Spatial Audio in Microsoft Teams: An Immersive Meeting Experience
Microsoft Teams has been continuously evolving with new features to enhance the collaboration experience. One such feature is spatial audio, designed to improve communication and reduce meeting fatigue in audio and video conferences.
Spatial audio aims to create realistic and engaging audio experiences that simulate dynamic real-world scenarios. This technology aligns the perceived audio location of each participant with their video representation. The goal is to make it easier for users to track who is speaking, understand better when multiple speakers are speaking at the same time, and lower meeting fatigue and cognitive load.
In Microsoft Teams, spatial audio is designed to create a more immersive and realistic sound experience for listeners by simulating surround sound using just a pair of headphones. When you join Microsoft Teams meetings, check the Device settings and turn on Spatial audio to experience the feeling that the audio is coming from the direction where the person is positioned on your Teams meeting gallery.
I asked Bing what is Spatial audio, and got a good , short, answer: Spatial audio is a technology that creates a more immersive and realistic sound experience for listeners. It simulates the effect of surround sound, which is usually achieved by using multiple speakers placed around a room, with just a pair of headphones.
In short: would you rather enjoy a movie or tv show as stereo (2 channels) or immersively having that surround (multiple channels) experience? How did I guess you would say surround.. And what is great that you can do something similar in Teams meetings today.
The Science Behind Spatial Audio
The effectiveness of spatial audio is rooted in the science of binaural hearing. We rely on binaural hearing (that is, we use both ears) to help identify and distinguish the sources of sounds in the physical world.
If you’re curious about the science behind the benefits of binaural hearing, dive into the well-known study of the “Cocktail Party Effect” [1] that outlines the brain’s ability to focus auditory attention on a single speech stimulus while filtering other sources of sound. The TLDR version is that two ears (and separate channels) help the listener process speech significantly more efficiently compared to using a single channel. Subsequent studies have shown that separating participants spatially can reduce the effect of sounds “masking” each other and may ultimately improve listener comprehension and memory [2].
Recent research shows video conferences with participants listening via loudspeakers and attendees listening through headsets prefer different levels of spatial separation with attendees listening through loudspeakers preferring greater “horizonal separation” than users listening through headsets [3].
How to Enable Spatial Audio in Teams
Teams Spatial Audio is generally available on desktop applications and can be enabled by going to settings -> Devices to turn on spatial audio. You can opt for spatial audio only if the selected device meets the requirements of being USB-wired stereo headphones or speakers or the workstation’s built-in stereo speakers.
Stereo (to highlight audio from individual speakers) and not Bluetooth are the key words here. Meetings must run in gallery view rather than together mode. The reason here is that the feature attempts to figure out the relative position of the speaker from you and that isn’t possible when participants are framed in a special view.
Please note that you will need a stereo-capable device such as wired headsets or stereo-capable laptops. Bluetooth devices are currently not supported due to protocol limitation.
Device Requirements and Limitations
Currently we support wired headsets for spatial audio. They can be wired USB headsets or headsets connected to the computer audio jack. Native Bluetooth devices do not support stereo during a call, therefore spatial audio is not available. New Bluetooth standard LE Audio capable devices may support stereo in calls.
Here's a summary of device compatibility:
| Device Type | Spatial Audio Support |
|---|---|
| Wired Headsets (USB or audio jack) | Yes |
| Stereo-capable Laptops | Yes |
| Bluetooth Devices | No (except future LE Audio devices) |
If you are like me and a fan of wireless headsets and buds.. Bad news is that , at least most of them today, can’t use more than two channels during a call. The good news is that if you have a very large display (or other wired device you use for audio) with stereo speakers the Spatial Audio works with its speakers. As I have 43″ screen at home, it is great to put people onto the display and I can just follow easily who is speaking. Large display works really well for this (among other benefits it has).
When a conference call has more than 100 users, some users who were typically in listening mode will be moved to satellite server. Currently, spatial audio is not supported for users on satellite server. When such users speak, they are typically moved back to central media server, spatial audio may become available.
Another thing to pay attention to is that spatial audio consumes system resources. Teams will throttle back on spatial audio if it detects that the system comes under strain. Throttling is automatic and you can’t control it.
Teams can turn off spatial audio in case your network or computer doesn’t perform well enough. Spatial audio requires more bandwidth. High Fidelity Music Mode and Spatial Audio don’t work at the same time. If you have Spatial Audio on, you don’t get music mode experience.
The new LE Audio standard includes stereo support for Bluetooth devices. In the future Spatial Audio will support wireless headsets with this feature. Meanwhile, I just had to go and find a wired headset for myself so I can use it in Teams meetings. Logitech Zone Wired looked like a reasonably priced, but with good features, option. And it has USB-C so it goes along nicely with Surface Laptop Studio. Couple of other nice features I must mention are : good remote and and the little clip that you can use to attach wire to collar. Little thing, but solved an annoying problem I had with wired headsets. No, on-the-ear is not my favorite headset style, but I get along with these (although Zone Wireless are much more comfortable for long periods). As a bonus Zone Wired comes with USB-C -> USB-A adapter. The remote has essentials and color LEDs that let you know if you are muted or live. Teams button is always a must.
Additional Considerations
- Users can turn on music mode while receiving spatial audio. In this case, they will send audio in music mode (32kHz sampling and 128kbps), however, they will not be able to receive music mode when spatial audio is enabled. In order to receive music mode, the user needs to turn off spatial audio.
- In Live Interpretation mode, when spatial audio is turned on, main floor audio and interpreter audio will be heard at the same volume from different directions depending on the video location of the main floor speaker and the interpreter. To go back to traditional main floor audio ducking, simply disable spatial audio.
Spatial Audio in Signature Microsoft Teams Rooms
As hybrid workplaces evolve, Q-SYS continues to set the standard in delivering advanced, intelligent, and adaptable AV solutions for Microsoft Teams Rooms of all shapes and sizes. One room type gaining momentum is the Signature Microsoft Teams Room-designed to deliver a fully inclusive meeting experience with advanced features like spatial audio.
The inaugural spatial audio package included any Teams-certified Q-SYS Core processor, SPA Series amplifiers, AcousticDesign Series surface-mount loudspeakers, and the Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2 (TCC 2) beamforming microphone array. In recent months, this range has expanded to make spatial audio available across more configurations. The certification of the PoE-powered NL-SB42 loudspeaker and NM-T1 microphones now offers a fully PoE solution suitable for medium to large rooms. These new certifications join the Q-SYS portfolio of certified for Teams solutions including loudspeakers, cameras, processors, and AI accelerators making it easier than ever to tailor experiences to your organization’s unique needs.
Gary Evans is the Director of Alliance and Ecosystem Tech Ops at Q-SYS, with 18 years of experience in AV Integration prior to joining QSC. While at QSC, he has managed the Application Engineering and Event Production teams before joining the Alliances & Ecosystem team.
There’s no guarantee that either feature will create better Teams meetings. Even spatial audio won’t improve what people say, but they will sound clearer and more distinct which can’t be a bad thing.
Try it out during your next meeting (or cocktail party) and discover how much easier it is to track who is speaking and to follow the flow of the conversation.
[1]: Cherry, E. Colin. "Some experiments on the recognition of speech, with one and with two ears." The Journal of the acoustical society of America 25.5 (1953): 975-979.
[2]: Litovsky, Ruth Y. "Spatial release from masking." Acoust. Today 8.2 (2012): 18-25
[3]: Jeremy Hyrkas et al., “Spatialized Audio and Hybrid Video Conferencing: Where Should Voices be Positioned for People in the Room and Remote Headset Users?”.