Sennheiser's Ambeo Smart Headset is its first consumer Ambeo product

We've heard about Sennheiser's Ambeo technology before - it basically creates 3D sound (binaural audio) to make whatever you're listening to much more immersive.

Now the firm has announced its first consumer product featuring the tech, the Sennheiser Ambeo Smart Headset - a set of in-ear headphones that you use with your phone.

The Ambeo Smart Headset is also capable of capturing 3D sound, so not only can you listen back to 3D audio, you can also record it yourself.

You don't even need to listen with the Ambeo Headset - any pair of stereo headphones will give you same effect, provided the audio was recorded with the Headset.

MORE: Sennheiser and Samsung bring 3D audio headphones to Android phones

It works using two omni-directional microphones in the earpieces alongside a premium analogue-to-digital converter, mic pre-amp and Apogee's SoftLimit technology (which prevents the digital clipping that causes distortion). The mics capture the subtle differences in timing, volume and timbre that occur as sounds reach the Headset from different directions.

There's also a mic for hands-free calls and voice control, and a Transparent Hearing safety function which lets you hear the sounds around you.

The launch version of the Headset will only work with iOS Lightning port devices, but an Android version will launch later this year. There's no word on when the iOS version will launch, and Sennheiser hasn't yet revealed how much the headsets will cost.

For the Android launch, Sennheiser is partnering with Samsung to give the project "credibility", according to Sennheiser.

MORE: Sennheiser Ambeo is 3D audio in 9.1 channels

Joe Svetlik

Joe has been writing about tech for 17 years, first on staff at T3 magazine, then in a freelance capacity for Stuff, The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, Men's Health, GQ, The Mirror, Trusted Reviews, TechRadar and many more (including What Hi-Fi?). His specialities include all things mobile, headphones and speakers that he can't justifying spending money on.