Sony announced on March 22 that it will develop a music experience “360 Reality Audio” that utilizes stereophonic technology, which has been developed since 2020 in Europe and the United States, from April 16 in Japan. In addition to distributing compatible content and providing licenses to other companies, we will release two compatible wireless speakers.

■ What is 360 Reality Audio?

360 Reality Audio is an experience in which listeners can enjoy three-dimensional sound through speakers and headphones by arranging each sound source as an object in a virtual sound field space that spreads across the entire celestial sphere.

The creator can place up to 24 objects (at 1.5 Mbps, 16 objects at 1 Mbps, 10 objects at 640 kbps) at any position, and the audio coding method conforms to the international standard MPEG-H 3D Audio. doing.

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▲ The image of being wrapped in a 360-degree sound

Audio Futures, a subsidiary of Virtual Sonics, will download and sell the “360 Reality Audio Creative Suite,” a plug-in for Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) jointly developed by Sony and Virtual Sonics, a music software company, to provide 360 ​​Reality Audio. to hold.

In addition to DAWs and plug-ins, headphones are required to create 360 ​​Reality Audio content. When monitoring with speakers, a D / A converter of 13ch or more and a speaker system are required.

According to Sony, a sound source that has already been mastered in monaural or stereo cannot be converted into 360 Reality Audio data as it is, so at least it is necessary to return to the multitrack state before the final mix and work from there. That’s right.

Domestic studios that can produce 360 ​​Reality Audio are Sony Music Studios Tokyo, Sony PCL Creation Center, and Sidera Mastering.

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▲ “360 Reality Audio Creative Suite” operation image

■ Over 4,000 songs support 360 Reality Audio

We have already announced compatible streaming services, but we plan to distribute 360 ​​Reality Audio compatible songs on Amazon Music HD, Deezer, and nugs.net in Japan as well. The number of supported songs is more than 4000 in total for Japanese and Western music, of which only a few hundred are said to be Japanese music.

For 360 Reality Audio compatible video, the performance by Zara Larsson is already being distributed by the music distribution application “Artist Connection”. You can also experience in Japan by combining Android / iOS smartphones and headphones.

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▲ “Artist Connection” screen image

Furthermore, by using 360 Reality Audio certified headphones and the smartphone app “Sony | Headphones Connect”, it is possible to have a more immersive music experience with the sound field optimized for each person.

Specifically, using the app and the camera of the smartphone, the shape of an individual’s ear is determined based on a still image of one’s ear, and the characteristics of hearing are estimated. According to Sony, the way sound is transmitted (HRTF: Head Related Transfer Function) differs depending on the shape of each person’s head and especially the ears, so the difference in the frequency characteristics of the sound is set so that it is closer to the sound that each person is originally hearing. It seems that it needs to be corrected.

You can also experience 360 ​​Reality Audio on the Walkman NW-A100 series and NW-ZX500 series, but if you want to personalize compatible headphones, you can take a picture of your ears with the camera of your smartphone and synchronize the data with the Walkman. Dedicated apps “360 Spatial Sound Personalizer” and “Sony | Headphones Connect” are required.

▲ “Sony | Headphones Connect” screen image

■ 360 Reality Audio compatible playback device

The 360 ​​Reality Audio certified headphones are:

Wireless models are WH-1000X M4, WH-1000X M3, WH-1000X M2, WI-1000X M2, WI-1000X, WF-1000X M3, WF-1000X, WF-SP800N, WH-H910N, WH-H900N, WH- H810, WH-H800, WI-H700, WF-H800, WH-XB900N, WH-XB700, MDR-XB950N1.

Wired models are MDR-Z1R, MDR-Z7M2, MDR-Z7, MDR-1AM2, MDR-1A, MDR-H600A, IER-Z1R, IER-M9, IER-M7, XBA-Z5, XBA-N3, XBA-N1 , IER-H500A, IER-NW510N.

In addition to headphones, the “SRS-RA5000” and “SRS-RA3000” will be released on April 16 as 360 Reality Audio compatible wireless speakers. The estimated market price including tax is around 66,000 yen and 36,000 yen, respectively.

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▲ From the left, “SRS-RA5000” and “SRS-RA3000”

The RA5000 is a high-end model of high-resolution wireless speakers, and its main feature is that it can reproduce a wide sound field with a 6.1ch omnidirectional speaker system and is equipped with a subwoofer that resonates bass. It measures 235x329x225mm (width x height x depth) and weighs about 4.9kg.

▲ The internal structure of RA5000. By using a high magnetic force neodymium magnet, it is said that the low range is richly expressed even when playing music at a loud volume.Sony’s original “MRC (foamed mica)” material is used for the diaphragm, and it is said that it has realized characteristics with light weight, high rigidity and moderate internal loss.

The RA3000 is one size smaller than the RA5000 and is intended to be carried around. Equipped with an omni diffuser and a beam tweeter, it is possible to reproduce a three-dimensional sound field, and it is also possible to resonate bass with a passive radiator. It measures 146x247x155mm (width x height x depth) and weighs about 2.5kg.

▲ A full-range speaker of about 80mm is mounted on the top of RA3000. By overlapping the wave surfaces coming out of the holes on the beam tweeter, a sound that spreads upward is generated. The sound is reflected on the ceiling to make a three-dimensional bass sound. Two passive radiators enhance the deep bass.

The features common to both models are the “Immersive Audio Enhancement” function, which allows you to play 2ch music with realistic sound using Sony’s original algorithm, and the measurement sound emitted from the speaker body, which hits a wall or ceiling and bounces off. It is equipped with a “sound calibration” function that automatically corrects the optimum sound balance by picking up the sound with a microphone and measuring it.

In addition, it can be connected to BRAVIA via Bluetooth, and it also functions as a wireless speaker for TVs. It also supports Spotify Connect and Google Chromecast, and you can play content cast from your smartphone or tablet on RA5000 and RA3000.

In addition, Sony plans to provide the following licenses to audio equipment manufacturers such as speakers, headphones, smartphones, and in-vehicle audio for the purpose of promoting the spread of playback equipment.

  • License to audio equipment manufacturers developing 360 Reality Audio certified equipment
  • License of Sony’s original technology that optimizes the sound field for each person to realize a more immersive music experience with headphones
  • Play 360 Reality Audio on the smartphone’s built-in speaker, and license related technologies

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