[Monstieur]

[?] How does Windows Sonic / Dolby Atmos play into people's settings on the PC? I use Dolby Atmos on the XBOX to output surround sound via the controller.

Sonic sets the mix format (the number of physical channels) to Stereo. Most applications incorrectly read this value and output only stereo. Only if the application correctly detects that the 7.1-channel format is still available (even though the mix format is Stereo) or lets you force 7.1-channel output, will Sonic downmix it correctly to stereo with HRTF. Sonic does not apply HRTF to stereo streams.

SBX works globally because the mix format is 7.1-channel. It applies HRTF to stereo streams which is undesirable. SBX on the desktop sound cards also apply phantom-channel HRTF to both stereo and multi-channel content on a multi-channel speaker system which is undesirable.

[?] In a game like Diablo III there is sometimes a Headphone / Dolby Pro Logic option. Would this offer better sound quality than the 7.1 option? Diablo III is specifically hard to decide simply because positional audio is almost always chaotic.

Set the mix format to Stereo, disable SBX / Sonic / Atmos, and use the in-game Headphone option. This is the correct way to do it because the only the game engine knows the exact coordinates of each sound for the HRTF. If you use SBX / Sonic / Atmos outside the game, the audio is first mixed to 7.1 channels (possibly with phantom-channel HRTF) by the game engine before being downmixed with HRTF once again.

 

[iL15hts]

Just wanted to stop by and say the E5 is working (so far) with the iPhone 8 Plus. There was a major issue with the iPhone 7 Plus and the E5 having all kinds of fun sounding distortion, skipping, etc. But so far it's working great. iPhone 8 Plus 256GB Verizon/Qualcomm version running iOS 11, E5 running the most recent firmware.

What firmware version exactly? I'm having issue with mi iPhone and iPad, when turning the volume knob the volume hud doesn't change. But the actual volume does.

 

[maddbomber83]

I found a workaround for the stereo balance reset. The input balance does not get reset. By setting the balance for line in and Bluetooth, volume is just fine mobile or with Xbox. The USB uses the output balance while connected to computer. While the output balance is reset when volume is adjusted, it is restored when reconnected to computer.

 

[tobold]

I just got the E5 and it's very noisy. I can hear the noise even over the music on my V-Moda M100s. No matter if I use USB or Bluetooth.

Is there some known fix for this, or am I gonna have to send it back?
And if I send it back, are they all so noisy or did I get a bad one and a replacement E5 would work better?

EDIT: Never mind! After installing the Sound Blaster software on my phone and playing around with the levels in the mixer it works fine now!
I guess by default the Bluetooth volume was pretty low, so I turned up the volume too much to even have normal volume on my headphones, which of course also brought the noise level up!
And here I thought I could just use it out of the box

 

[Monstieur]

It's a fledged sound card, not just a DAC, and sound cards have always had sub-optimal defaults out of the box. Manufacturers like to turn on their gimmick features that degrade sound quality, and even basic settings are incorrect.

 

[tobold]

It's a fledged sound card, not just a DAC, and sound cards have always had sub-optimal defaults out of the box. Manufacturers like to turn on their gimmick features that degrade sound quality, and even basic settings are incorrect.

Huh. I guess that makes sense, in a twisted way. This is my first Sound Blaster since the Windows XP days, I think

 

[illram]

Glad you got it working. VModa M100 + the E5 is my "travel" audiophile setup, love it.

 

[tobold]

Glad you got it working. VModa M100 + the E5 is my "travel" audiophile setup, love it.

No kidding! It sounds so much better than my phone's headphone jack, even over bluetooth!

 

[iL15hts]

My trustee on stage.

 

[trellus]

My trustee on stage.

Spoiler

That's a lot of technology on one stand.

 

[iL15hts]

Does anyone tried the new firmware update? I can't get mine to work it says it has the same build

 

[sumpao]

I have a question I try to find a solution for external soundcard for my ps4

I get a hook on this E5. But IT seem no Surround sound.

IS there any other option except astro mixamp I really don' want that option

 

[Monstieur]

I have a question I try to find a solution for external soundcard for my ps4

I get a hook on this E5. But IT seem no Surround sound.

IS there any other option except astro mixamp I really don' want that option

Practically every console game with surround has a headphone HRTF. The game engine can also encode height, which external sound cards cannot.

 

[sumpao]

Practically every console game with surround has a headphone HRTF. The game engine can also encode height, which external sound cards cannot.

Ok then you suggest e5 option alone on optical port is fine correct
I may be try this option

 

[Monstieur]

Ok then you suggest e5 option alone on optical port is fine correct
I may be try this option

Both USB and optical will work in stereo mode. It cannot decode Dolby / DTS. You must still use the headphone mode in-game.

You do not even need an amp unless you have an impedance mismatch with the Dualshock 4 controller's headphone output. It's good enough for most headphones.