Sony opened CES 2021 with the announcement of two new wireless speakers that support 360 Reality Audio, the equivalent of Apple's Spatial Audio

The compact RA3000 and the RA5000, which features three distinctive drivers, aim to create a realistic 3D audio experience by blasting sound upward as well as laterally, giving a sense of height and width to the sound reproduction

This sounds more like Dolby Atmos than Spacial Audio, but Sony has previously announced 360 Reality Audio specifically for headphones like the WH-100XM4, where various vocals and instruments in different parts of the digital 3D space Mapping them provided a relatively straightforward surround sound effect However, the much more advanced Spatial Audio capabilities with dynamic head tracking shared by the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max have overshadowed 360 Reality Audio

Therefore, the RA3000 and RA5000 are an attempt to revitalize Sony's technology by turning it into a feature that can be enjoyed anywhere in the house without headphones; the RA5000 does this in a very atmospheric way, with upward-firing speakers that bounce sound off the ceiling and three middle speakers (and a built-in subwoofer) spread the sound horizontally [Although the RA3000 has only one full-range speaker, it uses an omni-directional diffuser cone to create 3D sound, and dual passive radiators help reproduce the low frequencies [In addition to the surround effect, these speakers also have an automatic room calibration feature similar to Apple's HomePod: the RA3000 and RA5000 can detect the dimensions of the room in which they are placed and adjust the volume and EQ to best suit the acoustic characteristics

Both Sony 3D speakers also have smart speaker capabilities: they have built-in Chromecast, are compatible with Spotify Connect, and can be paired with Google Assistant and Alexa devices to control playback via voice commands, function as part of a multi-room setup

It will be interesting to see how well Sony's reimagined 360 Reality Audio works in the form of Bluetooth speakers [We'll find out next month, as the RA3000 and RA5000 will be available in the UK and Europe in February The US launch and pricing have not yet been announced, but judging by the UK prices, the RA3000 and RA5000 are expected to cost around £280 and £500, or roughly $375 and $675, respectively