Clubhouse, an audio-only chat app, has launched a spatial audio feature to make voices sound as if they’re coming from different directions, helping conversations and virtual performances feel more life-like.
The app started the social audio trend last year and became known for chatrooms of thousands that included chief executives and celebrities. However, it faces increasing competition from larger tech giants like Facebook, Twitter, and Spotify, which have all introduced their own social audio chat features.
“We always say conversations on Clubhouse are like being at a great dinner party – where you hear amazing people all around you, with new people dropping in and out and and interesting ideas coming from all sides,” said a blogpost of the company.
“We’re excited to announce that we’ve enhanced Clubhouse with a new technology called spatial audio, which helps bring incredible rooms to life even more.
“When you’re in the audience, you will now hear the people around you in 3D, which makes the experience a bit more lifelike and human. It is also easier for your brain to track who is talking, thanks to subtle spatial cues. Spatial audio works best with headphones, wired or otherwise!”
In an interview to TechCrunch, Clubhouse’s Justin Uberti, explained: “You have this notion of people [being] in a space, in a room… We try to mimic the feel of how it would be in a circle with people standing around talking.
“Your mind has to figure out who’s talking. Without spatial cues you have to use timbre … that requires more cognitive effort. This could actually make for a more enjoyable experience aside from more immersion.”
Clubhouse, which started as an invite-only app and recently was opened to all users, said more than 700,000 rooms are now created each day, up from 300,000 in May.
The feature has already started rolling out as the default experience for all new iOS users, with Android coming soon. If a person prefers the old listening experience, they can turn spatial audio off anytime in their settings.
