone Ventures and chair of the IVCA; and Conor Stanley, founder of Tribal.vc.

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HP has launched the HyperX OMEN 16 VALORANT Limited Edition gaming laptop in India in collaboration with Riot Games. The new laptop is designed for VALORANT fans and competitive gamers, combining premium gaming hardware with exclusive design elements. HP says the device continues its partnership with Riot Games and offers gamers a more personalized experience.

HyperX OMEN 16 VALORANT Limited Edition

The HyperX OMEN 16 VALORANT Limited Edition was designed in collaboration with Riot Games. The laptop is meant for competitive VALORANT gamers and esports enthusiasts. The device features VALORANT-themed styling with unique accents and a few Easter eggs. It also comes equipped with the HyperAction keyboard, which has an 8k polling rate.

OMEN AI further improves gameplay by automatically adjusting performance settings for supported titles, including VALORANT. According to HP, the collaboration reflects its focus on creating products that connect with gaming communities. Riot Games says the laptop captures both the performance and identity of VALORANT.

Features and Specifications

Competitive games like VALORANT require fast performance and responsive gameplay. To meet these demands, HP has equipped this laptop with an AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU with 8GB VRAM. The laptop includes a 16-inch display that comes with 2.5K maximum resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, and 3ms response time. These specifications deliver smoother visuals and a better gaming experience, especially in games that require quick reflexes.

HP has also made use of OMEN AI, which is automatic tuning that can adjust your supported games and hardware with a single click. It will help users optimize performance by avoiding any kind of manual tweaking of laptop settings.

Price and Availability in India

The HyperX OMEN 16 VALORANT Limited Edition is available in India for Rs. 2,24,999. Customers can buy the laptop from the HP Online Store, HP World, and authorized retail stores. The laptop is also available on Amazon and Flipkart.

The iPhone Fold’s complexity means production will get off to a slow start.

I was excited to find the new Blu-ray Disc edition of one of my favorite albums from the 1990s at Amoeba Music: Jeff Buckley’s iconic rock classic, Grace. Featuring new DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround and Dolby Atmos mixes by acclaimed musician and engineer Steven Wilson, the disc also includes a high-resolution LPCM stereo version of the album.

The somewhat bare-bones package offers very little in the way of bonus material: just one previously released non-LP track, “Forget Her,” now remixed in immersive audio.

Hearing Grace in surround is a welcome complement to Andy Wallace’s outstanding original stereo mix. There are numerous small details to discover, including the moment Buckley sings about the “bright lights in sorrow” on the title track and a delicate sonic twinkle streaks across the room like a slow shooting star.

As for my own preferences, the clear winner after the original stereo mix, which will always remain definitive, is the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 version. Full disclosure: I spent many years as a PR representative for DTS, but I am no longer affiliated with the organization.

In fact, I initially did not even check which codec was used for the 5.1 mix, but I ultimately found it more satisfying than the Atmos version. That said, I have heard many Dolby Atmos mixes that I have enjoyed, including several by Mr. Wilson. In this instance, however, the 5.1 mix won me over. It happens sometimes.

The Atmos mix delivers a strong presentation of Matt Johnson’s drum kit, making effective use of the height channels for a more expansive, soundstage-like presentation. The relatively stark treatment of Jeff Buckley’s voice, however, felt too exposed. On the title track, some of the song’s signature riffs leading into the verses become a little lost in the rear channels of the Atmos mix, while they remain far more distinctive in 5.1.

Overall, the 5.1 surround mix feels more in keeping with the character of Andy Wallace’s original stereo presentation, keeping Buckley’s voice gently bathed in echo or reverb and preserving a stronger sense of stage atmosphere.

In cinematic terms, the Atmos mix occasionally recalls the old soft-focus trick in which Vaseline was applied around the outer edge of a lens to create a dreamlike image. Most of the musical information is there in Atmos, but the edges feel slightly blurred. In the 5.1 mix, the details are clearer and more sharply defined, yet the presentation is no less dreamy.

As I have found with some other Atmos releases, the higher-resolution audio in the 5.1 and stereo mixes can sometimes bring a little more musical muscle. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM stereo mixes are presented at 96 kHz/24-bit, while the Dolby Atmos mix uses the format’s standard 48 kHz/24-bit resolution.

At the end of the day, splitting these technical hairs should not deter anyone from picking up this affordably priced Blu-ray edition of Jeff Buckley’s Grace. Buckley’s voice and music remain astonishing no matter which version you choose, and the disc gives listeners three distinct mixes to explore and is available from retailers like Music Direct for just $23.99. It is a must-own if you are a fan of Jeff Buckley’s music and have the home theater equipment to play it back on. 

Our Ratings

★★★★★★★★★★ Album

★★★★★★★★★★ Sound Quality

★★★★★★★★★★ Pressing Quality

Where to buy

Mark Smotroff is a deep music enthusiast / collector who has also worked in entertainment oriented marketing communications for decades supporting the likes of DTS, Sega and many others. He reviews vinyl for Analog Planet and has written for Audiophile Review, Sound+Vision, Mix, EQ, etc.  You can learn more about him at LinkedIn.

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Ahead of Amazon Prime Day and the Flipkart GOAT Sale, ASUS has unveiled the newly designed Vivobook 15 in the Indian market. This laptop is the first in the country to feature Intel’s new Core 5 Series 3 processor and targets users seeking an optimal combination of performance, portability, and AI capabilities. Along with the newly announced model, ASUS is providing discounts on other laptop variants.

ASUS VivoBook 15 Features and Specifications

ASUS Vivobook 15 is equipped with the latest Intel Core 5 Series 3 Processor, along with the advanced Intel AI Boost NPU, delivering up to 16 TOPS of performance. It also supports AI-enabled Windows features and includes 16GB of DDR5 RAM and 512GB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage. The laptop has a 15.6-inch Full HD anti-glare screen and Wi-Fi 6.

ASUS has designed the Vivobook 15 with a lightweight 1.7kg body for better portability. It has added a backlit keyboard with a dedicated Copilot key, a fingerprint sensor for secure access, and an HD webcam with a privacy shutter.

ASUS TUF Gaming A15

Alongside the Vivobook 15, ASUS has launched another model, the TUF Gaming A15, which will be available exclusively on Amazon Prime Day. The gaming laptop is equipped with an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS chip and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card that has 4GB of graphics memory. This gaming laptop also has 16GB of DDR5 RAM and a 512GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD.

The laptop features a 15.6-inch Full HD display with a 144Hz refresh rate for smoother visuals. ASUS offers the TUF Gaming A15 in Graphite Black. It is available at a launch price of Rs. 1,24,990 during the Prime Day sale.

Price, Availability, and Sale Offers

ASUS is combining the launch of the Vivobook 15 with limited-time shopping offers across its laptop portfolio. The new laptop is priced at Rs. 1,07,990 and will be available only on Amazon and Flipkart. Buyers can pick from Cool Silver, Quiet Blue, and Terra Cotta color options. They can also access bank discounts, Easy Pay benefits, and no-cost EMI for up to nine months.

The sale extends beyond the Vivobook 15. ASUS is offering discounts of up to 55% across selected consumer, gaming, and creator laptops. Buyers can also get instant bank discounts of up to Rs. 6,000, exchange bonuses of up to Rs. 20,000, and no-cost EMI for up to 18 months on select models. ASUS is also introducing the TUF Gaming A15 as an Amazon Prime Day special.

[tldr]Universal’s Minions & Monsters topped the US July 4 box office with roughly $64m over its first five days, the weakest opening in Despicable Me franchise history and far below the $120m-plus debuts of its two predecessors. The soft start raises franchise-fatigue questions for Comcast’s most reliable animation machine.[/tldr]

Universal’s Minions & Monsters led the US holiday box office with about $64m in North American ticket sales since its 1 July debut, according to studio estimates. It is the weakest opening yet for the seventh film in the Despicable Me franchise.

The three-day weekend came in at $36.4m, a franchise low. Despicable Me 4 opened to $120m over the same five-day stretch two years ago, and Minions: The Rise of Gru managed $122m in 2022.

The film still won the weekend comfortably, with Toy Story 5 holding on in the top ranks and Supergirl tumbling 74% in its second frame. For Comcast’s Universal and Chris Meledandri’s Illumination, though, the numbers show wear on a famously durable machine.

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Illumination remains Hollywood’s most reliable animation house, and it is the studio behind the record-breaking Super Mario Bros Movie, the payoff of Nintendo’s decades-long flirtation with Hollywood. Its franchises have earned billions for Universal on comparatively modest budgets.

Animation’s stress test

The soft opening lands amid wider questions about sequel fatigue and shifting family viewing habits, as audiences wait for streaming windows that studios have spent a decade reshuffling. The cinema’s loss is often the couch’s gain.

Technology is also reshaping the product itself, with AI tools already editing and dubbing Hollywood films and algorithms increasingly deciding what audiences watch next. Animation, the most software-driven corner of filmmaking, tends to feel such shifts first.

The franchise playbook now extends well beyond cinemas, into theme parks, merchandise, and game tie-ins. A soft theatrical debut dents the flywheel without stopping it.

A $64m holiday weekend would delight most studios, and the Minions will be fine. But when even Illumination’s little yellow bankers slow down, Hollywood’s sure things look a little less sure.

Nikolai Aksenov wanted something Toyota never offered for sale in the United States. The GR Yaris Rally2 sits at the top of his list, a proper factory-built rally weapon with the right proportions, stance, and purpose. Since that car stays out of reach for American buyers, he decided to create the next best thing on the platform he already owned. He started with a 2023 GR Corolla Circuit Edition and set out to give it the widebody, rally-inspired treatment that felt like it could have come straight from Toyota’s own workshop.

The Rally Rolla project is a months-long effort that has been showcased to the world in a series of episodes, the most recent of which saw digital concepts transformed into concrete pieces tacked onto an actual car. Every panel has a reason for being there; nothing is just a lovely face. Aksenov and his colleagues at Crazy Rocket Garage basically performed a comprehensive scan of the automobile, then disassembled it to get a good look at every clip, bolt hole, and crease so they could utilize the data to accurately reconstruct the attachment locations. This model allowed them to create a kit that bolted together perfectly.

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This 3D computer model served as the foundation for everything, as it was rather simple in the end, despite being the culmination of months of work. Aksenov and his team basically used that data to build a blueprint of the car from the ground up, drawing inspiration from the WRC, Group B, and GR Yaris to try and make the whole thing feel like it had always been there rather than just a bunch of add-ons, and the design had to come together rather than feel like a collection of random bits slapped on.

However, printing the parts was a whole other can of worms. Most desktop 3D printers simply cannot handle manufacturing full-size automotive panels in one go. So they broke it up into dozens of smaller parts. PETG was chosen because it can withstand high temperatures and vibrations, as well as daily driving, without breaking. Furthermore, it is somewhat customizable if things go wrong, as they did, necessitating an additional 2,000 hours of printing to prepare all of the components. Yes, one of the nozzles clogged early on, so they simply built a new print head and continued working.

Once all of the small components had been completed, they were turned into solid panels using plastic welding rather than glue or fasteners. This made the whole item stronger and more resistant to normal wear and tear. The designers had also planned ahead and included several bolt holes in the design to help keep everything aligned during this stage and to provide the kit some extra solidity once assembled. Where greater strength was required, they simply added a couple more layers of fiberglass and resin on top, and that was all.

Test fitting highlighted how important the initial scanning and design work was. The front fenders extended around three inches while maintaining the original body lines. Doors opened and closed smoothly on the first try. The rear pieces lined up so cleanly that just minor bits needed to be reprinted to ensure a flawless fit. No exposed hardware marred the lines. Mud flaps and a distinctive double-decker swan-neck rear wing completed the rally attitude without making the car unsuitable for everyday use.

The real proof came when the team took the car out for a thorough shakedown. A 50-minute combination of street and dirt road driving exposed the new panels to vibration, bumps, and the type of punishment that a rally-inspired build should withstand. Nothing is shattered or disconnected. One panel even bounced back after being dropped during handling. Mud flaps sustained considerable damage from the terrain, although it was modest and expected. The kit demonstrated that it could work on the surfaces that inspired the entire project, rather than just as a spectacle.