The recent integration of spatial audio in Microsoft Teams has significantly elevated the quality of conference calls, offering a more immersive, realistic, and engaging listening experience. Utilizing head-tracking technology, spatial audio accurately locates the voices of attendees within the virtual space, aiding participants in easily identifying the speaker and their position.
Microsoft Teams Spatial Audio aligns the perceived audio location of each participant with their video representation. This aids in tracking the speaker, facilitates comprehension when multiple speakers talk simultaneously, and lowers meeting fatigue and cognitive load.
Improved conversation comprehension: Spatial audio can enhance user comprehension, particularly during instances where multiple individuals are speaking at the same time. This is facilitated by localizing each person’s voice to their position on the screen, making it simpler to identify the speaker and follow the conversation flow.
Decreased meeting fatigue: Spatial audio can potentially alleviate meeting fatigue by crafting a more realistic and engaging meeting environment. This can help attendees maintain attentiveness and engagement throughout the session.
Enhanced audio experience: The use of spatial audio can augment the audio experience for all meeting participants by creating a more realistic and immersive environment, leading to improved communication and collaboration.
Moreover, Spatial Audio can also improve the sound quality of Microsoft Teams meetings by creating a balanced and natural soundscape. This ensures that all speakers are clearly audible, facilitating more effective communication.
Currently, in public preview, the new Spatial Audio feature can be accessed by Microsoft Teams users on Windows or macOS desktops. It can be enabled on a device that supports stereo sound, such as a wired headset or speakers with two channels.
Alternatively, users can also connect their wireless headphones to their computers via a USB dongle.