How-To

How to Turn on Windows Sonic Spatial Sound in Windows 10

By Brian Burgess

Published December 18, 2020

An audio feature that you might not be aware of in Windows 10 is the ability to get an enhanced sound experience through your headphones.

There are plenty of new features in each version of Windows 10, but there are smaller improvements that often go overlooked. An audio feature that you might not be aware of is the ability to get an enhanced surround sound experience through your headphones. It’s called Spatial Sound, or on Windows 10, Windows Sonic for Headphones. It is designed to emulate a 3D environment and make the audio coming from your headset more rich and atmospheric. Here’s a look at how to turn it on and try it out for yourself.

Turn on Windows Sonic for Headphones

To turn it on, right-click the speaker icon on the taskbar and select Spatial sound > Windows Sonic for Headphones from the menu.

You can also find it in the Settings app. Head to Settings > System > Sound and click the Device Properties link under the Output section. Then choose “Windows Sonic for Headphones” from the menu under the Spatial Sound section.

Alternately, you can hit the Windows key and type: control panel and open the classic Control Panel. From there click on Sound.

Now highlight your playback device and click Properties. In the resulting window click the Spatial Sound tab and then choose “Windows Sonic for headphones” from the drop-down and click OK.

I tried this out on three different types of headphones. A decent set of Sennheiser earbuds, an expensive set of A-audio cans, and a cheap set of earbuds that I had accumulated somewhere along the way. As you’d expect, the quality headphones produced the best experience. Still, even with the cheaper ones, I could hear the difference and would recommend trying it out to see if it’s your cup of tea.

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The spatial sound feature was introduced in Windows 10 version Creators Update (Version 1703). Currently, this is best for gaming and while watching movies.

Of course, the effectiveness of the feature will vary based on the quality and type of headphones you use. Still, whether you’re an audiophile or not, this is a cool feature to try out if you use headphones while working with your computer. There is an undeniable difference in sound while it is enabled.

Have you tested out Sonic Spatial Sound on Windows 10 device? Let us know whether you like it, or not so much.