TechAudioHeadphonesWill 3D audio headphones change the way we experience music?Stereo sound through headphones isn’t natural but it’s what we’re used to, so adapting to spatial audio for music could take timeWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
TechAudioHeadphonesWill 3D audio headphones change the way we experience music?Stereo sound through headphones isn’t natural but it’s what we’re used to, so adapting to spatial audio for music could take timeWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Stereo sound through headphones isn’t natural but it’s what we’re used to, so adapting to spatial audio for music could take time
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Apple)
(Image credit: Apple)
Do we need to change the way we expect music to sound through stereo headphones? For over 60 years, ever since musician and entrepreneur John C. Koss invented them, they’ve basically been a pair of stereo speakers clamped to your head. Though hugely successful, they’re a rather unrealistic way of hearing the musical world.
Imagine you’re recording a vocal. It’s normally achieved with a microphone a few inches away from the singer’s face. Similar close-up techniques are often used to record the accompanying instruments, whether it’s a bass guitar or a grand piano. An audio mixer then places these somewhere on a line between left and right to recreate a stereo image of the performance. Play the recording back on speakers in your living room and you achieve a reasonably similar perspective on the music.
But all that changes when you’re listening on headphones. That singer’s voice is now transplanted into the middle of your head. It’s almost as though you’re up on stage with them, a few inches away if that. You’re truly involved in the performance but possibly not in a good or realistic way. Nevertheless it’s increasingly the way most of us experience our music as headphones, and earphones become the default option for many.
But does this 3D audio technology have anything to offer when you’re wearing headphones and you’re listening to music, not action?
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It’s early days yet, though, and there’s another problem. We’re accustomed to hearing movie action effects this way but not music. If you go into a top-notch recording studio and mix a recording using headphones, so it exactly matches the sound of the performers you hear with the headphones off, when you go back home and play the track back through your headphones it will seem too echoey and reverberative. Your customers will complain – “Who’s put all that reverb on my Schubert, Jazz, Jungle or whatever? It may be possible to create a realistic experience through headphones but do we actually want it? Will our expectations change as 3D audio techniques improve or will we continue to prefer the traditional headphone sound?
I find the hi-fi store classic album, Norah JonesCome Away with Me, really is a more involving listen in its Atmos version, while the Pet Shop BoysSuburbiagave slightly too much emphasis to the effects, and Elton John’sI’m Still Standingbecomes rather too echoey. Mitsuko Uchida playing Mozart Piano Sonatas – one of my favourite recordings – seems very similar in Atmos and stereo. It’s early days yet and well worth a listen to your own favourites if your streaming service supports Atmos. Spotify doesn’t as yet, incidentally, though this may change.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
You don’t need special headphones to experience Atmos or 360 Reality Audio. Conventional ones will suffice, though better quality cans should yield a better experience. And headphones are emerging that are especially suited to the technology. Sony’s new open-back MDR-MV1 headphones are aimed at professional 3D audio mixing and they do indeed give a very precise account of the positioning of different sounds.
My mini review would include the observation that they also work very well for casual listening, have good sensitivity, and are potentially a future classic design, to be ranked alongside some of thebest headphoneson the market. They’re well worth considering if you’re in the market for a high quality pair of wired, nonnoise-cancelling headphones, and are keen to explore the world of 3D audio.
Spatial also incorporates technology that takes account of the position of your head, moving the soundscape around as you move your head round in relation to your phone or tablet. I feel this works better for watching video and drama than listening to music.
I can’t wait to see how 3D audio technology evolves. Changing the way we perceive music through headphones is going to be an interesting journey. We may not make the ultimate destination but trying to get there is going to be fun.
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Today’s best Sony WH-1000XM5, Bowers & Wilkins PX8, Apple Airpods Max, Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 UC and Focal Bathys deals
Sony WH-1000XM5$399.99$279.95ViewSee all pricesBowers & Wilkins PX8$699$524.08ViewSee all pricesApple Airpods Max$479ViewSee all pricesFocal Bathys$699ViewSee all prices
Sony WH-1000XM5$399.99$279.95ViewSee all prices
Sony WH-1000XM5$399.99$279.95ViewSee all prices
Sony WH-1000XM5
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$399.99$279.95View
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Bowers & Wilkins PX8$699$524.08ViewSee all prices
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Apple Airpods Max
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Focal Bathys
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