Sony NS7 - ‘Wearable personal theater’
I liked the idea but this execution leaves a lot to be desired.
This was the last video I made before I went off on my travels. It’s not a great one. This time though I don’t think it’s entirely all my fault. It’s hard to get enthusiastic about something that so woefully misses the mark. If Sony can locate that long-retired employee who knew how to design cool audio equipment, things might be different next time.
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There are two as yet unseen extra Patreon only videos that I’ve scheduled to appear here on the next two Thursdays. Nothing amazing, just the kind of thing that might normally appear in my odd-cast videos.
I’m not too sure how soon after I return I’ll have anything new to show and what it’s going to be about…but that’s for future-me to bother about.
While there will be some degree of internet access available to me while I’m away - If at all possible I don’t plan on using it, I’d rather stay offline and just enjoy the holiday.
All being well I should be back here towards the latter part of October. I’ll try to bring you something back…hopefully interesting video clips rather than covid.
Take care.
Comments (46)
I think there was a breakdown between engineering and marketing. It seems like it's just meant to be outputting the surround portions of the stream and your tv would be center/stereo.
So ... you didn't like them? :-D Seriously, thanks for an honest review. Sorry to see that the Money People are firmly in charge at Sony.
Have a good trip!
Matt, thank you. What a great review. I must say, I really admire your patience with these gadgets. Ploughing on against all the odds in an effort to get something working. Have a great holiday!
Well! That was exhaustive, Mat! Well done. Superb review.
Amusingly, when I had a pacemaker in my chest (either side at various points in my life), I couldn't have used these. Now, with the one in my heart, I could!
The atmos label is stuck on far too much stuff, it has just become a sham.
It's good to know you're getting some holiday time in and you're doing what I guess is your favorite style of holiday-making: cruise ship travel. That's something I've never done and to me, it sounds more like torture and imprisonment (do they have transparent TVs on cruise ships?😀). The closest I've thing to a cruise I've done is a tour on a glass-bottomed boat looking at coral reefs in Florida and crossing the channel (your channel, the English one) on a ferry. Got miserably seasick on the glass-bottomed boat, but only mildly nauseous on the ferry. Anyway, glad to know you're getting your batteries recharged on the cruise (hopefully your electronic devices as well) and you come back tanned, rested and ready to keep all of us knuckleheads on Patreon entertained. Have a good 'un Mat!
I think one of the problems is that audio technology is catering for the lowest common demoninator at the moment and (I'm going to sound old here) the younger generations are growing up hearing music that sounds like it's from an empty tin can coming out of their phones and think that's normal and the manufacturers are going along with it. Sure top end manufacturers are making very expensive kit but mainstream is going smaller and not necessarily better and having this "it'll do cos no-one notices" attitude like selling stereo as atmos etc. Most people seem happy with saisho / matsui quality these days. All summed up very nicely in your video Mat.
These things appear to be a solution looking for a problem, I really can't understand the appeal or use for them at all.
I feel like Sony is mainly focusing on the Playstation stuff these days.
I feel like Sony are giving up on the home entertainment market, or at least they aren't putting as much effort in. Their range of 4K Blu-ray players is very sparse, the one I bought four years ago is selling for more than I paid. Cameras are where they seem to be focusing (pardon the pun).
and not just in Sony products. The iPhone 15 uses a Sony Camera Sensor.
I have a couple of Amazon Echo Studios with a bunch of speakers in them firing in multiple directions and when you hook em up, sure as shooting you can hear music above you somehow if it is mixed well. Unfortunately it's usually not as good as stereo so what're you gonna do
Sony will never send you free stuff again
Have a great holiday!
Enjoy your holiday!
Enjoy your holiday Mat!
I hope you got your money back. Have a good holiday.
Be safe and enjoy your trip
Enjoy your vacation Mat; take as much time you want during and after the vacay.
I share your disappointment with Sony. How could they offer a product that only operates if you purchase their particular brand and model of TV? And I agree, optical digital output is such an antiquated technology. This was such a flawed product. And I do like Apple's spatial Atmos. I can hear the difference.
Thanks for the video - have a great holiday!
Correct on all counts, Mat. Don’t plan on using the WiFi, stay offline and enjoy your holiday. We'll be here when you get back. I'm off to Torquay anyway. ;-)
"ATMOS, ATMOS! COME AND GET IT!"...... argh!
I'm going to wait for an open-box one on Amazon. Maybe it will have Mat's DNA on it, then all I'll need is a healthy ovum and I can grow my own Techmoan. 10 points to the first person who can tell me what's that's a reference to 🖖
Aliens 👽 *giggle*
Enjoy your travels! You earned it and deserve it. We'll be here when you get back. You have a plethora of videos to enjoy. I still like your puppet videos! Safe travels sir.
Since we only have two ears, IN THEORY it is possible to simulate any kind of audio experience with only two speakers, including sound coming from all directions, but the problem is that your brain uses your ear lobes to interpret from what direction the sound waves have entered your head, and this is all individual, hence the need to scan your ears. What it creates is called a Head Related Transfer Function (HRTF) that supposedly is able to transform an Atmos stream into two stereo channels that are specifically adapted to your ear geometry in order to make you think the sounds comes from certain directions. It sounds like magic, but it is actually a thing that has only become really possibly in recent years with the advance in machine learning and "home 3D ear scanning". Apple is using it in iOS 16 and later, see here: https://www.roadtovr.com/apple-iphone-custom-hrtf-ios-ear-scan-spatial-audio/ Of course the implementation on the device you were testing is lacking and you are not getting any good result out of that. Having them rely on Sony TVs makes absolutely no sense, but the puck should have had HDMI as you said, and then done all the processing to send a stereo stream over bluetooth that has your head related transfer function baked in.
As these are a Bluetooth device, you could connect them via the Apple TV’s Bluetooth or your TV’s Bluetooth without using the optical transmitter. The SRS-NS7 are expensive for what they are. The Bluetooth only SRS-NB10 are less than half the price.
Well, I kind of thought it might be useful. I can't blast music in the evenings and I don't like to have headphones around the house . I mean as I was younger sure but not working now as I want to be able to interact...and I have come to rather dislike headphones. Cable ones tangle, I don't like pods and over ear may be cumbersome...though the lady speaking on my Sony ones is still the one talking the battery levels on those. Happy she is hanging there. Anyway, then it looked awfully complicated and this thing of listening from the back would drive me nuts
Enjoy your holiday!
Spatial music sounds like snake oil
Enjoy your holibops and we'll see you when you get back.
I enjoyed it! I can't believe they'd sell a premium device using optical in 2023, a very odd choice. You have, I assumed, tried out the AirPods Pro 2 with Apple TV? I find the spacial surround audio to be excellent, and of course the AirPods Max are even better and the surround effect is remarkable, but they're not all that comfortable to me, which is why I ended up returning them. Sorry if I missed your review of either of those if you did one and I'm telling something you already covered.
Enjoyed the video quite a bit! The product might be a dud, but sometimes those are the most helpful kinds of reviews!
This was an interesting review and I think it's symptomatic of Sony having lost their edge.
The whole idea of surround sound is that because of the multiple speakers, you get an extra sense of direction when you move your head (which you always slightly will, even when unconscious), with normal, fixed stereo speakers, that would be impossible... Only if it would know where your ears are exactly, and tracking your head movement and changing the sound according to that. Are there actually any systems that are capable of doing that? And I'm always surprised about how complicated all this modern technology is, with Apps and stuff... Still prefer a normal, analog speaker cable.
Hi there Phantom Mat! If you're reading this, don't, go back to partying. • Ain't it a drag when companies lose the employees who knew how to do the job well? Not even the retired ones. But if we're talking about 70's-90's Sony cool, yeah. • This item, yeah, not great. Human ears are curved in such a way to capture sound vertically from front and sides. I get what they want to do but the execution is lame. • Holy crap, returning the item means you really, really don't like it. • I see you still have the Stirling Engine but it's no longer engining. https://youtu.be/BRB0pnb_JqY • This video reminds me of the classic YTP: https://youtu.be/qaoyJUP2szw Oh my, this one may have some YTP fodder as well. Take care and for heaven's sake don't get the COVID. 🍊🤍
Have a terrific holiday Mat, and thank you as always for all the hard work you put into the channel. It is greatly appreciated by so many!
Excellent review. Sony is slipping...
The cat's away! What shall we get up to? 🐭
Chat with Bees Knees.
Yes mat, switch off and enjoy the break!
You have to relax and switch off ... so we get more great content after you are ready after your holiday! :-)
Enjoy your holiday, Mat!