Spatial Audio

Spatial audio is the reproduction of sound so that it appears to come from specific positions and directions around the listener, rather than simply from left and right.^[1] It relies on cues that human hearing uses to localize sound, including level and timing differences between the ears and the filtering effect of the head and outer ear.

Techniques range from channel based surround to object based and scene based methods such as Ambisonics, which represent a full sound field that can be decoded to many speaker layouts or to headphones.^[2] In games, film, and extended reality, spatial audio increases immersion and can convey useful information about where events are happening in a scene.^[3]