We’d be happy to clarify further.
Roon does not natively decode or render Atmos metadata like the Tidal native app. Tidal does not expose the Atmos flag through their partner API in the same way as stereo FLAC.
As a result, when TIDAL flags an album as Dolby, Roon only exposes the stereo-compatible fallback stream rather than the Atmos-encoded stream.
During playback, Roon will take the 2-channel fallback stream and treat it like standard PCM. That’s why the signal path reports something like “16/44.1” or “24/48” even when TIDAL’s app shows “Dolby Atmos.”
Volume leveling defaults to “when loudness is unknown” because the Dolby package doesn’t carry R128 loudness data in the same way stereo FLACs do.
You can mark the Stereo version as the Primary version in your library: Click on the 3 dots to the right of the album cover and select “Make Primary.”
However, we haven’t heard from the OP @clicksound in some time and want to ensure this thread does not get redirected from their original concern.
@clicksound, the main tracking thread can be found here for the issue with New Albums not populating on the Tidal landing page in Roon:
Tidal has to resolve an issue with their API - we’re working diligently with their team to restore this feature to Roon users. You’ll see updates in the main tracking thread as they’re available from Tidal and our development team.