[paulrbarnard]

I couldn’t find a thread on this so thought I would start one to hear people’s impressions.

I thought it would be a bit of a gimmick but I did the calibration of my ears and head anyway. I put in my AirPods and played some music.

There are two modes of operation.
1 fixed
2 head tracked

I selected the modes and thought yes that is interesting and quite a good effect but still thought “gimmick”

Then today I joined a seminar on line and as I was in the office I put in my AirPods. A few minutes in to the seminar I was absolutely convinced my headphones were not connecting to my computer and the sound was coming out of my computer speakers. I then realised my computer had defaulted the spatial audio to head tracked keeping the sound centred on my computer.

For me this technology, while still a bit of a gimmick in high terms, is a clear step forwards in creating a more realistic listening experience. Even with the best headphone setup the illusion is spoilt when you move your head as the sound stage moves with it. For me at least that drops me out of the zone of euphoric listening.

Now of course this is only supported on headphones that can sense your head movements and for me that is my pair of AirPods which fall short of some of my other headphones for fidelity but it seems like a definite step towards a ‘next’ step in listening enjoyment.

Anyone else seeing this as a bright future or a slippery slope to oblivion?

 

[msing539]

I haven't used spatial audio but something else worth trying is Boom from the app store.

 

[normie610]

I couldn’t find a thread on this so thought I would start one to hear people’s impressions.

I thought it would be a bit of a gimmick but I did the calibration of my ears and head anyway. I put in my AirPods and played some music.

There are two modes of operation.
1 fixed
2 head tracked

I selected the modes and thought yes that is interesting and quite a good effect but still thought “gimmick”

Then today I joined a seminar on line and as I was in the office I put in my AirPods. A few minutes in to the seminar I was absolutely convinced my headphones were not connecting to my computer and the sound was coming out of my computer speakers. I then realised my computer had defaulted the spatial audio to head tracked keeping the sound centred on my computer.

For me this technology, while still a bit of a gimmick in high terms, is a clear step forwards in creating a more realistic listening experience. Even with the best headphone setup the illusion is spoilt when you move your head as the sound stage moves with it. For me at least that drops me out of the zone of euphoric listening.

Now of course this is only supported on headphones that can sense your head movements and for me that is my pair of AirPods which fall short of some of my other headphones for fidelity but it seems like a definite step towards a ‘next’ step in listening enjoyment.

Anyone else seeing this as a bright future or a slippery slope to oblivion?

Oh yes, I’ve been enjoying spatial audio & Dolby Atmos w/ Apple Music since they were first introduced. It’s very immersive and I also love it for movies. Right now using Beats Fit Pro for my music, sound quality is absolutely superb. It’s my choice for on the go music (though the microphone isn’t as good as APP’s).

 

[Dzinn]

I got pretty much the same experiences with testing the spatial audio with Airpods 3rd gen. I use them for calls and on the go. When playing music at a railway station, you start looking if there is a speaker playing on the ground, or if your phone is playing via speaker.

Changes sound totally with music maybe for better, difficult to judge.