Conclusions

Wrapping Up

So here I am, having written way more than I’d intended for the brief glimpse I was given of OSSIC and the future of audio. I thought long and hard before I titled this article “The Future of Audio”. I don’t proclaim myself as any great visionary, but I know what I heard. I’ve been looking for OSSIC for the better part of a couple of decades. I haven’t had a finalised product on my head and as with any pre-production kickstarter, there are risks.

But, and it’s a significant but. So impressed was I with what I heard, both in the demos and from Jason and Joy in terms of explanation that it’s been way more than I needed to convince me.

Will it succeed? Only time will tell. The kickstarter was funded within one day I think so in that respect it will succeed. I agree with Jason in his assessment that a lot of these surround setups are vestiges and remains of the past, but standards are a tricky thing. Will OSSIC ultimately succeed in their trying to generate a new standard based on video game engine object location cues? Who knows. But even if they don’t, this is without doubt the most realistic soundscape I’ve ever heard from something that sits on my head, and in many ways, also more real than having 5 or 7 speakers spread out around the room given its vertical axis audio capabilities too.

I started this article talking about two very different films. One I was so excited for and which ultimately was a disappointment (Clash of the Titans) and another which I was so cautious about after it was announced but ultimately ended up loving. In many ways, this is like my experience with surround headphones. I’ve always wanted to believe the next great thing was this or that fancy thing I’d read about. Having tried all manner of surround sound headphones, I’ve become both weary and wary of all the hype. But then along came OSSIC and like the Star Trek reboot, it blew through all my expectations and then some.

That’s why I’ve pledged for OSSIC X (did it from my phone straight after the demos!). Given that I’d decided to stop buying new headphones until I finally found something that did proper 3D positional audio, that fact alone should tell you all you need to know.

Visit the Ossic website to learn more about 3D audio and the Ossic X.

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