3D audio, which is marketed under a variety of names, promises to add a sense of space to your listening so that it sounds like the musicians are standing around you. But is it just a gimmick? — Photo: Philipp Brandstädter/dpa
MUNICH: It's almost impossible to replace the auditory impression of live music. Or is it? A new technology called immersive audio streaming claims it can.
Also known as 3D audio or spatial audio, it’s something like the big brother of surround sound.
But while surround systems like 5.1 or 7.1 have the number of speakers in their name, 3D audio is not tied to a specific number of speakers.
Rather, it's about audio objects that are freely placed or moved around the room, always adapted to the available speakers.
And although 3D audio was originally developed for film, the concept is said to work for music as well. But what exactly does it offer?
"More spatiality, more depth, you can perceive the instruments in a more differentiated way," says 3D audio producer Martin Rieger. "You have the feeling that the musicians are sitting around you."
At home, this can work with just a single soundbar or wireless speaker, as long as they are 3D-compatible.
Devices must be compatible
The same goes for headphones. In addition, you also have to pay attention to the 3D compatibility of the source player. Older smartphones or tablets may not be able to handle 3D audio formats.
Two formats have become popular for streaming 3D music: Sony 360 Reality Audio and Dolby Atmos Music.
In addition, in conjunction with Sony's "Headphones Connect" app, it’s possible to further enhance the immersive listening experience through personalisation that even takes the shape of the listener’s ears into account.
Dolby Atmos, on the other hand, comes from the cinema and home cinema sector. "It was probably only a matter of time before the music market would be tackled," says Rieger.
Sony and Dolby collaborate with various major labels to offer new albums, as well as older music, for streaming in 3D format.
Is 3D audio worth it?
However, not all music lovers are convinced by 3D audio. "This is just another attempt to sell something new to tech-loving people who don't have a real understanding," says Wolfgang Saul, owner of a hi-fi studio in Germany.
3D audio is "a great thing in terms of the idea," he says, but not at all necessary to achieve perfect sound. Saul is an advocate of two-channel music reproduction. His motto: "Stereophony shows us the three-dimensional world in a natural way."
Rieger says that the effectiveness of 3D audio depends on the genre. Not every music style suits 3D audio as well as, for example, jazz or classical music. "There are many titles that sound better in stereo than in 3D," he says.
Another trend in music streaming concerns quality. On the one hand, it's about Hi-Res, which refers to high-resolution music data that is supposed to exceed CD quality. On the other hand, it's about this data being compressed in a lossless manner.
If you want to get 3D or Hi-Res audio from the music streaming services, you usually have to pay extra.
But lossless sound quality is not necessarily something for the masses, says Rieger. "With a high MP3 quality, you are already very close to lossless audio. In a blind test, the vast majority would not even be able to perceive the difference." – dpa
