SilverfoxAlpha
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2014
- Posts
- 15
- Likes
- 10
Hello,
I used to be a console gamer but recently made the move to PC, instead of moving my audio stuff back and forth, I figured I should get a dedicated setup for my PC. What I have on my PS4 is the Astro A40 Set, with the headset and the mixamp connected with optical cable to the PS4, and I've been very happy with this. This being my first experience of gaming with surround sound and decent headset, it was a brand new world for me. I'm sure there are better things out there, but I was wowed by the ability to position enemies by sound and the general immersion it gave me.
So yesterday I bought a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD USB external soundcard, as well as Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO (80 ohm version) headphones, assuming that this would be even better than the sound I get on my PS4. I figured it'd be the same thing, except even better positioning and a fuller more detailed soundscape with the same or even better immersion. Unfortunately, this is not the case. I got the surround sound working properly so in terms of ability to position enemies it's not too bad. But where the A40s make me feel like I'm just "inside" the gameworld, with the PC setup I can clearly feel that the sound is comming from cups I'm wearing around my ears, and the audio seems "flatter" than on my PS4. While I can position things in the gameworld, I'm still conscious of the fact that the sound is comming out of the cups, and the sounds themselves seem more synthetic and harsher than the the A40s on my PS4. So there is very little immersion, and it just sounds "wrong".
I've been using the creative entertainment console thing, and turned on all the SBX effects, upped the surround balance from 40% to 60%, and these things help (without them its really absurd) but the quality and immersion is still nowhere near what I get on PS4 with A40s. If it's of any consequence, the game I'm using for comparison is BF4 whcih I have on both platforms.
So is it a question of the components? Because DT770PRO should be superior to the A40s headset, as should the SoundBlaster X-fi HD be superior to the Astro Mixamp. Is it a software thing? Am I configuring it wrong in the software, or is it something in windows?
By the way, I'm using a clean 1-day old installation of windows 8.1.
I used to be a console gamer but recently made the move to PC, instead of moving my audio stuff back and forth, I figured I should get a dedicated setup for my PC. What I have on my PS4 is the Astro A40 Set, with the headset and the mixamp connected with optical cable to the PS4, and I've been very happy with this. This being my first experience of gaming with surround sound and decent headset, it was a brand new world for me. I'm sure there are better things out there, but I was wowed by the ability to position enemies by sound and the general immersion it gave me.
So yesterday I bought a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD USB external soundcard, as well as Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO (80 ohm version) headphones, assuming that this would be even better than the sound I get on my PS4. I figured it'd be the same thing, except even better positioning and a fuller more detailed soundscape with the same or even better immersion. Unfortunately, this is not the case. I got the surround sound working properly so in terms of ability to position enemies it's not too bad. But where the A40s make me feel like I'm just "inside" the gameworld, with the PC setup I can clearly feel that the sound is comming from cups I'm wearing around my ears, and the audio seems "flatter" than on my PS4. While I can position things in the gameworld, I'm still conscious of the fact that the sound is comming out of the cups, and the sounds themselves seem more synthetic and harsher than the the A40s on my PS4. So there is very little immersion, and it just sounds "wrong".
I've been using the creative entertainment console thing, and turned on all the SBX effects, upped the surround balance from 40% to 60%, and these things help (without them its really absurd) but the quality and immersion is still nowhere near what I get on PS4 with A40s. If it's of any consequence, the game I'm using for comparison is BF4 whcih I have on both platforms.
So is it a question of the components? Because DT770PRO should be superior to the A40s headset, as should the SoundBlaster X-fi HD be superior to the Astro Mixamp. Is it a software thing? Am I configuring it wrong in the software, or is it something in windows?
By the way, I'm using a clean 1-day old installation of windows 8.1.
