Audio Video News

Waves Audio, developer of audio processing technologies, today announced an integrated circuit said to enable any device to “faithfully reproduce” 5.1 and 7.1 surround and virtual reality (VR) audio content over ordinary stereo headphones.

Developed in partnership with Realtek Semiconductor Corp., the new WNX7000 chip integrates Wave’s state-of the-art Nx audio processor and is now available to audio companies.

"[The WNX7000] is a one-stop solution for headphones and any device using it will be capable of delivering the highest quality 3D audio with head tracking,” said Waves EVP Tomer Elbaz. “We're confident we'll be seeing many top-tier gaming and multimedia headphones built around this component in the very near future."

Capabilities of the Waves Nx processor include the following:

• Adds 3D audio to any content with requiring music, video, or games to be specially encoded
• Allows playback of 5.1 or 7.1 content using stereo headphones, “realistically replicating the sound of several surrounding speakers using just your headphones”
• Provides user-centric VR audio no matter where you are seated or how your head is positioned
• Runs efficiently to allow reducing the processing load on the device's main processor, reducing power usage and increasing battery life

For an online demo, visit waves.com.