I jump in visual fidelity is often the main focus of a new console generation. It has most definitely been a focus with the PS5 but coming down the pipeline is 3D audio, something that many gamers often put a lot less consideration into when getting a gaming setup arranged. An upcoming firmware update for the PS5 is adding 3D audio support for multiple audio outputs. What does this mean for gamers?
To understand what the end result is, you will need to spend some time understanding what the tempest 3D audio engine is for PS5. You can click the link to get an in-depth breakdown. The short version is that Sony has developed a custom engine that is capable of taking sounds from a 3D space i.e. a virtual world in a video game. And mapping them to audio channels to produce an immersive feeling of surround sound, even without a multi-speaker sound system. At least that is what the plan is, we have yet to see it in action.
You may be asking yourself, how are they going to simulate surround sound if someone only has a stereo system. Well, there are some very clever tricks they plan to implement, which you can find out more about in the video below. There is no denying that a 7.1.4 sound system is going to vastly outperform a 2.1 sound system but the tempest engine aims to offer the best possible 3D sound for the setup available.
Should You Be Excited About The 3D Audio Update?
Whether this is exciting or not, depends on the person. If you have experienced something like Dolby Atmos and did not like it, chances are, you won’t like the tempest engine. The thing is, 3D audio is only going to improve video games. So if you have the most basic 2.1 speaker system, you are sure to find an improvement in the audio quality after the update adds 3D audio to all sound systems.
The biggest problem with being excited about something like this is the potential for disappointment. If you are considering going out there to purchase a large 9.2.4 Dolby Atmos ready surround sound system, you might be best waiting to see what the professional audio guys have to say about the performance of the tempest engine with high-end sound systems. It may take some time for Sony to work out the kinks and more importantly, developers to take advantage of the sound system.
