I just had my favourite Dolby Atmos experience in years, and it had nothing to do with home cinema

The dazzling lights of Las Vegas can often be overwhelming, so there's nothing better to bring you down to Earth than sitting in a $70,000 Mercedes Benz that's filled to the brim with tech, lighting and speakers.

That's exactly how I started my year, as I had barely digested my turkey and finished unwrapping my Christmas gifts before I stepped onto an 11-hour flight to Nevada to cover the biggest home cinema announcements of the year at CES 2026.

Among the companies I caught up with at CES was Dolby, which had plenty of exciting announcements regarding Dolby Atmos, and it also finally gave us a clearer picture of Dolby Vision 2.

I'm sticking with the former for now, as Dolby gave me one of my favourite Atmos demos in years, and it had nothing to do with movies.

I'm stepping out of my home cinema comfort zone here to talk about in-car audio, a subject area that I am frankly quite new to.

While I can appreciate a good sound system in a car after attuning my ears to countless home cinema surround sound systems, I've also sat in plenty of my friends' cars, which have Bluetooth speakers lodged into the cupholder due to malfunctioning stereo systems.

Therefore, when Dolby was talking me through its selection of Atmos-equipped vehicles, which were neatly arranged in the Dolby Live Theatre, I couldn't help but take its endorsement with a heavy dose of scepticism.

I mean, do you really need Dolby Atmos in your car? As it turns out, yes, you do.

I tried the immersive audio tech in two of the four cars on show; one being the Mercedes-Benz GLC (which featured a sound system from legendary hi-fi manufacturer Burmester) and the other a luxurious Cadillac Escalade IQ (outfitted with a sound system from AKG).

The Mercedes-Benz gets bonus points, as it's one of the first cars in the world to feature Dolby Atmos over wireless Apple CarPlay (with Apple Music), whereas previous Dolby Atmos-equipped vehicles have required users to stream music directly through the built-in infotainment system in order to access the immersive audio format.

My demos also included music being streamed directly from the cars' smart systems via the likes of Amazon Music HD and Tidal, and I was even shown an excerpt of the 1984 audiobook via Audible.

Despite my scepticism, the 3D audio presented in the cabins of both vehicles absolutely blew me away.

I was treated to a demonstration of a few tracks, including Pink Floyd's Money, Elton John's Rocket Man, Prince's When Doves Cry and Tiesto's BOOM.

All of these tracks sounded crisp, richly detailed and, most importantly, super immersive as every speaker in the cabin of the car was put to work.

Sound travelled organically throughout the car, with some effects even coming from the very back of the vehicle (literally from the boot, or trunk for our American readers) and travelling all the way up to the driver's position.

In the case of 1984, the included background effects were placed throughout the cabin in a way that transformed it into an immersive audio drama, putting me (who was luckily seated in the driver's position) directly into the centre of the action.

I immediately pictured a long road trip with my favourite playlist blasting through the Atmos-equipped sound systems of both cars. The plush leather interiors and huge screens helped to sell the vision, of course.

In all honesty, it makes sense that Dolby Atmos works well in a car. An enclosed cabin with speakers placed all around it is, in theory, the perfect environment for Atmos to thrive.

It requires a different level of processing compared to the usual home cinema setting that we're used to experiencing Atmos in; however, 3D music has been on the rise thanks to support from the likes of Apple Music, Amazon Music and Tidal.

Admittedly, Dolby Atmos music isn't for everyone. Hi-fi purists may take umbrage with the processing, and it doesn't work perfectly for every song. But as a long-time Apple Music subscriber, I've grown to appreciate the immersive audio format for music.

I should also mention that your mileage may vary (pun intended) depending on the track you use. Not all Atmos mixes are created equally, and I'm acutely aware that Dolby likely demonstrated these systems with the better Atmos mixes out there, but that's to be expected.

While the cars that Dolby was showing off at its CES presentation were outside of my budget (I'll be sticking to the London Underground for now), Dolby does have an aftermarket Atmos solution.

It's partnered with Pioneer for the launch of SPHERA, which can take the spot of your current car stereo system to enable Atmos with your car's existing speaker set-up.

The catch here is that very few cars out there have height speakers built in, but Dolby claims that a virtualised Atmos processing system, akin to the one found in Dolby Atmos soundbars that don't feature height speakers, such as the Sonos Beam Gen 2, will be used.

Will it rival the pricey Mercedes and Cadillac motors that I experienced at CES? Probably not, but having the option to enable Atmos on older vehicles is certainly a step in the right direction.

So, should you consider Dolby Atmos when picking your next car? If your budget allows, and you're serious about sound on the go, then absolutely.

However, it has to be heard to be believed, and I wouldn't blame you for being as sceptical as I was. There are, of course, more important things to consider when investing in a new car, but for audiophiles, this is a feature that's certainly worth looking into.

MORE:

Everything you need to know about Dolby Atmos

Listen to our favourite Dolby Atmos test tracks here

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