[jklimek]

Are there any good virtual surround sound options for playing Dolby Atmos (or DTS) on a PC with headphones?

I've just finished my first beginner/budget audiophile setup:

beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro (250 ohm)
Monoprice Liquid Spark Amplifier
Monoprice Liquid Spark DAC

So far I'm pretty happy. There is definitely a large difference from my motherboard audio.

However, I often watch movies on my PC that contain surround sound (Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby Atmos, etc). What is the best method for playback using virtual surround sound?

Is there anything even worth using?

I've just played a movie with my very old 5.1 PC speakers and I do enjoy that directional audio hearing sounds behind me, etc.

 

[Jumbotron]

I have tried quite a few options for getting surround sound with stereo headphones on my PC. All of them except one were software solutions. The only hardware device I have used for this purpose have been the external USB sound card Creative Sound Blaster X3, featuring Creative's Super X-FI technology. For watching movies it is good I guess, it enhances low frequency audio playback a lot from my experience.

But honestly, I do not think any of the solutions I have tried can match a good home cinema setup. That said, many of them are decent enough and make a difference over plain stereo playback while watching a movie with headphones.



You might start with the free solutions.

Windows 10 features Windows Sonic for headphones for free. Although I doubt is good enough for watching a movie.

Another free solution is Headphone Surround Virtualization (HeSuVi) for Equalizer APO. But this solution needs some configuration from the user. You need to install Equalizer APO first. Then you can install HeSuVi itself.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/equalizerapo/

https://sourceforge.net/projects/hesuvi/

In the two pages above you can find everything you need to install and configure the two.



Personally I bought recently both Dolby Atmos for headphones and DTS Headphone:X, both for Windows 10. I use one or the other depending on the type of audio tracks of the movie I am watching. They are not very expensive.



Lastly, I should mention the hardware solution that it is said the best ever: The Smyth Realiser A16. I have not tried it. It is very, very expensive and it is not plug and play. It requires some work from the user to get the best of it as I understand it.

Hope it helps.


EDIT: I should also mention other two software solutions. They are not free.

Waves NX app for Windows is pretty good and is not expensive. https://www.waves.com/nx/apps

Boom 3D is also very interesting and not expensive. https://www.globaldelight.com/boom/