Clubhouse’s new ‘Spatial Audio’ feature help chats more life-like

In a recent development, Clubhouse, an audio-only chat app, on Sunday said that it will launch a spatial audio feature to make voices sound as if they’re coming from different directions. According to NDTV, this helps the conversations and virtual performances feel more life-like.

The report further said that the app, backed by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, jumpstarted the social audio trend in 2020 and became known for chatrooms of thousands that included chief executives and celebrities.

It is also facing increasing competition from Facebook, Twitter, and Spotify, which have all introduced their own social audio chat features.

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In a tweet, Clubhouse said, “Hear ye, hear ye ? spAAaAaAatial audio on Clubhouse! It’s like surround sound, but w/ your own headphones. A more vibrant, human experience! Plus makes it much easier to tell who’s talking. thanks to @juberti for this one ? rolling out now on iOS, Android coming soon!”

The new feature will help the app lean into performances and entertainment rooms that have proliferated on the app.

According to Reuters, Justin Uberti, Clubhouse’s head of streaming technology said, “Depending on how many speakers are in a Clubhouse room and a variety of other factors, the app’s technology will assign users a spatial positioning, so that the listener will hear the voices surround them in their headphones.”

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In comedy rooms for instance, Clubhouse’s technology will detect the main speaker and place that person’s voice in the “front,” while the laughter of other people could sound as if they’re coming from a listener’s left and right sides, he said.

“I could hear people laughing and the room erupts around me,” Uberti said. “You can imagine in music … there’s a lot of potential,” he added.

This new technology also makes it easier to detect when different users are speaking, whereas people previously might have to pay attention to the speakers’ cadence and vocal timbre.

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.