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Confused with multiple audio settings.

C

Commander FAT

2[H]4U
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Nov 23, 2000
Messages
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So there are settings in Windows Control Panel for surround sound. Then there are settings in whatever software comes with your sound card. Then there are audio settings in games for headphones, 2.1, 5.1 whatever.

I get confused on what I should set what to.

Can anyone shed some light on this? Just in general. Like, what takes priority over the other?
 
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the setting in games sets the number of channels for the game to output.

the setting for the sound card tells your card how many channels to output.

the setting for windows is telling your speakers whether you have seperate channels to receive the signal from your card.

none are really priority over the other. they all need to be matched. if you set the game to say 5.1, your card to 5.1 and windows to only 2.1 you will lose the sound data mixed for the missing channels.

think of it like your home theater. the dvd/bluray must be set to output a certain audio mix, the dvd must be set to relay that signal in the same mix to your receiver, the receiver must be set to relay that to your speaker setup.

of course it's not an exact example because the signal can be decoded by your receiver or dvd player, but similar idea.
 
you will get differences in opinion here... especially because of products like the psycho 5.1 headsets out there that actually have more than two speakers built into them.

most audiophiles prefer good old stereo. it depends on the headphones you are using too.

for me personally, if i'm using my AD700's, i prefer stereo. the ad700's have drivers that are angled towards your ears which creates a large sound stage. if i'm using my DT 880's i prefer to use dolby headphone which takes a 5.1 signal and transfers it to a two channel virtual surround which is a neat effect. i believe it uses a form of dolby prologic to pull it off. this works really well for most headphones that have drivers pointed directly at your ears.

if i were gaming competively, i prefer the ad700's in stereo for being able to pinpoint enemies. for immersion in single player games and movies i GREATLY prefer the DT 880's with dolby headphone. for music listening, stereo is a must for me with headphones.

hope that helps.
 
Stereo won't give me positional audio would it? I remember way back I used to use A3D with Counter Strike and it was awesome in that I could tell exactly where people were just by sound.

Also when you say Dolby Headphone do you mean I can get surround sound on a set of headphones directly from the head phone jack on a sound card?
 
stereo can arguably give the best audio picture, it's great for competive online play. however, i prefer dolby headphone which simulates surround much like you are thinking with a3d. you can get dolby headphone with most of the asus soundcards or the astro mixamp (handy if you console game too).

x-fi based cards also have cmss-3d, which is their version of dolby headphone. some actually prefer it, i do not. they are very noticeably different.
 
I have an Astro Mixamp. My onboard sound does have an optical output which I have connected to the Mixamp in the past. Would I benefit from changing soundcards and connecting the headphones directly to the soundcard?
 
I just saw on Dolby's official page that the Astro A40 Mixamp is an official Dolby Headphone product. That makes me doubt the need for a new sound card.

So I guess it's safe to just search for a new set of headphones?
 
if you have a mixamp, you really probably do not need a soundcard. something like the x-fi would process audio faster but that's about it. the mixamp is actually a great product. it is a basic headphone amp and has the ability to process dolby headphone. it's that little button in the bottom right that you can turn on and off.
 
Ya the Mixamp does work well with my Xbox although I wasn't crazy about it on PC. It was just another setting that I had to set and that's what got me confused. Also the Turtle Beach head set I was using wasn't stellar. I had a hard time discerning distance sometimes. Like in MW2 if there was a harrier jet overhead it didn't sound like it was right over head.

I just ordered the ATH-AD700 that was recently reviewed here. Looking forward to it.

Thanks for the help wade
 
wish you hadn't ordered a set. i just upgraded to Beyerdynamic DT 880s so I'll be selling mine. Congrats though, you'll like them.
 
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