Sony will launch its own 360 Reality Audio speakers this spring

Billy Steele/Engadget

As long as you have the correct streaming service on your phone, you can also listen to 360 Reality Audio on the headset. Sony plans to license its headset personalization technology to other companies, which can analyze users’ ears and hearing. It will also obtain licensed technology that will allow 360 Reality Audio to be played from mobile phones and cars. There is no timetable yet, but it is clear that Sony hopes to get immersive audio in more places.

Currently, if you want to listen to 360 Reality Audio music at home, you need speakers such as Amazon̵

7;s Echo Studio. You also need to subscribe to the high-resolution layer of services such as Amazon Music, Tidal or Deezer. Sony first launched the platform in the fall of 2019, but only for headsets. At that time, there were only 1,000 tracks available, most of which were from Sony music artists. Now, the company says it has expanded this number to 4,000, but it is still a small option. In contrast, Spotify has more than 50 million songs.

In order to expand the content library, Sony will begin to provide live performances of 360 Reality Audio sound. The event will begin with a live concert in Zara Larsson via the Artist Connection app on Monday, January 11 at 5 pm EST (Eastern Time). Of course, the company promises to provide a “lifelike music experience” or it sounds like you are actually there. Sony said that since the COVID-19 concert venue is still closed, it hopes to provide this option to the public. The company is working with labels and services to broadcast “new video content” later this year.

Sony

In order to have more content, you must provide creators, musicians and producers with tools to make 360 ​​Reality Audio stuff. Sony and Virtual Sonics have developed a software called 360 Reality Audio Creative Suite. The goal is to make content creation on the platform easier through plug-in software compatible with “popular” digital audio workstation (DAW) applications. Through its subsidiary Audio Futures, Virtual Sonics will release software for 360 Reality Audio later this month. Sony also collaborated with Music.com and The Orchard on a creator program that will provide access to the Creative Suite and later stream 360 Reality content.

Since its launch, I have been skeptical of 360 Reality Audio. From a jumping perspective, Sony seems to be facing the daunting challenge of building a content library and convincing the public that the new hardware is worth the burden. Two years later, the company seemed to finally have a clear plan-both to ship its own speakers and to expand the range of listening options. The only question now is how long it will take Sony to achieve all its goals.