Sonos Says It Will Consider Supporting 3D Audio if It's a Hit With Consumers

3D audio is “interesting, and we are watching it closely,” emailed a Sonos spokesperson in response to questions on Amazon’s move in that direction with the recently introduced Echo Studio smart speaker (see 1909300022). “If it proves to be popular with consumers and the industry, we’ll consider supporting it,” he said: “Artists tell us that when they are in the studio with the right content and perfectly calibrated equipment, 3D audio can be quite impressive.” The challenge -- and what’s most important -- is “making it easy for customers to replicate that experience in the home,” he said. Amazon raised the bar for smart speaker sound quality in its Sept. 25 announcement, launching an Echo speaker capable of playing back 24-bit/192 kHz tracks and Dolby Atmos recordings in the “Ultra” tier of its recently launched Music HD streaming service, which Sonos speakers can’t do. The spokesperson told us Sonos is “focused on creating a better listening experience,” saying its products have been designed toward that end, along with the choice of partners it has brought to its platform. Its independence and the ability to offer customers the freedom to choose “any sound, from any service, is one of our strongest differentiators,” he said. Sonos will "continue to build a system that works together across ecosystems -- making room for every voice assistant, every streaming service, and any company that wants to build with us -- and we’ll deliver products with premium sound that are easy to set-up and control.”