Sony's latest speakers will change the way you listen to music at home
The best at-home audio makes your music sound like it's playing all around you – not just coming from one speaker in the corner of the room.
Sony now brings you immersive listening with 360 Reality Audio. This audio format maps sound in a 360-degree spherical space when it's recorded.
What that means is you hear it how the artist intended, and you can even feel as though you're surrounded by the musicians in your favourite bands or sitting in the centre of an orchestra.
Sony previously only offered 360 Reality Audio with its headphones – like the Sony WH-1000XM4s. But the brand's latest speakers, the SRS-RA5000 and SRS-RA3000, can deliver 360-degree sound deep into your living room.
360 Reality Audio comes to Sony's speakers
The first new 360 Reality Audio speaker from Sony is the SRS-RA5000 (£500/€550). This wireless speaker has a unique, high-end design and a seven speaker array, which pumps out sound vertically and horizontally.
It boasts premium two-channel audio quality, and audiophiles will be happy to learn it's Hi-Res Audio compatible.
To make the most of 360 Reality Audio, it has selectable automatic volume control and a manual room calibration feature. This means set-up is easy, and the feature modifies the speaker's sound to match your space – you get great-sounding, room-filling sound no matter where you place it.
The second speaker is the SRS-RA3000 (£300/€300), a smaller home wireless speaker with a three speaker array that comes in a choice of two colours. It's humidity resistant, so you can use it in the bathroom when you're showering or in the kitchen when you're cooking.
It also boasts premium two-channel audio quality with room auto-calibration and a switchable automatic volume feature, so you're always getting the best possible performance.
Both speakers support multiple Wi-Fi casting protocols, and you can pair them with Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa speakers for hands-free controls, as well as multi-room listening.
- Learn more about Sony's 360 Reality Audio
Here's why 360 Reality Audio will upgrade your listening
360 Reality Audio uses Sony's spatial audio technology to make music sound just like it did when it was first recorded.
Sony's audio tech achieves this by mapping information about distance, angle and much more. So you can hear your music as if each instrument is playing in a sphere around you.
Imagine the difference between hearing your favourite band playing a few hundred yards away versus feeling like the vocalist is directly in front of you and the guitarist is right by their side.
360 Reality Audio is delivered via the underlying object-based audio format MPEG-H. This standard can support many audio channels simultaneously, which is why they combine to simulate a vast 3D space.
360 Reality Audio: Sony headphones vs Sony speakers
There are differences between a 360 Reality Audio experience if you're listening with a pair of Sony headphones or enjoying music from one of Sony's new speakers. For starters, headphones have a fixed position, relative to the listener, whereas speakers may not – and you may move them around a room.
The experience is possible on almost any headphone, but is refined and experienced best on '360 Reality Audio-certified' headphones. These can be personalised to your ear shape and size with the Headphones Connect app.
What's more, the way music is delivered to your device can also affect how it sounds. For example, you can listen to 360 Reality Audio via Bluetooth or audio cable when using headphones, but only on Wi-Fi via speakers.
These differences, along with the hardware, mean that you'll hear different 360 Reality Audio soundstages depending on which device you're using.
Right now, you can access 360 Reality Audio titles – including older, back catalogue tracks and new releases – via Amazon Music HD, Deezer HiFi and Tidal HiFi on Sony's speakers, and Deezer HiFi, Tidal HiFi and nugs.net via headphones.
Although you might not find every track available to listen to in 360 Reality Audio, this is only the beginning. Sony is driving the expansion of this innovative new audio format, working closely with streaming services, artists and producers to bring you music that's never sounded so immersive and authentic.
- Buy the speakers today: SRS-RA5000 | SRS-RA3000
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