There are several different immersive or spacial audio formats available. Whereas, depending on whom is asked and based on personal preference, Dolby Atmos has become a leading format (almost ubiquitous, Netflix, Amazon Prime) for theatrical film releases, streaming video releases and lately '360 degree' spacial music releases, currently backed by Apple Music, Tidal and Amazon Music.

Where Dolby Atmos and Auro 3D are mixed and best played back on multiple discreet speaker sound arrays, these and other formats such as Ambisonics (1st, 2nd and 3rd order) encode 3D spacial positioning (binaural encoding) for playback over standard stereo - headphones for best results. 

Depending on how these spacial audio masters are authored and delivered, they can also follow head tracking in headphones, thereby creating a directionally locked sound field so that when the listener changes their POV (moves their head), the sound effects will stay blocked to the visual reference, on screen or on a VR headset.