halcyon
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2002
- Posts
- 1,877
- Likes
- 283
EAX doesn't help in positioning.
It's an environmental effects engine.
This means that you get a big hall reverb when you are in a big hall inside the game, IF the game supports EAX and the game developer has encoded the hall to to have the appropriate environmental effect (and your sound card supports EAX).
What helps in positioning in CSS is CMSS3D that X-Fi line of soundcards offers.
This algorith does not need game support.
It takes the input of a multichannel sound (DirectSound3D) from a game and mixes it to headphones using a generic HRTF approach.
I use it all the time in CSS as follows:
1) 5.1 speakers selected in CSS as sound output
2) 5.1 speakers selected in Windows Control panel as sound output
3) Headphones selected in X-Fi Creative Console Launcher as output and with CMSS3D ON
This way 5.1 channels of discrete game sounds get mixed into headphone sounds with enhanced 3D positioning using just normal stereo headphones.
It works ok, but is not perfect.
What it improves most is front-to-back localisation, which is still not that great, btw. But you learn to use it as a cue by playing with it.
Some pet annoyances are too enhanced close vs distant volume muffling.
As for EAX, I can activate it on the sound card, but I don't think CSS has any EAX in it, so it doesn't use the functionality in the sound card.
It's an environmental effects engine.
This means that you get a big hall reverb when you are in a big hall inside the game, IF the game supports EAX and the game developer has encoded the hall to to have the appropriate environmental effect (and your sound card supports EAX).
What helps in positioning in CSS is CMSS3D that X-Fi line of soundcards offers.
This algorith does not need game support.
It takes the input of a multichannel sound (DirectSound3D) from a game and mixes it to headphones using a generic HRTF approach.
I use it all the time in CSS as follows:
1) 5.1 speakers selected in CSS as sound output
2) 5.1 speakers selected in Windows Control panel as sound output
3) Headphones selected in X-Fi Creative Console Launcher as output and with CMSS3D ON
This way 5.1 channels of discrete game sounds get mixed into headphone sounds with enhanced 3D positioning using just normal stereo headphones.
It works ok, but is not perfect.
What it improves most is front-to-back localisation, which is still not that great, btw. But you learn to use it as a cue by playing with it.
Some pet annoyances are too enhanced close vs distant volume muffling.
As for EAX, I can activate it on the sound card, but I don't think CSS has any EAX in it, so it doesn't use the functionality in the sound card.