Canvasing the Las Vegas Convention Center's CES show floor, it's hard not to get a little jaded and feel like you're seeing the same thing everywhere you look. For that reason, it's always a treat to be surprised, especially when you're surprised by a product you've seen plenty of. That is precisely what happened to yours truly when a lovely Sonic Emotion representative invited me to step into her "man cave." Is that a trick question?
Inside the cave - a small nook of their booth with a partial room enclosure and an open back wall exposed to the show floor - Sonic Emotion was showcasing what they're calling 3D Sound, a new "wavefield synthesis technology" that creates the illusion of sound coming from all around you regardless of your listening position in the room. On display was the Haier Evoke Series soundbar, one of the first devices to feature Sonic Emotion's new 3D Sound chip set.
I want to say the film playing was Apocalypse Now - CES has already become a blurred memory of sound and fury - but I know the clip I saw featured military helicopters, a popular choice when showcasing surround technology. Below a wall-mounted flat panel display stood the Haier Evoke soundbar. On a pedestal a few feet away was a single red button, which, when pressed, would either enable or bypass the 3D Sound technology. In a word: WOW!
It's hard to imagine the din of white noise and passerby chatter on the CES show floor, but the running joke is that it's virtually impossible to audition any kind of audio product there. That said, with 3D Sound turned off, the Haier soundbar sounded exactly the way I expected it to: thin, directional, and all together mediocre. With 3D Sound engaged, the entire man cave was alight with the sound of chopper blades and it instantly became impossible to pinpoint the Haier's location with your eyes closed. Very impressive.
It should be noted that this diffuse non-directional sound field may work against soundbars attempting to simulate the 5.1 experience - particularly when it comes to dialogue reproduction - but I'll wait to get my hands on one in a proper (read "quieter") setting before making any further assumptions.
Bottom line: anyone looking for an immersive soundfield without the need for a bunch of surround speakers should definitely keep an eye out for 3D Sound and Haier's Evoke Series, which will become available later this year at a price between $350-$400.
Where to buy:
