Sony to launch 360 Reality Audio with 1 000 songs

Sony seeks to recreate the experience of listening to live music via its 360 Reality Audio, which first debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Users can access 360 Reality songs via Tidal, Amazon Music HD, Deezer and nugs.net.

360 Reality Audio will launch with 1 000 songs from such US artists as Billy Joel and Bob Dylan. It will also feature captured and converted live performances from Charlie XCX (UK) and Kodaline (Ireland).

“Beginning in late fall 2019, listeners in the US, Europe and beyond can access approximately 1 000 songs in this brand-new format from artists such as Mark Ronson and Pharrell Williams through streaming services Amazon Music HD, Deezer, nugs.net and Tidal,” Sony said.

Listeners, says Sony, will be able to listen to 360 Reality Audio tracks on any headphones and the participating streaming apps on Android and iOS. Sony will offer a customised experience with its headphones, as its mobile app will be able to tune itself to the listener's ears.

“This one-of-a-kind app analyses the listener’s hearing characteristics using images of ear dimensions leveraging Sony’s unique algorithm,” Sony said. “Users will require a speaker system with Sony’s unique decoder of the 360 Reality Audio music format, multiple speaker units and signal processing technology. Compatible songs can be played back from Amazon Music HD using Echo Studio.”

The company has also partnered with Amazon and Google to deliver 360 Reality content on the Echo Studio and Chromecast. The content will also be available on chipsets manufactured by Media Tek, NXP Semiconductors NV and Qualcomm Technologies International.

Amazon head of engineering for the Echo Studio Tapas Roy said: "The first time we heard a demo [of 360 Reality Audio], we were very impressed. It was truly immersive, with music coming from every direction. And we realised it was replaying the intent that content creators had.

Sony Electronics North America president and COO Mike Fasulo said: “360 Reality Audio is a proof point that innovation never stops. The confluence of deep technical roots, tireless artists and forward-thinking hardware and semiconductor partners illustrates the tremendous draw of this radical new way to make music even more moving. Together with valued industry partners, Sony has architected the most powerful, realistic music experience for listeners and a new medium for artists to create.”

Sony is currently looking to expand the 360 Reality Audio content library and number of participating streaming services as well as compatible audio devices. The company is working with Fraunhofer IIS to make the format compliant with the international open audio standard MPEG-H 3D Audio and optimise it for streaming. Fraunhofer IIS is part of Europe’s largest organisation for applied research.