What is stereo virtual surround vs native 7.1 virtual surround??  Or did he mean native 7.1 surround with no "virtual"?

stillhart said:

What is stereo virtual surround vs native 7.1 virtual surround??  Or did he mean native 7.1 surround with no "virtual"?

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Native 7.1 just mean downmixing all true 7.1 channels to into stereo hp: SBX 7.1 virtual surround, where console is only native stereo (front l/r, 2.0) input upmixing into stereo hp: SBX 7.1 virtual surround, useless without Dolby Digiital input decoder.

stillhart said:

  What is stereo virtual surround vs native 7.1 virtual surround??  Or did he mean native 7.1 surround with no "virtual"?

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But by definition headphones will always have virtual surround. There is no such thing as native 7.1 surround without a headset that has 6-10 transducers spread around the cups. Their wording is definitely confusing.

If anything, Ill buy this just exclusively for PC and nothing else. I was hoping it would work with consoles by having DD decoding but it wont have it (at least from what we know)
 
If it sends out processed SBX through optical out. Ill jump on it when the price is right. Getting kind of tired from using my Asus DG with DH (not bad but the reverb feels weird sometimes with games)

Exactly what is "Consoles are stereo virtual surround"?! ... Is that how the Mix Amp works, I think not. G5 major disappoint for this console owner. 

I'm pretty sure it means that they only do 2 channel pcm over optical and apply SBX to this signal.

I went for free shipping and eta of Thursday or Friday. Had an email advising it's been dispatched already and eta is Monday or Tuesday.

Got to say that I've had a great experience of Creative so far.

fegefeuer said:

Evshrugist,

do you think the surround feature itself got a nice change? Not only from 5.1 to 7.1 but maybe more refined overall?

Edit: I have a Code as well. Reduces the price to 109,99€. It's bound to my mail though. Last year I forwarded a X7 to conquerator2 (living in Czech) so if you want this device somewhere in Europe (or preferrably to Germany) just reply.

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Thanks for the code offer, quite nice. I'm sure Conquerator2 would allow me to ship to his house and he forward it to me, but I'll just wait till it's released in the U.S. Hopefully someone else interested can make use of the code.

I THINK they're still using the SBX headphone surround processing, but the new BlasterX software suite looks better organized, and I like the return of the processed line/optical output. I still wonder if a license to do Dolby/DTS decryption restricts the availability of processed line/optical out.

dagsjt said:

Yep, they tweeted me

DagsJT:
@CreativeLabs Thanks! Does the G5 provide surround sound for consoles or is it PC only?

Creative Labs
@DagsJT Virtual surround for both. Consoles are stereo virtual surround. Pc is native 7.1 virtual surround.

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helvetica bold said:

Exactly what is "Consoles are stereo virtual surround"?! ... Is that how the Mix Amp works, I think not. G5 major disappoint for this console owner. :angry_face:

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@everyone wondering what "stereo virtual surround" means...
Again, I haven't heard the device myself yet, but SBX has always had a stereo "upmix" feature to make 2.0 audio sound in headphones like as if the sound is coming from two speakers outside your earcups, positioned in front of you. So, all the "pinpoint accuracy" in the G5 advertisement comes from panning between L/R and does a decent job with movies (at least, I've grown up hearing movies from stereo speakers), BUT it can't distinguish if something is in front or behind you... Everything is positioned in front of you.

If you're used to true 2D or 3D audio that can emanate from any direction (hint, if you've ever been outside or had something behind you besides a wall sometime in your life), then pushing rear cues in front of you can be really confusing until you train your brain to stop listening in 3D. It throws me off. Some people adamantly prefer stereo though and feel things are more accurately positioned between that L to R line... Well this product's for them!

Again though, I'm not forgetting that PC gamers still get a full 2D or 3D surround device, or that the technical prowess of the amp and DAC way outperform an Astro or controller's headphone output, it's just "I" already spent less money on a Creative Omni and have that connected to $500 worth of DAC+Amp for my PC (Mac, actually).

dagsjt said:

I went for free shipping and eta of Thursday or Friday. Had an email advising it's been dispatched already and eta is Monday or Tuesday.

Got to say that I've had a great experience of Creative so far.

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Yeah, Creative usually does well by me too, ordering is simple and support is pretty good, they even replaced a unit for me because I said it wasn't performing as well as I'd expected (and the replacement was a bit better). And, I really like their product design, features, and surround processing, which is why I feel it's important to share feedback that I believe in them and I believe they can improve.

Recon3D USB + TPA6120A2 amp Chip + Cirrus CS4398 DAC Chip = WHOORAY!

Waiting in impressions. It will be a major bummer if it doesn't decode DD from PS4.

canthearyou said:

Waiting in impressions. It will be a major bummer if it doesn't decode DD from PS4.

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It doesn't. They've already confirmed it.

yethal said:

It doesn't. They've already confirmed it.

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That really sucks! Why would they even waste time on making this? I can't see them having many sales.

to make people buy the x7

I want the G5's lo/optical Feature and DTS Input then all is well

One would think a company would make a QUALITY all in one surround device. Especially one tailored for the GIANT and ever growing console market. I use Astro Mix MixAmp and enjoy its ease of use. But I do have to double amp with an o2. If Astro made a new MixAmp with line out I'd buy it.

That's the thing... The components in the G5 ARE QUALITY, they just skipped one feature (optical surround decoding. Or HDMI with video passthrough).