Sennheiser Working on Binaural Headset for Android Phones Using USB, Says CEO

Sennheiser, which announced last month it's working on a binaural recording headset for iPhones with Lightning connectors (see 1704240054), is designing a digital interface for Android phones based on a USB connector, CEO Andreas Sennheiser told us at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London Tuesday at a preview of The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains (May 13-Oct. 1) featuring Sennheiser’s Ambeo technology. Apple’s Lightning connector interfaces digitally with the digital-to-analog converter built into the Sennheiser Ambeo headphones, but there’s currently no such solution available for Android phones with an analog 3.5mm jack. “If we used an analog 3.5mm jack, the only way to get the Ambeo effect would be to do it in post-production, and pre-process the audio,” Sennheiser said. “To get Ambeo processing on the fly, the connector must be digital. We have started with Lightning but will later provide a model with digital USB connector, probably USB-C.” It’s also possible to do Ambeo processing in real time with wireless Bluetooth headphones, Sennheiser said. “It’s just a matter of time and when we get to it.” At the Pink Floyd exhibit, visitors to the exhibition are loaned a pair of HD 2.20 headphones (with an analog connector) with a portable receiver that detects the wearer’s position and automatically plays the appropriate soundtrack for the nearest of 40 videos containing material of historic Pink Floyd performances and interviews. The sound fades naturally in and out as the visitor moves position. Sennheiser encouraged guests at the preview to walk around the room and hear how the immersive soundfield changes subtly with position. With no “sweet spot,” the effect is “more like listening to a live event than a recording," the CEO said. "It’s like being there; if you go a little bit to one side you hear more drums, go a little to the other side and hear more of the guitar player.”