[jfourc]

So, I went ahead and got the STX from ewiz, and it should be coming soon. I was about to get the Forte, but I feel that the STX will be better for me as a headphone user even though the Forte might be better for gaming (I don't care for EAX either with the way things are trending). I'm actually very interested to see how well the Essence's Dolby Headphone will perform. I've heard very mixed reviews on it, and I'll post my own thoughts on it when I get a chance to try it out for a bit. Thanks again for everyone's input!

 

[ROBSCIX]

Dolby Headphone is great for movies and gaming and it does a excpetiona job of virtualizing 5.1 to headphones. Let us know what you think we you get the card...

 

[twhtpclover]

Dolby Headphone is still by far the best implimentation of the HRTF IMO.
BUT again, it's down to personal taste and very subjective...

 

[genclaymore]

Rob it also does a good job of virtualizing 7.1 to headphones which I have setup for my gaming and movies.

 

[chinesekiwi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX /img/forum/go_quote.gif Dolby Headphone is great for movies and gaming and it does a excpetiona job of virtualizing 5.1 to headphones. Let us know what you think we you get the card...

Particularly convincing with DVD/files that have Dolby 5.1 encoded audio data with it. Very nice, even with some docos I have!
Not as convincing with video files that don't have that data.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by genclaymore /img/forum/go_quote.gif Rob it also does a good job of virtualizing 7.1 to headphones which I have setup for my gaming and movies.

AFAIK, DH is only for 5.1. I have never heard 7.1 sound from DH.

Here is some info: Dolby Headphone

 

[jfourc]

So, I got the card yesterday, but I haven't really had a chance to try it out (the Cavs Magic game was too good to miss!). Music definitely sounds great going through my amp from the RCA out - the soundstage has really opened up, highs and lows are much more defined. But that's to be expected. Haven't really had a chance to try it out for movies and gaming.

Thanks for the tip about 5.1 sound for DH ROB. Your review on the card was also very informative.

There is one negative that I wished I had known about - if you go out through the RCA out, you CAN'T get Dolby Headphone - only if you go out through the card's headphone amp. I read a substantial number of reviews on it, but I guess I either missed it or that the reviewers never brought it up. This is unfortunate since I want to use my external h/p amp. I did try turning on Dolby Virtual Speaker, but it treats sound differently from DH, and I didn't really like it too much for the couple games and movies I tried. When I plugged in my HD650 directly into the card's h/p amp, DH sounded much better. I'll report more on the card when I get a chance to try it out more in depth.

 

[jfourc]

flaky wi-fi connection here made me double post, sorry

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfourc /img/forum/go_quote.gif So, I got the card yesterday, but I haven't really had a chance to try it out (the Cavs Magic game was too good to miss!). Music definitely sounds great going through my amp from the RCA out - the soundstage has really opened up, highs and lows are much more defined. But that's to be expected. Haven't really had a chance to try it out for movies and gaming. Thanks for the tip about 5.1 sound for DH ROB. Your review on the card was also very informative. There is one negative that I wished I had known about - if you go out through the RCA out, you CAN'T get Dolby Headphone - only if you go out through the card's headphone amp. I read a substantial number of reviews on it, but I guess I either missed it or that the reviewers never brought it up. This is unfortunate since I want to use my external h/p amp. I did try turning on Dolby Virtual Speaker, but it treats sound differently from DH, and I didn't really like it too much for the couple games and movies I tried. When I plugged in my HD650 directly into the card's h/p amp, DH sounded much better. I'll report more on the card when I get a chance to try it out more in depth.

Yes, your not alone on that suggestion. It has been mentioned to the right people. A temp fix, depeding on what player you use you may be able to get a Dolby Headphone wrapper. Which will allow similar imaging through line outs. There are ways to get this effects working with different Audio/vidoe players.
Hope this helps.

 

[jfourc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, your not alone on that suggestion. It has been mentioned to the right people. A temp fix, depeding on what player you use you may be able to get a Dolby Headphone wrapper. Which will allow similar imaging through line outs. There are ways to get this effects working with different Audio/vidoe players. Hope this helps.

Thanks again Rob. Hopefully there is a driver/software update soon that includes the ability to turn on DH for the RCA out. It seems silly that they don't have the option right now for it...

I don't like DH for music. I guess there's nothing I can do right now for playing games in terms of having DH available except for plugging my phones into the amp directly. However, I'll look into some video player options. Right now I'm using VLC, any suggestions for a way to get DH effects working for it, or is there another video player that's good for playing dvd/bluray rips?

 

[genclaymore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX /img/forum/go_quote.gif AFAIK, DH is only for 5.1. I have never heard 7.1 sound from DH. Here is some info: Dolby Headphone

I know butit still some how works very good for 7.1 because i tried 5.1 and 7.1 back and forth and I 7.1 sounded better to me.