If you've ever enjoyed / endured (delete as appropriate) the sounds of a phone's built in speakers on a long journey, then Dirac, the Swedish audio engineers that license their processing tech to other tech brands, have some good news headed your way.
It's announced a new feature for mobile devices and small speakers called Dirac Bass which uses audio trickery to make the bass response from your portable devices appear improved.
Rather than relying on tiny speakers to deliver rumbling notes at low frequencies, Dirac Bass pushes out additional tones of higher octaves which give the listener the sensation of listening to deeper bass.
How low can you go?
With the race for thinner phones and smaller bezels seemingly never-ending, Dirac Bass is well positioned to be an important feature for phones looking to push their audio credentials. Providing it works of course – we've yet to hear Dirac Bass in action, with the company aiming to launch the tech in Las Vegas next January at CES 2019.
Phones and portable speakers of course aren't the only devices set to stand to benefit – what of tablets or thin-and-light laptops? Richer sound would be appreciated there too. A new Nintendo Switch with speakers that didn't make us so reliant on earphones would go down just as well.
Of course, there's a catch – the software trick can't be used on just any old hardware, but must be paired with devices already using Dirac Panorama Sound or Dirac Power Sound. Dirac already works with some smartphone manufacturers, like Xiaomi and OnePlus, as well as car firms Volvo and BMW. The OnePlus 6T handset already has Dirac Power Sound, but the company expects the Dirac Bass feature to be used for future devices, rather than upgrading existing models.
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