The new format uses object-based spatial audio technology to create a full-spectrum listening experience.
Sony is making its immersive 360 Reality Audio technology commercially available in the late fall, the company announced Tuesday (Oct. 15).
The cutting-edge format -- which utilizes what is known as object-based spatial audio technology to create a more immersive listening experience -- was first unveiled at CES 2019 and will be made available to consumers in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. The initial launch will give listeners access to approximately 1,000 songs in the format -- including more than 100 that were recorded at concerts in partnership with Live Nation -- via streaming services Amazon Music HD, Deezer, nugs.net and TIDAL. Available songs come from artists including Mark Ronson, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Charli XCX and Pharrell Williams, with more to be added moving forward.
In a nutshell, 360 Reality Audio allows artists and engineers to spatially map sound in the recording studio to create an immersive musical experience that replicates the aural experience of being at a live show. "Vocals, chorus and instruments [will be tagged with] positional information of distance and angle to suit their creative and artistic purpose," said Sony representatives during a demonstration of the technology at CES 2019 in January.