Apple Announces Spatial Audio Support for Five Mercedes-Benz Vehicles

[spinesurg]

Aint that dolby atmos you're referring to? It can be decoded to up to 34 channels, each of them will emit their own sound track - whereas spatial audio is a psychoacoustic snake oil, that's supposed to enhance 2.0 stereo on AirPods Max/Pro.

"Spatial Audio" is Dolby Atmos with Apple marketing applied. When played over a system such as AirPods or HomePods, Apple is using computational sound to try to simulate the effect of surround and height. Other manufacturers like Dolby and Sonos do the same thing. When you play a "Spatial Audio" song over a true Atmos system with appropriate speakers, you get the real Atmos experience. That's why it's not likely Apple can do this on generic car speakers that they can't control. Mercedes already supports Atmos in their Burmester systems, so it's easy for Apple to plug in to.

 

[SoldOnApple]

Surround sound for cars, what a time to be alive. I hope it catches on and sticks around, unlike Quadraphonic audio back in the 20th century.

 

[murdoc2k]

Nice! Glad to see Apple is innovating and partnering with more manufacturers to do this!

For the folks that think this is only for the elite, all of the latest tech always end up in the hands of the elite because these are the folks that could afford it and fund its development. There will come a day where it catches on and becomes mass adopted. One day your Honda civic grand touring will have this feature as well; Just like how Honda Civic EX models now come with heated steering wheels, a moon roof, climate control, and car play built in.

 

[bgarnett]

Only tried spatial audio recently with my AirPods Pro whilst at work, the difference was quite amazing though it had my checking quickly my phone wasn’t playing to the office as it sounded so different to normal.

 

[BGPL]

In other words, 99.9% of the world can disregard. Of course all of the Apple execs are pleased with this development.

 

[Born Again]

Spatial audio rocks

Funny I turn it off 🤷‍♂️

 

[Macalway]

Richie Rich gets another perk.

 

[0924487]

I don’t think I would want the driver to be playing around with spatial audio while driving.

Then realises this feature is for the people in the back driven by the chauffeur.

Mercedes S class and above, especially the extended Maybach versions, are usually not driven by the principle passenger.

 

[0924487]

I've been eyeballing an EQS for a while.. One more reason to get it, I suppose.

Maybach is the way to go

 

[svish]

Interesting. Would like to see it in vehicles of other manufacturers also.

 

[alfonsog]

I want a EQS or maybe the upcoming EQE... maybe next year after I'm done with all the hurricane repairs

 

[japanime]

A guy in a Bentley pulled up to my Maybach just the other day, rolled down the window and asked, "Pardon me, do you have any spacial audio?"

 

[Tozovac]

Love spatial audio.

Side note: But touchscreens in cars for the majority of interface controls makes as much sense as using a mouse most of the time for iOS.

 

[bassjunky]

I'm a luddite, have no AirPods and have not experienced spatial audio. So I ask, wouldn't you want the center stage of audio to always be wherever you look? Unless it's for a surround sound mix, I just don't understand deviating from a normal stereo mix, especially in a car. Please enlighten me.

 

[_Spinn_]

Apple actually has done a lot of work on this for the hearing impaired. Everyone who has AirPods should adjust them to their audiogram, but if you have hearing loss the difference could be profound.

https://www.reddit.com/r/airpods/comments/xrih04

Wow that's a great tip. Thanks!

 

[NightFox]

I'm curious as to why you have such animosity to MB owners and people who have a good job and some money. This kind of comment is so absurd and very telling.

I always think it's ironic that so much vitriol and resentment against those in a higher wealth bracket is displayed by people who can afford £1000+ phones. We need to realise we're part of a privileged few already.

 

[NightFox]

probably. I know that's what I thought.

But I still think the list of people who care about this "story" is contender for shortest list of the year. Maybe decade.

I care about this story and have no interest in owning a Mercedes.

You need to widen your view and think in terms of 'trickle-down' technology. In order to make their cars stand out from the competition, mainstream manufactures constantly look to what premium brands are offering to consider adding to their own line-ups. So what gets introduced into Maybachs, Bentleys and Rolls Royces today can end up in the Fords, PSAs, VAGs and Toyotas of tomorrow. Think of this as a taste of what is to come for the rest of us.

 

[StudioMacs]

> impossible to explain in words

I guess? Because to me it seems, with AirPods Pro, they simulate the source of the music remaining stationary even if you turn your head, as if you were listening to fixed speakers instead of minor headphones.
Last I checked, headphones are bolted to the car and don’t move around.
Get a better sales pitch than “can’t describe it in words” LOL

You are describing “head tracking” not “spatial audio.”

Being snarky doesn’t work when you’re wrong.

 

[noblesoul117]

Happy for you all without any noticeable hearing-loss, tinnitus and hyperacusis to get som new cool audio related stuff to enjoy.

I hope we one day find a cure to help people suffering from these quality of life affecting problems.

Apple, could you help speed up the researchers find a cure? I think you would get many new Apple Music subscribers and AirPod customers.

Tinnitus could be a manganese deficiency, and I’ve also seen it correlated to other deficiencies.

Research it further, on Pubmed and Google or DuckDuckGo. Most issues can be resolved, but not by doctors who seek to poison us with drugs.

I have it too and am determined to heal it. In the last couple of weeks it may have reduced a bit while taking manganese which I know I’m deficient in from several tests and other symptoms.

 

[SpringKid]

> impossible to explain in words

I guess? Because to me it seems, with AirPods Pro, they simulate the source of the music remaining stationary even if you turn your head, as if you were listening to fixed speakers instead of minor headphones.
Last I checked, headphones are bolted to the car and don’t move around.
Get a better sales pitch than “can’t describe it in words” LOL

Spatial audio does not equal head tracking. The AirPods Pro is using head tracking in conjunction with spatial audio

 

[GermanSuplex]

I was once standing in the grocery store with my stock Apple earphones connected, shuffling music. There was a song that came on where a sound of a motorcycle pans from one side of the ear to the other. This sounded so damn real it scared the bejeezus out of me. Depending on what you're listening to, I'd hate to have that experience when driving.

Every now and then I'm watching something on TV as well, with the regular built-in speakers.... it doesn't happen often, but once in a while the "surround sound" effect becomes abundantly clear with some sound effect and it will literally startle me, and I'll have to rewind to see if was a one-off incident from something I was watching, or if I did indeed hear someone close by crash through something.

 

[needsomecoffee]

Reminds me that probably my favorite Beethoven recording was originally recorded (I believe) in monoral. Never heard anything recorded spatially. If its Heifetz on the violin who needs spatial or even stereo. If you like Beethoven, probably the best $6 you will ever spend:

Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D / Brahms: Violin Concerto in D

AUDIO CD - STEREO - HEIFETZ plays BEETHOVEN & BRAHMS VIOLIN CONCERTOS.

www.amazon.com

 

[MrCrowbar]

Lead vocals now always coming from true north?

 

[howywood]

With drivers killing greater and greater numbers of people every year, I'd prefer it if Spatial Audio was used with microphones outside the car to give the driver a greater awareness of what's around them.

My guy thinks I'm actually going to hear anything with the level I play my music inside my car LOL

 

[Nepenthe]

No, it is not. It's just a stupid stereo base enhancer, wrapped in shiny iPaper and sold as something on par with mono vs stereo.

Yeah. Sorry but it’s just a gimmick for selling electronics and the studios got behind it because it keeps them in business remixing old releases for spatial audio / atmos. Sometimes doing a not great job of it. I still work with spatial audio and have no idea what apple is going on about with this non-headphone spatial audio thing since so much of it is dependent on the head related transfer function filtering audio according to an algorithm which delays left and right channels based on the distance between your ears and the way your skull absorbs and changes the character of sound when passing from one ear to the other. If they’re saying cars and laptops also have spatial audio I call BS and say they’re just applying an out-of-phase reverb to stereo audio which has been reduced in stereo width beforehand to make the spatial affect more noticeable (this is all spatialize stereo is after having tested it on my own releases). Companies have been messing with audio phase and calling it virtual surround sound for decades.