Sony Bows $700 High-Res Wireless Speaker for 360 Reality Content Audio

Sony began taking preorders Monday for a $699 high-resolution wireless speaker, while announcing that beginning April 6, its 360 Reality Audio content can be streamed on Amazon Music HD by customers in North America using Alexa Cast. The RA5000 plays tracks produced in 360 Reality Audio, which creators can use to make music by mapping vocals, chorus and instruments with positional information and placing them within a spherical space. 360 Reality Audio tracks are also available from Tidal, nugs.net and Deezer. The RA5000 has a sound calibration feature, accessible by a button on the unit, that adjusts sound to fit the room. The auto volume feature adjusts music track by track to level volume, said the company. The RA3000, a non-high-res version without sound calibration, is $299. Both speakers are compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant devices, it said.