We had a chat with the Head of Audio Business at Sony India Shohei Toyoda recently
He talks about Sony’s technological advances in the audio industry
We also get a glimpse into Sony’s 2023 plans and how 2022 shaped up to be for the company
With 2022 coming to a close, we can reflect back on some of the best audio tech in 2022 and one company that would come up without question in India is Sony. The company has been dominating the Active Noise Cancellation audio segment in India with fantastic launches in the WH-1000 and WF-1000 series. Active Noise Cancellation is a vital feature that a number of users are actively searching for headphones in 2022. However, with companies such as Sennheiser, Jabra, Bose, and others stepping up their game – it is imperative that Sony stays ahead of the curve to keep the edge they currently have. Recently, we had a chat with Shohei Toyoda, Head of Audio Business at Sony India, who gave us insight into how 2022 has been for the company’s audio division, their plans for 2023, and other exciting technologies Sony has been implementing into their audio devices. Let’s delve right into it.
In conversation with Sony’s Shohei Toyoda
Digit: How much has the home audio industry grown in India? Is the demand higher since the pandemic or has it dropped now that WFH has started to come to an end?
Shohei Toyoda: The need to have an elevated entertainment experience has been on consumers’ minds for a long time however the stay-at-home period in the last couple of years has induced this demand even further. Hence, we are witnessing a positive shift in consumer demand toward home audio products. The trend can be attributed to the need for upgrading home entertainment as people are spending more and more time at home and want their home entertainment experience to be more high quality and immersive. Some of the other factors that have fuelled this growth are economic activities gaining momentum, deeper penetration of OTT content, increase in social interaction of consumers and the role of these entertainment devices in facilitating the same, influential buying through word of mouth, social media attraction and e-commerce sales. We expect this momentum to continue in the foreseeable future as well.
Digit: What does 2023 look like for Sony audio products? Are there any new avenues Sony would be stepping into that you can give us some information about?
Shohei Toyoda: We are quite optimistic about both short and mid-term outlook and expect the audio segment to grow in double digits in the next few years. We will continue to launch industry-leading products in the coming years and take home a bigger pie of the market. We will strengthen the Noise-Cancelling segment with our ‘Industry Leading’ audio products. We have recently launched A-Series premium soundbars which come with 360 Spatial Sound Mapping and 360 Reality Audio technologies. For the strongly growing segment of gaming market in India, we have launched a series of products with sub-brand ‘INZONE’ that have unique features like Invisible Enemy and 360 surround sound. Not to forget, we have launched SRS-XV900 wireless party speaker which can play up to 25 hours on battery. This segment is rapidly growing, and we would like to expand the product portfolio to capture a major share of this market.
Digit: Sony typically forays into the more premium audio segment but with products such as the Sony WF-C500, the company is reaching a new audience. Any plans to create a product under Rs 5,000 in India since the consumers are quite price-conscious?
Shohei Toyoda: Our aim is to launch audio products that cater to a wide range of audience so that more and more people can enjoy the best of Sony’s audio quality. India is a very important market for us and as brand Sony, we always focus on giving consumers cutting-edge technology.
We are unable to comment on future product launches.
Digit: The focus of the audio industry seems to have shifted to wireless audio. Is Sony doing anything our readers should take special note of in the wired audio segment?
Shohei Toyoda: Both the wireless and wired audio segments are equally important to Sony as with High-Res Audio wireless, consumers can experience High-Resolution sound quality on devices designed for LDAC. LDAC provides an enhanced wireless listening experience for all genres of music, the way the artist truly intended. Consumers can also change the bit rate to suit their wireless environment. We have some exciting product launch coming up for music creators, so please stay tuned.
Digit: The Active Noise Cancellation space has typically been dominated by Sony. How does Sony stay ahead of the curve?
Shohei Toyoda: We launched the much-hyped 1000X series in 2016, and since then we have worked continuously to stay ahead of the curve, in developing processors and continuously upholding the leadership position of being the Industry Leading Noise Cancellation headphones till date with the latest WH-1000XM5. The predecessors to the Sony’s WH-1000XM5 were king of the hill and this new headphone takes that crown. With new drivers, features and design, the Sony WH-1000XM5 (review) is an intriguing set of headphones among the flagship active noise cancelling (ANC) devices in the market. It excels in travel and office use case scenario. There is a potential for Noise Cancellation Headphones in the Indian market as we have witnessed a huge surge in travel and hybrid working. Noise Cancellation supports work from home environment and learn from home, also to watch OTT content and listen to music and immerse in technologies like 360RA, DSEE, Hi-Res Audio with our most popular 1000X, LS900 and C500 series.
Digit: What technological developments in 2022 have helped ensure the improved quality of audio products from Sony?
Shohei Toyoda: We have recently launched premium soundbar in 2022, named A-series which includes flagship products like HT-A9, HT-A7000, HT-A5000 and HT-A3000. These soundbars utilize Sony’s revolutionary 360 Spatial Sound Mapping technology which creates up to twelve phantom speakers. Our A-Series soundbars have a versatile layout to suit any kind of living room, there is no need to re-arrange furniture or to precisely position speakers. There is a built-in microphone in each speaker which ingeniously measures the relative height and position, judge the atmosphere and allows the system to generate 12 phantom speakers and completely encircle the room in immersive spatial sound. In addition, it has vertical Surround Engine and S-force Pro Front sound which helps to generate even more immersives vertical and surround sound.
Digit: The Sony Linkbuds were a design departure from Sony. Can you let us know about the response for these earbuds in India specifically?
Shohei Toyoda: LinkBuds have been developed based on the concept of proposing a new sound experience of 'always-on' sound gateway, that connects the online and real world. Real sounds are the sounds that you hear when you are talking with your family on a daily basis or the surrounding sounds that you hear while walking, which supports always staying connected with both worlds, online and offline.
The design of the LinkBuds is dominated by a large hole in the middle of the earbuds. It comes in white and grey colors and the entire bud looks like a ring attached to a small pod. The ring portion houses a specially designed ring-shaped driver while the pod houses the battery and electronics. In keeping with Sony’s sustainability efforts, the shell of the LinkBuds is made from recycled automotive plastic and has a speckled pattern. Wearing them and listening to music feels like one has got personal background music being piped into the ears all the time. The LinkBuds are likely to appeal most to customers who want to stay connected with music and the real world.
Digit: What is your favourite piece of technology from 2022? Any personal stories you can share about your experience with the latest tech of last year?
Shohei Toyoda: I work in hybrid mode and in my free time, I like to stay at home to enjoy movies with my family. Without a doubt, my favorite technology is 360SSM as with one soundbar, HT-A5000, my living room gives me a truly immersive cinematic experience. When we enjoy our favorite movie content, 360 immersive theatre experience sound comes from all directions. For example, while watching a movie with this new sensation of sound, I can experience all the action and drama and hear every breath, which feels like I am inside the film. I would like to deliver this immersive theatre experience to Indian customers to enjoy their favorite content at home.
Digit: Did the global chip shortage in 2022 affect Sony since many audio devices come with an onboard chip for AI processing? Has the situation worsened or gotten better?
Shohei Toyoda: The semiconductor shortage is a global phenomenon that has impacted various businesses and industries for the foreseeable future, and India is no exception. However, we have sufficient inventories for the home entertainment segment, such as soundbars and party speakers, to maintain the supply chain without any disruption in the near future. However, we are closely monitoring the global situation in terms of economic conditions as well as any supply-related issues whether semiconductors or logistics.
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Dhriti Datta
Perpetually sporting a death stare, this one can be seen tinkering around with her smartphone which she holds more dear than life itself and stuffing her face with copious amounts of bacon. View Full Profile
