Speakers that surround you with sound are no new thing. But now Sonos is launching a new speaker technology that can measure the acoustics of a room and automatically adjust to fill the room with sounds in the most effective way possible.
Sono’s latest speakers are called Play:5, and each one includes a sensor that tells the speaker whether to produce sounds for a wider or more vertical room, according to a story by Fast Company. Pairing the speakers, which will be available later this fall, users will hear an ultra-wide sound throughout the room.
But the real innovation, which has been announced but with no release date, will be the speakers’ combination of a small built-in microphone with the company’s True Play function.
True Play allows the speakers to take acoustic readings of the room in which the speakers are placed, and adjust the sound accordingly. With the microphone, the speakers can sense the sound waves in the room and make even more sensitive adjustments based on the placement of the speakers in the room’s sound profile.
A company demonstration of the technology reverberated with remarkable results. A speaker placed inside a kitchen cabinet was played with True Play turned off, leading to a muffled sound. With True Play turned on, the sound quality was impeccable.