I've been lurking around for a bit now, but I've got a question.
I picked up an Omni to replace my motherboard for sound duties. ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3, Realtek ALC892 (that I've "unlocked" for Dolby Digital Live output).
First, all my hardware being: AKG k712, Astro Mixamp 2013, Schiit Vali (console friendly, just now expanding into PC audio). I'll add a TL
Now, I was going from onboard to my mixamp via DDL optical for Dolby Headphone, and while this is fantastic I need to try the other formats myself since it is different for everyone.
Now, I figured I wouldn't need to use the mixamp, and just go from Omni to amp then mah ears.
Only I don't quite understand the "correct" way to setup the Omni, so I just tried every thing. I'll touch on my experience with optical vs analog in a second, but it applies here too.
Windows @ 5.1, Omni @ 5.1
Windows @ 5.1, Omni @ headphones
Windows @ 5.1, Omni @ 5.1 (extra speakers unchecked, so only front L/R)
Windows @ 5.1 (extra speakers unchecked), Omni @ headphones
Windows @ 5.1 (extra speakers unchecked), Omni @ 5.1 (extra speakers unchecked)
I had SBX enabled (surround checked) on all of these, no other settings enabled, and set to 100 for a quick test.
To me, Windows set to 5.1 and Omni set to headphones produced the best results.
I tried using stereo instead of headphones, but changing in either the Omni or Windows setting for stereo vs headphones will appropriately change the other as well, so I clearly can't use this option as it won't let games output surround for SBX to process properly.
Now, the above was all done with using the two RCA jacks on the Omni going straight to my amp, I was not using the headphone or line-out ports. Everything soundded great, positionally, except the quality was.... muffled, for lack of a better word, and bass was completely absent like I was hearing nothing but high mids. No ammound of playing with EQ settings would get it to sound right.
Now I connected the optical cable to my mixamp (not using DH button).
First thing I did was go to the cinematic tab in the Omni control panel and check the box that routes all analog audio through spdif.
Now we're talking, sound is back to sounding like it should, except I don't think SBX is working now.
I didn't enable Dolby Digital Live, as I WANT 2.0 audio from the Omni; I want that SBX processed stereo track and not a compressed 5.1 to use with the mixamp's Dolby Headphone button (Which does work this way but I don't want to use DH at the moment).
Using The same setting I thought sounded the best for analog (Windows @ 5.1 and Omni set to headphones) and having the Omni send that signal through optical, does not have the same results. No matter which configuration of the above setups, and both with and without Dolby Digital Live output enabled, I cannot get any SBX processing.
Sometimes I think I hear it, it is nothing like it was with analog.
So could someone please walk this dummy by the hand, please? I remember reading somewhere that using the headphone out or line-out only gave you SBX processed 2 channel audio instead of SBX virtual surround (please bear with my wording, I'm terrible. Only trying to describe a difference between SBX virtual surround and SBX 2ch, which as much as I've read here and elsewhere is different).
And I appreciate all the information here. It was fun experimenting with headphones before settling, thanks for all the comments for new people like myself.
And for giggles I enabled 5.1 DDL and ran both SBX and DH. Makes voices sound like they're in my room but everything else is just silly.
*Edit*
Forgot to finish my last line there.
Also, when using SBX with optical (Windows @ 5.1, Omni @headphones, SPDIF cloning, no DDL), sounds from anything except "front left/right" sound like someone is playing with a balance fader, they are CONSTANTLY moving back and forth. This is making me sick, it's exactly what one would hear if they were spinning around really really fast.