Sony Announces A New Immersive Audio Format

One of the big announcements at CES so far is the introduction of Sony’s new immersive audio format called 360 Reality Audio. As in past efforts to launch a new format, numerous companies have signed on such as Warner Music Group, Sony Music, Deezer, nugs.net, Qobuz, and TIDAL, and LiveNation, among others.

The technical details are scarce so far, but the format is based on the new MPEG-H 3D Audio file structure. Beyond that, it seems like Sony is working on dedicated speaker systems with multiple drivers, and some new headphones in order to deliver all the immersion you could want. That said, the company also says that any set of headphones could be made to work as long as some head-to –phones measurements are taken with its software.

Forgive me for being a bit of a skeptic here. I was heavily involved in the last 5.1 surround sound craze and mixed about 100 titles for release on all the plastic disc formats. Everything sounded great, everyone involved was pleased, but consumers never bought in.

One of the big reasons why was having to buy a new playback system, and then setting it up in the least optimal way (meaning speakers not placed properly because they didn’t fit in the flow of the room). This led to a poor listener experience. Another was the cost of the media, which at the time was priced at a premium.

Here we go again with 360RA. If it costs consumers money, they’re probably not going to buy in. One of the reasons why smart speakers were so quickly adopted is because they’re cheap. I promise this won’t be the case if you have to buy new multi-driver speakers (although reportedly you want need more than a couple), and then the problem will compound if they need to be placed a certain way to be effective. That said, more and more people consume music on headphones and earbuds these days, so that could actually lead to widespread adoption under the right conditions (meaning lots of current hits in this format, not just catalog).

Manufacturers love new formats because it gives them a new new potential revenue stream. That said, if the format or product provides added convenience (music streaming or the smart speaker for instance), then it’s usually a winner. If it only provides an increase in quality then it usually isn’t, since not enough people notice or care.

Don’t get me wrong, I love immersive audio and wish that was our only playback format. There’s nothing is better when done well. But I’ve seen this movie before.

Find out more about 360 Reality Audio here.