I love Dolby Atmos, and I want to make that clear before I begin. I have a Dolby Atmos setup in my living room, complete with height speakers, and it creates a very immersive experience. I’m happy with its performance, and I assume most people with a proper setup in place feel the same way. However, Dolby Atmos isn’t the be-all, end-all of audio formats. For my money, I’d say DTS:X is just as good, and if not better, than what Atmos has to offer. The main thing working against DTS:X is how rare it is.

There are a few 4K Blu-ray discs out there that support DTS:X, the original Jurassic Park being an example, that really show off what the format can do. However, options like that feel like they’re getting rarer with each passing year, and I think that’s a shame. I know this is the way technology goes, and there isn’t always room for two formats. I know HDR10+ has its share of fans, but I’d say Dolby Vision is by far the more popular of the two. I’d hate to see DTS:X go extinct, because there’s so much to like about the format.

DTS:X is arguably the better format

Atmos is still good, but DTS:X might be better

At their core, both Atmos and DTS:X represent high-quality audio formats, and I struggle to figure out how you’d be unhappy with either of them. The problem is that you will hardly ever run into a situation where you have to pick between the two, so while they are competitors, it’s not something you have to think about often. Formats like DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD might show up on the same Blu-ray disc, but it’s rare to see DTS:X and Dolby Atmos on the same one.

It’s a bit of a shame to see Atmos pretty much become the default option for many things because DTS:X isn’t a slouch. Both are lossless audio formats, and many people argue that DTS:X sounds better than Atmos. It’s largely personal preference since you can find people arguing for both sides, but I’ve noticed that a well-mixed DTS:X soundtrack, like the one on the Jurassic Park 4K disc, sounds excellent.

Another underrated aspect about DTS:X is that you don’t need to have height speakers for it to work as intended. This means a regular surround sound setup won’t lose anything with a DTS:X mix, while it would be missing something with Atmos. This is good news for people who don’t want to go through the trouble of mounting speakers, but it’s worth mentioning that height speakers don’t hurt a DTS:X format, by any means.

Despite not needing the height speakers, both of these formats suffer from a high barrier to entry. You need to get something that can decode both of those formats, and you also need something that lets you plug in your speakers. This means that you’ll need a receiver since we’re talking about a surround sound setup here. This isn’t cheap, so I understand it is not for everybody. However, it might come in just a tad cheaper than Atmos since you can just stick with a regular surround sound setup.

What’s nice is that your setup will work with both formats, so it’s not like you’re locked out of one or the other, like you are with HDR formats, depending on the TV you buy. For that reason, I’d recommend building out your setup with the intention of Atmos as your end goal. Since DTS:X can also take advantage of height speakers, I don’t see much of a reason not to set your sights on Atmos, especially since it’s the more popular format. You’re guaranteed to have much more coverage with an Atmos setup, so you should treat DTS:X as a bonus when it’s an option.

The battle might already be over

The people have spoken

In 2026, it seems pretty clear that Dolby Atmos is the more popular of the two formats. You can still find DTS:X if you look for it, but you’re far more likely to run into Dolby Atmos. That’s not necessarily a bad thing since Atmos is still a very good format, but it’d be nice to see more representation for DTS:X.

If we leave the movie and TV space for a second, you might find some more scenarios where DTS:X can be used. Gaming is an area where having good audio can really enhance the experience. I’ve talked in the past about how Dolby Atmos might be better for games than it is for movies, and that might be the case with DTS:X as well. My Xbox Series X has an option to turn on DTS:X for Home Theater via the DTS app, and it’s worth a shot if you have a proper setup. Unfortunately, this is another situation where many games come with Dolby Atmos mixes, so while you can still get a lot out of a DTS:X surround sound option, you don’t have a ton of options for one.

There’s definitely room for many audio formats, and we’ve proven that with how many of them exist nowadays. However, it’s also clear that the industry and people have gravitated toward one over the other. I mean, all you have to do is look at AMC Theaters and the special Dolby Cinema theaters that feature, you guessed it, Dolby Atmos. Netflix is pretty much exclusively for Dolby, and the same goes for most of the streaming services.

For high-quality DTS soundtracks, you pretty much have to grab a disc or not have it at all. I wouldn’t expect the format to completely disappear overnight, but the writing feels like it’s already on the wall. As good as DTS:X is, it just seems like Dolby Atmos is good enough for most people. I’d largely agree with that, so maybe it’s better off in the long run for just Dolby Atmos to exist.

It reminds me a bit of when HD-DVD was introduced as the successor to DVD, but it eventually lost out to Blu-ray. It was a good effort, and there was even an Xbox 360 attachment that allowed you to play HD DVDs. There were some obvious limitations, like storage space, that eventually made it lose ground to Blu-ray. DTS:X has proven it can hang around with the big dogs, but I think it’ll take more for it to stick around for the long haul. For the time being, I’ll just enjoy having two great audio formats that don’t cost me any extra to enjoy.