How to Enable Immersive Spatial Audio in Windows 11
There’s a sound feature buried pretty deep in Windows 11 that you may not have encountered before: spatial audio. It depends somewhat on the hardware you’ve connected to your computer, but it’s designed to create a more immersive 3D soundscape for any audio played on your system—whether you’re watching movies or playing games.
You can experience spatial audio with any pair of headphones, although it can also work with soundbars and multi-speaker systems. There are a few different types of spatial audio to be aware of, and a quick search online for speakers or headphones you have (or want to buy) that have “spatial audio” should give you a few more clues. Here’s more about how it works and how to enable it on your system.
How spatial audio works
Spatial audio is designed to make your audio experience more immersive. Even if you’re only using stereo speakers or stereo headphones, it will try to simulate surround sound effects through various audio tricks, so you might hear in-game sounds coming from behind you, for example.
For example, changing pitch is one of the techniques that spatial sound uses because it helps indicate distance. The technology can support up to 33 different channels simultaneously, giving programs and games ample ability to isolate and position different bits of audio.
The spatial audio option that all Windows users have is called Windows Sonic. This built-in option only works with headphones, but should work with any pair of them to a greater or lesser extent. The quality and capabilities of your headphones will likely make a difference, so your spatial audio results may vary.
You can also enjoy Dolby Atmos spatial audio with headphones and speakers that support the standard. The catch is that it’s not free: you’ll need to download and install Dolby Access , which will cost you a one-time fee of $15. At least there is a free trial so you can at least test it out on your system before parting with your money. More information about Dolby’s implementation can be found here .
The results you get from spatial audio will also vary depending on your computer’s sound card and the applications you use to play audio. Movies, games, and music mixed for 7.1 audio channels will sound best with surround sound turned on, and you may have to resort to trial and error to get the most out of this feature.
How to enable spatial audio
Here I’ll walk you through the process of enabling Windows Sonic spatial audio – since that version is available to everyone – but the steps are largely the same if you have Dolby Atmos configured on your system. Open Settings from the Windows Start menu, then go to System and Sound .
You’ll see the audio devices configured on your computer and you’ll need to click the little arrow to the right of your headphones (or the audio device your headphones are connected to). Windows Sonic only works with headphones, but any wired or wireless connection will work.
On the next screen, open the drop-down menu next to Spatial Audio, then select Windows Sonic for Headphones from the list. The change should be noticeable right away so you can evaluate how well it works with your specific hardware setup and the audio source you’re listening to.
We recommend trying spatial audio with a few different types of content—for example, downloading a Blu-ray or streaming a movie is a good option. You can continue to toggle spatial audio on and off through the Windows Settings panel to test how it affects your headphones.
There’s another way to enable spatial audio that you may find more convenient: Click the speaker icon in the lower right corner of the taskbar, then the arrow next to the volume slider, and you’ll see the spatial audio options again, as well as various other Windows sound settings.