3d Audio

Nov 13, 2018 Surround sound – sometimes called 3D or ‘spatial' audio nowadays – can go a long way towards making movies and some music more immersive, enveloping you with sound from all directions.

Sony has officially unveiled its next-gen PS5 console – complete with game-changing 3D audio that promises unprecedented levels of sonic immersion. But what exactly is PS5 3D audio? How can you get it, and why is it a breakthrough?

The Sony PS5 is clearly an incredibly powerful games console, but the way it handles audio is arguably just as impressive as the way it handles graphics. This is all down to the PS5's proprietary 3D audio engine, called Tempest, which delivers vivid, object-based 3D sound in games.

Rather than use a 3D audio technology such as Dolby Atmos, Sony has chosen to develop its own proprietary 3D audio format for the PS5, just as it created the 360 Reality Audio format that it used for music.

360 Reality Audio. Immerse yourself in sound all around you. As real as if you are there at a live concert or with the artist recording in a studio. With 360 Reality Audio, music has never been so immersive and so real. The upcoming Pulse 3D wireless headset has been engineered to take full advantage of PS5's 3D Audio capabilities (check out a new image above). With a refined design, dual noise-cancelling microphones, and an array of easy-access controls, the Pulse 3D wireless headset offers a seamless experience for both the PS5 and PS4. A portable example of hardware adoption for 3D audio is Creative's Super X-Fi Amp. This combines the miniaturized amp and DAC hardware with the company's Super X-Fi processing to account for variables like age, sex, and—on occasion—bone construction to emulate the most realistic sound possible.

In short, the PS5 should transform your gaming experience though 3D audio. Indeed, Sony says the effect is so powerful that you'll be able to hear where individual rain drops are landing in a game's environment.

Excited? Let's take an in-depth look at how the PS5's jaw-dropping 3D audio tech should level-up video gaming...

What is PS5 3D Audio?

Stereo and surround sound have their own unique advantages but, for gaming, nothing beats 3D audio. In simple terms, 3D audio allows you to hear sounds as if they were happening around you. It puts you – the gamer – centre stage and brings added intensity to every scene.

Whereas earlier games consoles simulate 3D audio by increasing the volume of an effect as your on-screen character moved closer, 3D audio deploys timed effects, using a host of clever audio algorithms to create natural, true-to-life soundscapes that trick your brain into pinpointing the precise location of each and every sound.

Sony says that the PS5 uses object-based spatial sound technology to create some of the most advanced 3D audio available. It's an expansion of the technology used in the PSVR virtual reality headset, which is capable of replicating 50 sound sources. The PS5 bumps that to hundreds of intricate sounds – and in better quality, too.

All of which means that PS5 game developers can design scenes around audio as well as visuals, sonically painting a 3D canvas dripping with detailed acoustics that supercharge the action.

Take rainfall, for example. Today, the sound of rain in a game is a single audio track. But Sony says the PS5 would be capable of letting you hear individual raindrops, in relation to where your character is positioned in the game's landscape.

And imagine a first-person shooter with PS5 3D audio: you'd be able to hear the spine-chilling footsteps as someone crosses a room on the floor above you...

How can I get PS5 3D Audio?

Sony wants to focus on delivering 3D audio through headphones first. But, according to Mark Cerny, PS5 lead architect, the console will also be capable of delivering 3D audio through your regular set-up – whether it be television speakers, soundbars or surround sound systems.

In short, the plan is that PS5 3D audio will one day work with the kit you already own, but there are unanswered questions around this, such as what the delivery format will be and whether there'll be minimum spec requirements. It seems unlikely that every sound system will be capable of delivering PS5 3D audio and inevitably the quality of the experience will vary wildly across different devices. A full surround sound system delivers better Dolby Atmos than an integrated speaker system on a TV, and you've got to imagine the same will be true with the PS5's 3D audio.

Sony may well launch speciality PS5 3D audio hardware in the future, with the aim of maximising the effect of the technology. Indeed, Sony's initial focus is on delivering 3D audio via the Pulse 3D wireless headset, which will launch alongside the PS5 on 19th November in the UK (12th November in the US and Australia) priced at £90 ($99, AU$160).

While not explicitly stated, it's assumed that the Pulse 3D headset will support PS5 3D audio. It could in fact be the only way to get PS5 3D audio in the early days, but we don't believe that will be the case. Our understanding is that the Pulse 3D headset could be the only wireless headset to support PS5 3D audio in the early days, but that you'll also be able to get the effect by plugging standard, wired headphones into the PS5 DualSense controller. We're awaiting confirmation of this, though, and will update this page once we get it.

What is the Tempest Engine?

Sony is making a big deal of equipping the PS5 with the Tempest Engine, which uses a completely re-engineered AMD graphics chip to process audio from hundreds of in-game sound sources, thus delivering elevated 3D audio without the need for an expensive multi-speaker set-up.

If you want to hear about it from the horse's mouth, click below to watch the audio portion of PS5 lead architect Mark Cerny's PS5 technical deep dive. But beware, it really is dense stuff, so we've simplified it below, if you'd prefer to keep reading.

The Tempest Engine creates 3D Audio using something called Head-related Transfer Function, or HRTF. HRTF is used to decipher how an individual's ear receives sound.

Problem is, everyone's ear canals are different, thus everyone's HRTF is different, and everyone hears 3D audio differently (some may not be able to discern spatial audio at all).

To get around the problem, Sony has created five HRTF profiles for the launch of the PS5, based on data from over 100 people. The PS5 will help you find the best profile and personalise it to get the optimum 3D audio effect for your ears.

However – and this is where things gets seriously interesting – Sony hopes to find a way to gather individual HRTF data in the future. That would allow the PS5 to provide each and every gamer with 3D audio that would be unique to the shape of their ear.

According to Cerny: 'Maybe you'll be sending us a video of your ears and your head, and we'll make a 3D model of them and synthesise the HRTF. Maybe you'll play an audio game to tune your HRTF, we'll be subtly changing it as you play, and home in on the HRTF that gives you the highest score, meaning that it matches you the best... Ultimately, we're committed to enabling everyone to experience that next level of realism.'

Verdict

That certainly sounds like a worthy goal to us, but there are drawbacks to Sony's approach to audio.

If you can indeed enjoy PS5 3D audio by simply plugging a pair of standard wired headphones into the DualSense controller, it will be great from the perspective of making it available to all. But telling someone with a full Dolby Atmos speaker system costing thousands that they need to use headphones to get the best sound is going to be rather galling, even if it's just for the short term.

And will PS5 3D audio really be compatible with lots of standard home cinema products in the future? That certainly sounds like a huge undertaking to us - it's not as if Sony's 360 Reality Audio format for music has gone far and wide in terms of devices.

There are still short-term questions that we don't have answers to yet. Is the Pulse 3D headset the only way to get PS5 3D audio, or will standard wired headphones plugged into the DualSense controller work? What about standard wireless headphones? How about PS4 headsets such as the Platinum Wireless Headset (which already delivers a more rudimentary form of 3D audio)? Will some headphones deliver 3D audio more effectively than others?

We're pursuing answers to those questions and will report back as and when we get them. In the meantime, we're exceptionally excited about Sony's commitment to delivering more immersive 3D audio with the PS5. This really could be game-changing technology.

MORE:

If you've recently shopped around for home audio systems, you've likely skimmed over the term '3D audio,' or some variant of it. Although the term may seem a bit gimmicky, the end result is far from it. The benefit is a more immersive listening experience that mimics how we perceive the real world by interpreting sounds as movable objects rather than static channels.

While a properly arranged 7.1 surround sound setup remains impressive, the requirement for eight physical speakers to produce a realistic, enveloping sound seems akin to a Rube Goldberg machine when compared to something like the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar coming down the pipes. Before going into why 3D sound is the way of the future, let's dig into how it works.

How 3D sound currently works

Many of us rely on multi-channel systems like the Fluance Ai40 bookshelf speakers for home audio.

The predominant way that we hear immersive audio now is by way of hardware, like your buddy's home theater system. If they're a die-hard enthusiast, they may have a complete 5.1 or 7.1 setup with a few speakers descending from the ceiling. This is called channel-based immersive audio because listeners benefit from the realistic sound produced by aerial speakers.

A portable example of hardware adoption for 3D audio is Creative's Super X-Fi Amp. This combines the miniaturized amp and DAC hardware with the company's Super X-Fi processing to account for variables like age, sex, and—on occasion—bone construction to emulate the most realistic sound possible.

While both forms of 3D sound work and are impressive to even the most discriminating listeners, they'll soon look anachronistic compared to what's to come with the adoption of Fraunhofer's MPEG-H format.

Related: What is Dolby Atmos?

MPEG-H and 3D audio are changing media consumption

One of the more underreported stories birthed from CES 2019 surrounds Fraunhofer IIS and the first consumer appearances of MPEG-H enabled 3D sound products. You may recognize that company's name if you're an MP3 history buff, or have followed the development of AAC.

3d Audio Headphones

Sony says that the PS5 uses object-based spatial sound technology to create some of the most advanced 3D audio available. It's an expansion of the technology used in the PSVR virtual reality headset, which is capable of replicating 50 sound sources. The PS5 bumps that to hundreds of intricate sounds – and in better quality, too.

All of which means that PS5 game developers can design scenes around audio as well as visuals, sonically painting a 3D canvas dripping with detailed acoustics that supercharge the action.

Take rainfall, for example. Today, the sound of rain in a game is a single audio track. But Sony says the PS5 would be capable of letting you hear individual raindrops, in relation to where your character is positioned in the game's landscape.

And imagine a first-person shooter with PS5 3D audio: you'd be able to hear the spine-chilling footsteps as someone crosses a room on the floor above you...

How can I get PS5 3D Audio?

Sony wants to focus on delivering 3D audio through headphones first. But, according to Mark Cerny, PS5 lead architect, the console will also be capable of delivering 3D audio through your regular set-up – whether it be television speakers, soundbars or surround sound systems.

In short, the plan is that PS5 3D audio will one day work with the kit you already own, but there are unanswered questions around this, such as what the delivery format will be and whether there'll be minimum spec requirements. It seems unlikely that every sound system will be capable of delivering PS5 3D audio and inevitably the quality of the experience will vary wildly across different devices. A full surround sound system delivers better Dolby Atmos than an integrated speaker system on a TV, and you've got to imagine the same will be true with the PS5's 3D audio.

Sony may well launch speciality PS5 3D audio hardware in the future, with the aim of maximising the effect of the technology. Indeed, Sony's initial focus is on delivering 3D audio via the Pulse 3D wireless headset, which will launch alongside the PS5 on 19th November in the UK (12th November in the US and Australia) priced at £90 ($99, AU$160).

While not explicitly stated, it's assumed that the Pulse 3D headset will support PS5 3D audio. It could in fact be the only way to get PS5 3D audio in the early days, but we don't believe that will be the case. Our understanding is that the Pulse 3D headset could be the only wireless headset to support PS5 3D audio in the early days, but that you'll also be able to get the effect by plugging standard, wired headphones into the PS5 DualSense controller. We're awaiting confirmation of this, though, and will update this page once we get it.

What is the Tempest Engine?

Sony is making a big deal of equipping the PS5 with the Tempest Engine, which uses a completely re-engineered AMD graphics chip to process audio from hundreds of in-game sound sources, thus delivering elevated 3D audio without the need for an expensive multi-speaker set-up.

If you want to hear about it from the horse's mouth, click below to watch the audio portion of PS5 lead architect Mark Cerny's PS5 technical deep dive. But beware, it really is dense stuff, so we've simplified it below, if you'd prefer to keep reading.

The Tempest Engine creates 3D Audio using something called Head-related Transfer Function, or HRTF. HRTF is used to decipher how an individual's ear receives sound.

Problem is, everyone's ear canals are different, thus everyone's HRTF is different, and everyone hears 3D audio differently (some may not be able to discern spatial audio at all).

To get around the problem, Sony has created five HRTF profiles for the launch of the PS5, based on data from over 100 people. The PS5 will help you find the best profile and personalise it to get the optimum 3D audio effect for your ears.

However – and this is where things gets seriously interesting – Sony hopes to find a way to gather individual HRTF data in the future. That would allow the PS5 to provide each and every gamer with 3D audio that would be unique to the shape of their ear.

According to Cerny: 'Maybe you'll be sending us a video of your ears and your head, and we'll make a 3D model of them and synthesise the HRTF. Maybe you'll play an audio game to tune your HRTF, we'll be subtly changing it as you play, and home in on the HRTF that gives you the highest score, meaning that it matches you the best... Ultimately, we're committed to enabling everyone to experience that next level of realism.'

Verdict

That certainly sounds like a worthy goal to us, but there are drawbacks to Sony's approach to audio.

If you can indeed enjoy PS5 3D audio by simply plugging a pair of standard wired headphones into the DualSense controller, it will be great from the perspective of making it available to all. But telling someone with a full Dolby Atmos speaker system costing thousands that they need to use headphones to get the best sound is going to be rather galling, even if it's just for the short term.

And will PS5 3D audio really be compatible with lots of standard home cinema products in the future? That certainly sounds like a huge undertaking to us - it's not as if Sony's 360 Reality Audio format for music has gone far and wide in terms of devices.

There are still short-term questions that we don't have answers to yet. Is the Pulse 3D headset the only way to get PS5 3D audio, or will standard wired headphones plugged into the DualSense controller work? What about standard wireless headphones? How about PS4 headsets such as the Platinum Wireless Headset (which already delivers a more rudimentary form of 3D audio)? Will some headphones deliver 3D audio more effectively than others?

We're pursuing answers to those questions and will report back as and when we get them. In the meantime, we're exceptionally excited about Sony's commitment to delivering more immersive 3D audio with the PS5. This really could be game-changing technology.

MORE:

If you've recently shopped around for home audio systems, you've likely skimmed over the term '3D audio,' or some variant of it. Although the term may seem a bit gimmicky, the end result is far from it. The benefit is a more immersive listening experience that mimics how we perceive the real world by interpreting sounds as movable objects rather than static channels.

While a properly arranged 7.1 surround sound setup remains impressive, the requirement for eight physical speakers to produce a realistic, enveloping sound seems akin to a Rube Goldberg machine when compared to something like the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar coming down the pipes. Before going into why 3D sound is the way of the future, let's dig into how it works.

How 3D sound currently works

Many of us rely on multi-channel systems like the Fluance Ai40 bookshelf speakers for home audio.

The predominant way that we hear immersive audio now is by way of hardware, like your buddy's home theater system. If they're a die-hard enthusiast, they may have a complete 5.1 or 7.1 setup with a few speakers descending from the ceiling. This is called channel-based immersive audio because listeners benefit from the realistic sound produced by aerial speakers.

A portable example of hardware adoption for 3D audio is Creative's Super X-Fi Amp. This combines the miniaturized amp and DAC hardware with the company's Super X-Fi processing to account for variables like age, sex, and—on occasion—bone construction to emulate the most realistic sound possible.

While both forms of 3D sound work and are impressive to even the most discriminating listeners, they'll soon look anachronistic compared to what's to come with the adoption of Fraunhofer's MPEG-H format.

Related: What is Dolby Atmos?

MPEG-H and 3D audio are changing media consumption

One of the more underreported stories birthed from CES 2019 surrounds Fraunhofer IIS and the first consumer appearances of MPEG-H enabled 3D sound products. You may recognize that company's name if you're an MP3 history buff, or have followed the development of AAC.

3d Audio Headphones

Unlike channel-based immersive audio, MPEG-H enabled products truly engage the listener by accurately portraying audio to reflect a scene's environmental changes. According to Robert Bliedt of Fraunhofer, 'With MPEG-H, we have immersive sound, which means not only sound from around you but also sound from above you.'

Let's take a football stadium scene. The crowd's jeering will be audible to you from 360 degrees. As the camera pans around the field absorbing the moment in 120fps cinematic style, your perception of the crowd's cheers will also rotate.

3D sound enabled by MPEG-H can track on-screen movement for a hyper-realistic and engaging audio experience.

Perhaps action movies are more your speed. If there's a helicopter flying over a character as kerosene filled barrels explode, you'll perceive the helicopter's rotors whooshing from above as you hear the off-axis explosion. Unlike with how our homes are arranged now with an array of speakers at varying heights and angles, this can all be experienced from a single soundbar for a much smaller footprint with the same big sound.

MPEG-H in short

Sennheiser The Sennheiser Ambeo soundbar is fully compatible with Dolby Atmos as well.

3d Audio Test

MPEG-H is able to do this because it's an audio coding standard a that identifies a sound as an 'audio object.' This is essentially a channel that can be placed anywhere within a 3D space. A given object carries a lot of metadata with it to allow the sounds to be edited in any way the producer (or consumer) sees fit, and is afforded a full range of movement and can track on-screen action like an overhead helicopter, something channel-based immersive audio cannot emulate.

MPEG-H Audio allows for the compression of multiple streams of audio and is efficient enough for television broadcasts.

Not only can audio follow characters and objects on screen, it also empowers the viewer to adjust a broadcast to their liking due to Higher Order Ambisonics. Admittedly, this is slightly outside the realm of 3D audio; however, the experience is changed nonetheless. Listeners can adjust the volume of a certain channel, say a sportscaster, and mute it completely to focus strictly on the game being played. This is allowed by MPEG-H because the 25-plus objects of audio can be transmitted in a compressed signal small efficient enough for TV or wireless broadcast.

Sony's implementation of 3D sound is also interesting, because it opens up a brand new frontier of music mixing. By taking each individual track of a master song recording and converting it to an audio object, the sound can come from anywhere around you, even creating the illusion of distance between the listener and each note. Humans have a lot of auditory-based instinctual responses, and this can forcibly add emotion into songs by tricking your brain.

An exciting future for all

The Sennheiser Ambeo 3D soundbar will be available in May for ~$2,500.

It's hard to convince impassioned home theater geeks to forgo their extravagant, multi-speaker setups, but the inevitable adoption of MPEG-H Audio support in upcoming soundbars will likely render those complicated systems obsolete—quaint, even. One of the best parts about MPEG-H from an interior design perspective is that you needn't equip a room with 10-plus speakers anymore, no more cluttered living room.

Ultimately, we recognize Sennheiser as a paragon of high-end audio, yet it's Fraunhofer's work that makes the 13-driver Ambeo Soundbar truly a generational leap in audio quality. We expect to see the application of 3D sound become increasingly prevalent in the next few years and hope that it yields more affordable, yet equally immersive products.

3d Audio Sony

Next: Best soundbars

You may also like

3d Audio Diy

3d Audio Configuration