Sony has announced it’s bringing personalised spatial audio to the PlayStation 5 console. While the PS5 already supports Tempest 3D audio, spatial audio builds on that by delivering immersive, customised audio to individual user’s ears.
In a demonstration of the new feature, posted on YouTube, Sony explained that it will add a step-by-step calibration process to the PS5’s settings menu for users to take advantage of it. The calibration set up involves listening to test sounds played via the user’s headphones. Users must then locate the direction of the sound via a three-dimensional audio bubble graphical interface, the company said.
The best part of the announcement is that the personalised spatial audio will work with all compatible wired and wireless headsets, so users won’t be required to buy one of Sony’s Pulse 3D PS5 headsets to make the most of it. It’s a major upgrade over the current spatial audio settings on the PS5, which only enable users to change the sound’s height level.
"We’re pleased to introduce a feature that lets your PS5 console create a personalized 3D audio profile just for you," Sony said in a statement, adding that it can help to enhance the gameplay for users. "For example, your personalized 3D audio profile may enable you to better sense the positions of characters and objects in a game world more clearly than before, making the experience more immersive."
However, Sony said personalised 3D spatial audio will only work with games that run locally on the PS5, meaning that games streamed over the cloud or with Remote Play will not support the feature.
The update, which is currently in beta and will be launched worldwide in the “coming months”, follows the arrival of Dolby Atmos sound on the PS5. The company’s implementation of Dolby Atmos is more focused on soundbars and AV receivers however, and doesn’t work quite so well with headphones. The spatial audio update, on the other hand, is specifically for headset users.
Besides the audio enhancements, Sony’s coming update will also improve the Remote Play service, which allows users to stream a game from their PS5 console to another device. The company said it will be possible to adjust the Remote Play settings on a per user basis and select who is allowed to connect to their PS5 using the feature.
A third update introduces “adaptive charging” for PS5 controllers. This helps to save power by adjusting the duration in which power is supplied to the console’s USB ports, based on the current battery level in the controller.
