[Yethal]

   
Like others have mention, yes, this will give you Dolby Headphone over optical, but if you're going to use a Modi as you DAC and Magni/Vali as the amp, then there is no reason to blow money on a STX.  Just get the much cheaper Asus U3 or DGX as you are only using the soundcard for the virtual surround processing, both will do Dolby Headphone over Optical out.
 
 
Be careful of this one.  Not all soundcards support WASAPI properly or they only work over certain output ports/jacks.  My X-Fi Titanium (non-HD) will freeze my Win7 box if I try to play music with a WASAPI driver over the SPDIF port (foobar2000 & MediaMonkey).  It will however work if I'm just using the standard headphone jack of the X-Fi (but the headphone jack is too weak for my AKG K702.65 and I don't want to double-amp).  Some other Creative cards will work with WASAPI over SPDIF but you will need to do your homework on which ones do and don't.

Interesting, When I set foobar to use WASAPI it runs fine over s/pdif even on realtek onboard

 

[NamelessPFG]

Like others have mention, yes, this will give you Dolby Headphone over optical, but if you're going to use a Modi as you DAC and Magni/Vali as the amp, then there is no reason to blow money on a STX.  Just get the much cheaper Asus U3 or DGX as you are only using the soundcard for the virtual surround processing, both will do Dolby Headphone over Optical out.


Be careful of this one.  Not all soundcards support WASAPI properly or they only work over certain output ports/jacks.  My X-Fi Titanium (non-HD) will freeze my Win7 box if I try to play music with a WASAPI driver over the SPDIF port (foobar2000 & MediaMonkey).  It will however work if I'm just using the standard headphone jack of the X-Fi (but the headphone jack is too weak for my AKG K702.65 and I don't want to double-amp).  Some other Creative cards will work with WASAPI over SPDIF but you will need to do your homework on which ones do and don't.

Hmmm, I should test how well the Titanium HD handles that.

I personally use ASIO in Audio Creation Mode with bit-matched playback, or more likely, a particular OpenAL plugin for Winamp so I can bypass the Windows audio stack without switching out of Game Mode. X-Fi mode switching is a crapshoot sometimes, so I prefer to avoid it.

Then again, I just don't like how WASAPI exclusive mode mutes everything else. The other two APIs don't do that.

 

[Stillhart]

Hmmm, I should test how well the Titanium HD handles that.

I personally use ASIO in Audio Creation Mode with bit-matched playback, or more likely, a particular OpenAL plugin for Winamp so I can bypass the Windows audio stack without switching out of Game Mode. X-Fi mode switching is a crapshoot sometimes, so I prefer to avoid it.

Then again, I just don't like how WASAPI exclusive mode mutes everything else. The other two APIs don't do that.

Which Winamp plugin do you use?  I'm not a huge fan of the WASPI one I've been using, but I'd love a way to have the music bypass the processing.  Are you saying you can have your music playing with no processing WHILE other things are using the sound card with processing?

 

[NamelessPFG]

Which Winamp plugin do you use?  I'm not a huge fan of the WASPI one I've been using, but I'd love a way to have the music bypass the processing.  Are you saying you can have your music playing with no processing WHILE other things are using the sound card with processing?

I meant just bypassing the Windows audio stack and its imperfections while still being able to have a VoIP conversation with friends and whatnot.

This approach still wouldn't let me listen to a music player without CMSS-3D Headphone affecting it while playing a game, and in the OpenAL plugin case, I can't even run a game that uses hardware acceleration without sound conflicts between the two programs.

That sort of thing would probably require two separate audio devices, one dedicated to media players and NOT the default audio device, then a hardware mixer combines the two separate analog audio outputs into one before it hits your amp and headphones or speakers.

 

[Stillhart]

I meant just bypassing the Windows audio stack and its imperfections while still being able to have a VoIP conversation with friends and whatnot.

This approach still wouldn't let me listen to a music player without CMSS-3D Headphone affecting it while playing a game, and in the OpenAL plugin case, I can't even run a game that uses hardware acceleration without sound conflicts between the two programs.

That sort of thing would probably require two separate audio devices, one dedicated to media players and NOT the default audio device, then a hardware mixer combines the two separate analog audio outputs into one before it hits your amp and headphones or speakers.

Translation:  stick with WASPI.  lol

 

[AvroArrow]

   
Interesting, I didn't know that.  Well for the record, it works fine with my Sound Blaster Omni, Win 7, Winamp/Foobar (both work), over SPDIF.

Yup, I've read that WASAPI over SPDIF works on the SB Omni and it works on the USB X-Fi Surround 5.1 (non-Pro), just not on my X-Fi Titanium. 
 

  Interesting, When I set foobar to use WASAPI it runs fine over s/pdif even on realtek onboard

 
WASAPI over SPDIF works perfectly fine on 3 different Realtek onboards that I have tried (ALC888, 889, 892).
 

Hmmm, I should test how well the Titanium HD handles that.

I personally use ASIO in Audio Creation Mode with bit-matched playback, or more likely, a particular OpenAL plugin for Winamp so I can bypass the Windows audio stack without switching out of Game Mode. X-Fi mode switching is a crapshoot sometimes, so I prefer to avoid it.

Then again, I just don't like how WASAPI exclusive mode mutes everything else. The other two APIs don't do that.

 
I also tried the native Creative ASIO and ASIO4ALL drivers, as well as all 3 different modes (Game, Entertainment, Audio Creation) and ASIO or WASAPI over SPDIF will always freeze my Win7 rig.  Currently I'm running X-Fi Ti headphone jack> Fiio E09k> headphones for gaming and onboard Realtek SPDIF>AudioEngine D1> Asgard 2> headphones for music.  I don't like running 2 separate chains of gear with all that stuff on my desk but it's the only way for me to maximize the audio fidelity of the gear I have.

 

[Evshrug]

Duly noted.

Dragon's Crown aside, I'm kinda feeling in a Battlefield mood right now, but I really don't want to go pub-diving like I used to without any friends on voice chat backing me up.

I'm thinking of giving BF3 PC multiplayer a chance for once, but it sounds like everyone's already moved to BF4.

BF4 will probably satisfy you more. Plus, the Premium subscription has a Carrier Assault mode much like the Titan mode you loved in BF 2147, and a mode strictly for Air to Air battles.

I really am giving it a try, but it's still the same game, and still encourages the same... stuff I didn't like about the last one.

 

[Yethal]

BF4 will probably satisfy you more. Plus, the Premium subscription has a Carrier Assault mode much like the Titan mode you loved in BF 2147, and a mode strictly for Air to Air battles.

I really am giving it a try, but it's still the same game, and still encourages the same... stuff I didn't like about the last one.

The incoming September patch is supposed to bring big changes to the multiplayer

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

One thing people need to understand here: MANY TELEVISIONS WILL NOT OUTPUT DOLBY DIGITAL THROUGH THEIR OPTICAL OUTPUT JACK

99% of the time, you will NOT be able to get surround to your devices if they're hooked up to the TVs digital out. The only time you will is through the TV tuner and possibly, it's apps.

Now, not ALL tvs abide by this, and some do pass Dolby Digital from other devices. Just do NOT gamble on this.

 

[NamelessPFG]

Xbox 360 can be used as well but the Wii U won't work, it doesn't support dilby digital live audio standard used by the mixamp, it will only output stereo. Yes, both the PS3 and PS4 can output 7.1 sound but not in the format that the Mixamp uses. For mixamp set all Your consoles to output Dolby Digital Live

 
The Wii U's problem is that it has no S/PDIF output. It's either HDMI audio with LPCM 7.1 or RCA with optional Dolby Pro Logic II encoding (that the Mixamp can decode into 5.1 on its RCA inputs for Dolby Headphone to work with), as I understand it.
 
What we really need is a Mixamp sort of device with HDMI input and video passthrough so we don't have to put up with the bulk of a whole A/V receiver just for Dolby Headphone mixing and still find ourselves devoid of voice chat mixing. Might not matter so much for the other consoles, but I know there will be a Wii U in my future after what they showed off at E3 2014.
 
Right now, the ONLY such device I know of is the Smyth Realiser A8, and that actually lacks S/PDIF and Dolby/DTS decoding in addition to being cost-prohibitive for the vast majority of users and still lacking voice chat mixing.

 

[D126]

   
Like others have mention, yes, this will give you Dolby Headphone over optical, but if you're going to use a Modi as you DAC and Magni/Vali as the amp, then there is no reason to blow money on a STX.  Just get the much cheaper Asus U3 or DGX as you are only using the soundcard for the virtual surround processing, both will do Dolby Headphone over Optical out.
 
 
Be careful of this one.  Not all soundcards support WASAPI properly or they only work over certain output ports/jacks.  My X-Fi Titanium (non-HD) will freeze my Win7 box if I try to play music with a WASAPI driver over the SPDIF port (foobar2000 & MediaMonkey).  It will however work if I'm just using the standard headphone jack of the X-Fi (but the headphone jack is too weak for my AKG K702.65 and I don't want to double-amp).  Some other Creative cards will work with WASAPI over SPDIF but you will need to do your homework on which ones do and don't.

I already have a Xonar DX. I find it truly annoying that the Optical Out and Mic In share the same port - otherwise I'd be good to go...

 

[Yethal]

One thing people need to understand here: MANY TELEVISIONS WILL NOT OUTPUT DOLBY DIGITAL THROUGH THEIR OPTICAL OUTPUT JACK

99% of the time, you will NOT be able to get surround to your devices if they're hooked up to the TVs digital out. The only time you will is through the TV tuner and possibly, it's apps.

Now, not ALL tvs abide by this, and some do pass Dolby Digital from other devices. Just do NOT gamble on this.

Is there a way to test this aside from unplugging everything and plugging it into the tv?
 
Quote:

   
The Wii U's problem is that it has no S/PDIF output. It's either HDMI audio with LPCM 7.1 or RCA with optional Dolby Pro Logic II encoding (that the Mixamp can decode into 5.1 on its RCA inputs for Dolby Headphone to work with), as I understand it.
 
What we really need is a Mixamp sort of device with HDMI input and video passthrough so we don't have to put up with the bulk of a whole A/V receiver just for Dolby Headphone mixing and still find ourselves devoid of voice chat mixing. Might not matter so much for the other consoles, but I know there will be a Wii U in my future after what they showed off at E3 2014.
 
Right now, the ONLY such device I know of is the Smyth Realiser A8, and that actually lacks S/PDIF and Dolby/DTS decoding in addition to being cost-prohibitive for the vast majority of users and still lacking voice chat mixing.

There is also a whole line of marantz receivers. Which are enormous in size, have bazillion functions headphone gamers do not need and are also expensive. As far as I remember there was a petition for Fiio to make such a product. I don't know how it ended though

  I already have a Xonar DX. I find it truly annoying that the Optical Out and Mic In share the same port - otherwise I'd be good to go...

Try plugging 4 - pole splitter into the headphone jack, I've seen some laptops that had s/pdif inside mic jack and hybrid jack for headphones

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Find a game that you can test for virtual surround easily. with your Mixamp-esque device Do a few rotations or find some source of sound that you can spin around and hear coming from around you. The difference between Dolby Digital being passed through and it being just downscaled to 2 channel PCM is night and day.

 

[martin vegas]

BF4 will probably satisfy you more. Plus, the Premium subscription has a Carrier Assault mode much like the Titan mode you loved in BF 2147, and a mode strictly for Air to Air battles.

I really am giving it a try, but it's still the same game, and still encourages the same... stuff I didn't like about the last one.

You need a good gun Evshrug..Ace 23 playing has medic is a good one to start with put a angled grip and laser with a red dot sight on and give yourself health and you should do quite good in a round!

 

[Yethal]

Well, Kojima's PT is out might test with that. I tried it out at night and the positional cues were great.