Spatial audio is an integral part of virtual reality (VR) experiences, helping ground you in digital worlds that are becoming ever more expansive and complex. At last year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC) Embody unveiled its AI-driven personalised spatial audio system Immerse to help in that process, offering a software solution that could tailor sounds to a person’s unique ear shape. Today, gamers can now access that system via a collaboration with beyerdynamic and its latest MMX 300 headphones.
Immerse’s customized in-game audio works by using a photo of your ear to identify all its unique features and then an AI algorithm predicts how sound reflects and refracts, creating realistic audio tailored to you. Embody has worked closely with beyerdynamic engineers to create a perceptually accurate reproduction of game audio which in turn should improve your spatial awareness.
Whether you’re playing VR or non-VR videogames being able to accurately hear the direction a sound is coming from can have great implications on the experience. Immerse allows gamers to adjust several settings including moving the sound field closer or further away depending on the title.
“Embody and beyerdynamic share the passion for creating stunning sound experiences,” said Xavier Presser, Gaming Product Manager at beyerdynamic in a statement. “Our headphones make truly professional audio available for gamers and Immerse personalized spatial audio raises the bar for virtual surround simulations. Immerse with beyerdynamic uncovers a new facet of the MMX 300 that will again change your way of gaming.”
“Immerse personalized spatial audio is the perfect match with beyerdynamic’s design emphasis on delivering precision audio,” said Kapil Jain, CEO at Embody. “With the power of MMX300 and Immerse combined, gone is the hesitation to take a shot because you hear exactly where your enemies lie. Once you try Immerse with beyerdynamic’s MMX 300 headset you’ll never want to play a game without it.”
Having personalized spatial audio does come at a cost with the beyerdynamic MMX 300 headset currently retailing for €239.00 EUR/ $299.00 USD – was €299.00/$349.00 – while the Immerse software is $14.99/£13.99 GBP for a year or $39.99/£36.99 for 7 years.
Embody has yet to confirm when further headphones will be supported or integrated ones found on Vive Pro or Valve Index will be. When those details are available VRFocus will let you know.