The ATH-CKS50TW is Audio-Technica’s first pair of headphones certified for Sony 360 Reality Audio. Since this is a first for Audio-Technica headphones, here's some information about this format, and the interesting features it will bring to your listening experience.

Sony 360 Reality Audio puts you in a 3D listening environment, where sounds can be purposely positioned around you to create an immersive experience, such as being onstage with a band or in the audience at a live concert. Where this technology differs from your standard surround-sound audio is the inclusion of a third plane. Traditional surround sound is limited to a 2D plane that pans from left to right, while the audio is always positioned in front of the listener. With Sony 360 Reality Audio, the sound source can now be positioned anywhere around the listener, meaning you will have audio that is above, below and behind you. This increased immersion is the next step in surround-sound technology.

Sony 360 Reality Audio’s format uses the MPEG-H 3D Audio standard, which supports up to 64 speaker channels and allows sound engineers to precisely map out tracks to different locations within a 360° spherical sound space. Once a track is mastered in this way, 360 Reality Audio uses a technique called binaural rendering to replicate this audio through headphones. This technique takes the audio from the track and reproduces it in a way that mimics how we hear real-life sounds, tricking the listener’s brain into believing that the audio is coming from specific locations around them.

At this time, this audio format is supported by Amazon Music Unlimited, Deezer, nugs.net, and TIDAL.  These platforms already have an extensive collection of 360 Reality Audio songs and concerts to choose from, and hopefully this format will continue to evolve and expand.

If you have additional questions regarding Sony 360 Reality Audio or Audio-Technica headphones, please contact us for further information.