What is Spatial Audio? The immersive audio feature explained

3D or spatial audio is growing in terms of awareness. Whether you’ve got a pair of headphones, wireless speakers, a soundbar, or tune into a music or video streaming service, it’s possible there’ll be a 3D audio component to it.

There are many types of spatial audio out there. Are take stereo channel audio and upmix it into a 3D audio performance, others offer native performance where music or film has been made with spatial audio in mind.

Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about spatial audio… 

What is Spatial Audio? 

Spatial or 3D Audio is an umbrella term for a number of immersive audio technologies that aim to surround the listener with sound in a more natural way.

The goal is to reproduce audio in a way that replicates how we hear sound in the real world, especially when compared to the mono and stereo experiences that we have become accustomed to. 

The result goes beyond what a ‘physical’ 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound setup can achieve, as spatial audio can make sounds come from virtually every direction, including above. 

Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and MPEG-H are some of the main 3D audio standards in movies. They use object-based technologies to mix and render the sound to give the impression of it surrounding you in a ‘hemisphere’ of sound.

There are plenty of options with music too, including Dolby Atmos Music, Apple Spatial Audio, and Sony 360 Reality Audio just to name a few examples.

And there are plenty of applications beyond music and movies, with spatial audio taking off in gaming and VR/AR experiences. Spatial audio can be supported through a pair of headphones (such as Sony’s Inzone headsets), or through a soundbar, and we’re even seeing 3D audio speakers being integrated directly into the screen to produce an immersive experience.

Where can you find Spatial Audio? 

Spatial Audio comes in various forms, but once you hear 3D Audio you’ll know it. So while these technologies offer varying results and use (slightly) different methods to get there, the end goal is the same: to create a more immersive and three-dimensional listening experience. 

Some examples of 3D Audio features include Apple’s Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, Sony’s 360 Reality Audio and PS5 3D Audio, Dolby Atmos Music, Yamaha’s 3D Sound Field, Sennheiser’s AMBEO and Creative’s Super X-Fi holography technology. 

Current-gen games consoles such as the PS5 and the Xbox Series X/S support some form of 3D Audio, with Sony’s Pulse 3D headset a way to experience immersive sound. 

Streaming services such as Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, and Apple TV+ all offer immersive audio; while music streaming services suchas Amazon Music, Tidal, and Apple Music all offer it through their libraries too.