Sony Europe 2nd Major CE Subsidiary This Week To Reject Object-Based Audio For Now

Sony Europe became the second major CE subsidiary this week to say no to object-based immersive audio, at least for its new product lineups. At a Sony audio line show with demos for the press and trade Thursday in the Soho Hotel in London, we noted that though several new hi-res audio products boasted 7.1 or 7.2 surround, none offered Dolby Atmos, DTS:X or Auro-3D. “We are not adding immersive audio at the moment,” said Eric Kingdon, senior technical marketing manager at Sony Europe, echoing feelings previously expressed by Yamaha (see 1505190051). “It’s expensive and it’s power-hungry. It needs more channels and consumes extra processing power. We think that sticking with 7.1 or 7.2 is the best way to deliver high-quality sound at an affordable price.” Kingdon promises Sony Europe will be “keeping a close eye on the situation, but our policy is to sell boxes that people want to buy.”