[gorman]

How good is this algorithm? Does it really manage to convey positional audio?

I bought an extension cable to use my UE-10 at home, while I play with my Xbox at night. But in this way I totally lose the surround effect.

Is this Dolby Headphone really working?

 

[mulveling]

A few weeks ago I compared WinDVD 6's standard 2-ch downmixing to its Dolby Headphone algorithm. DH sounded much better, but personally I didn't get the impression of real surround sound:

Quote:

I downloaded the trial WinDVD 6.0 last night to audition DH (Dolby Headphone) processing. I used "The Fellowship of the Ring" EE DVD; DH was processing set to 2 (for simulation of a medium sized room). My audio chain was: WinDVD 6 w/ DH -> Turtle beach santa cruz (not a great card but adequate for this comparison) / digital coax out -> Bel Canto DAC2 -> Gilmore V2 headphone amp -> Sennheiser HD650 (I have better stuff but didn't feel like waiting for the tubes to warm up ). Unlike some of the binaural samples I've heard, it did not instantly blow me away with an "outside of the head" experience - it was still obvious that I was listening to headphones. Nonetheless, it was a vast improvement over the standard downmixing method. The components of sound had much better spacial separation and a much more realistic placement, even though staging was still largely within the head. Dialog was especially well separated from the background sounds and effects. Of perhaps greatest significance, the LFE channel that's AWOL in the standard downmix seemed to be present with DH - at least the bass was more visceral and had more body & depth. With standard downmixing, the individual sounds tend to glob together towards the center of the head, and the overall balance is bright, dry, and analytical due to the absensce of the LFE channel. It lacks the ability to really convey the emotion and energy of a good 5.1 DD track. DH processing largely rectifies these issues.

Recently, for movies I've been using a Denon DVD-2910 -> Bel Canto DAC2 -> RKV MkII -> HD650, and even with the Denon's non-DH 2-ch downmixing, this setup sounds much better than what I remember from my WinDVD DH trial (still no impression of SS, of course). I'll need to make a more direct comparison to be sure, though. The Denon must be a vastly superior transport to my PC's TBSC card, and I don't trust WinDVD to not screw up the audio. I'd bet a good standalone DH processor w/ digital I/O (which I haven't found yet) would handily beat the Denon's downmixer.

Overall, I'd say DH is a great algorithm that is a nice improvement over standard 5.1 downmixing methods, but it needs to be used in conjunction with quality audio components for best results. It's not a substitute for quality components.

 

[Flea Bag]

Dolby heaphone and similar binaural equipment/softwares are still quite new but I don't believe it takes fantastic equipment to sound great. I've heard very realistic sounds coming from my humble laptop and my HD280 which seems to do it better than the HD600.

Why it may not sound so realistic is more likely to be due to the fact that everyone's HRTF are different. Basically, the engineer formulates the HRTF to suit his/her own preference. However, because Dolby Headphone is intended to be a global standard, I believe the HRTF curves they use are likely to be the best compromise for most people.

Jack of all trades and master of none if you will. I only know of the AKG Hearo to have 10 different HRTF settings. Still, it's early days and many features are still missing on many binaural products. I can't wait for the 'ideal' equipment to pop up!

 

[WmAx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flea Bag Jack of all trades and master of none if you will. I only know of the AKG Hearo to have 10 different HRTF settings. Still, it's early days and many features are still missing on many binaural products. I can't wait for the 'ideal' equipment to pop up!

I wish I still had the link...but a company developed a DSP device that had some sort of user-cal feature where it figures out your optimal HRTF with a series of tests. In addition, the DSP has 5.1 input and a positional sensor that sticks to the top of your headphone band and changes position of the soundfiled to remain stabile despite your head movement. If only I could remember where that link is....

-Chris

 

[devwild]

I recently bought a receiver with DH support, and I have to say, with my HD280 or my 595, the sound is very nice. By no means should you expect perfect surround sound, it just isn't possible. But it does add a lot of depth of field to the audio without messing up the quality like some PC game card solutions (Creative).

At least, you can tell the difference between front to back and back to front movement in the audio with your eyes closed (the effect is strengthenned by your mind when watching movies), even if it doesn't sound like it's quite behind you or beside you when it should if you were in the environment.

I would agree with most reviewers that it is the next best thing to surround. It is far from perfect, but it is also far better than just listening to stereo output through headphones for movies and console games which support 5.1.

One thing that surprised me- Turning on DH is actually pleasant for some music, particularly anything that tends to put a lot of pressure on your skull when listening to it with headphones, because it pulls the source material forward and makes it sound like you are listening through speakers or live. You probably wouldn't want to do this for serious listening obviously, but for casual listening it could be *much* more comfortable after a couple hours.

dev*

 

[MuzlL0dr]

I second (third, fourth?) the about comments. Not a true replacement, but I have to admit that one time I did actually look over my shoulder without thinking because I heard something that was coming from that direction in a movie. It's far from flawless, but far from bad. Dolby has done their homework.

 

[Annihilator]

I think DH is great. For me it works extremely well for making things sound like I'm listening to speakers, not headphones. It removes any kind of fatigue I have since things just sound so much more natural.

 

[NuTT98]

DH does not match Steinberg's headphone emulation. No surprise there, DH is consumer, Steinberg's implementation is pro and costs hundreds of dollars bundled. I'm using it as we speak, and it is without much doubt the best headphone processing solution available to date. It's not perfect unfortunately, the positional aspect is still something to be left to the imaginaton.

 

[Flea Bag]

Quote:

Originally Posted by WmAx I wish I still had the link...but a company developed a DSP device that had some sort of user-cal feature where it figures out your optimal HRTF with a series of tests. In addition, the DSP has 5.1 input and a positional sensor that sticks to the top of your headphone band and changes position of the soundfiled to remain stabile despite your head movement. If only I could remember where that link is.... -Chris

WmAx, that's very interesting. I'll do a search. Do you have any futher clues as to where I should look or any keywords? I'm thinking of upgrading my amp but the DSP you mention takes higher priority.

 

[aos]

I found DH to be great. If you're using computer to watch DVDs and use a good soundcard (or external DAC + amp), then it's a great way to enjoy movies. Definitely worth shelling out extra $20 or so for (most software
DVD players require extra payment for that feature, due to licensing
costs). I haven't used it much myself though, as I have full 5.1
speaker setup home theatre.

 

[fjhuerta]

Every time I listen to Dolby Headphone I'm blown away...

But, then again, I have my Sennheiser Surrounder for those times I want my "personal surround space".

 

[fyrfytrhoges]

i love the pioneer dolby surround headphone setup i have, would not give it up for nothin.....