Netflix and Sennheiser: spatial audio for everyone
The sound quality is something that worries, and a lot, to a growing number of users, and this is something that companies are very, very aware of. From manufacturers of headphones and other devices to those responsible for streaming services, in recent years we have seen how labels such as HD, Hi-Fi, spatial sound and the like became popular to extremes that were unthinkable a short time before.
Thus, and although the true top of the range in sound quality continue to play in another league, it has been possible for some time to find headphones that, for prices around 100 euros, already offer quite decent quality, and With a jump to the 200-300 euro segment, we already find models that offer great sound quality. And to this we must add that services such as Apple Music and Amazon Music have already offered, for a long time, HD sound quality in their basic plans (with respect to Spotify, although it announced it a long time ago, at this point it is neither there nor is it expected ).
And today, in this race to bring the highest quality sound to users, we know that Netflix and Sennheiser have been working together to bring spatial audio to the streaming platform, relying for this on Sennheiser’s AMBEO technology. And the most interesting thing about this collaboration is that, according to Netflix on its blog, we are not talking about a function for users with devices of the brand, no, this positional sound system will be compatible with any stereo sound playback systemboth speakers and headphones.
For that endAMBEO technology intelligently processes the audio signal and “shapes” its output for, playing with tones, volume and frequency, «position» the different elements that compose it. Obviously, of course, we are not talking about a positional sound similar to that offered by devices designed specifically for that purpose, and that have hardware specifically designed, but they do pose a possibility that will allow us to enjoy more and better the audiovisual content of the platform.
Netflix uses the same publication to announce that, parallel to the launch of this feature, it has started working on its catalog for make more productions of it compatible with spatial sound, which will be added to the titles on the platform that already support Dolby Atmos. It will be very, very interesting to see to what extent AMBEO is able to simulate positional sound with a standard stereo output. However, with this step alone, Netflix takes a very interesting step and one that should be recognized.
