My unqualified feedback would be that it can at least process the source signal without remixing and can at least simulate a different sense of space. The rest is marketing, because 99% of customers don't know what Athmos sounds like anyway and that's enough to sell it. I have the part, previously had a Bose Quiet Comfort 2 and am super satisfied without the ANC waterfall in the background, without ever having used an Athoms source.