[SierraMadre]

Thanks, hopefully I wasn’t implying that. I was just saying it’s fine for my needs. To me, it’s just not that big a deal.

If you are playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider on XBox or PC and have an Atmos for headphone licence, then you’d be better off using Atmos for headphone and leaving Dirac off (if you are using the THX) and SBX off (if you are using the G6) as Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the very few games that has an Atmos soundtrack. It’s the only way you’ll get Atmos height cues in VSS form from SoTR.

 

[ronfifer]

CFGamescape, I do get that surround effect of the waterfall that you described just by selecting Spatial Audio in game settings and activate Dolby Atmos for Headphones in Windows. No other AMPs or 3rd party hardware involved and using on-board Realtek sound card.

Got my HD800s for my summit fi open back gaming needs. Now I’m looking for a closed back equivalent. Want something with great imaging and good (for a closed back) soundstage. I want something comfortable and non fatiguing, more for a great immersive experience. Warm, impactful and detailed but not too sharp, harsh or bright in the treble.

Z1R (leaning heavily towards these)
Ether C Flow/CX

or something similar.

I am definitely curious what you end up choosing; those are my exact criteria for the next closed-back purchase. I also have the Denon AH-D7200 on the list.

 

[CFGamescape]

CFGamescape, I do get that surround effect of the waterfall that you described just by selecting Spatial Audio in game settings and activate Dolby Atmos for Headphones in Windows. No other AMPs or 3rd party hardware involved and using on-board Realtek sound card.

Cool, I’ll check it out. I admit that I haven’t spent too much time with the game, so I didn’t even bother what sound settings it has (oops). I was just using it as an example of what I experienced when toggling between DIRAC and no DIRAC with the THX 788.

 

[CFGamescape]

If you are playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider on XBox or PC and have an Atmos for headphone licence, then you’d be better off using Atmos for headphone and leaving Dirac off (if you are using the THX) and SBX off (if you are using the G6) as Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the very few games that has an Atmos soundtrack. It’s the only way you’ll get Atmos height cues in VSS form from SoTR.

I didn’t even know you could get an Atmos license. I’ll check that out. Thanks.

I do have to have to reiterate that my post above was more to do with me accepting the use of the THX 788 as a good-enough-as-is-for-gaming DAC/amp. I’m happy that it replaced the G6 as it gives me more options for headphones and other audio experiences, not just gaming.

It seems my apathy towards this subject has triggered some valid information that will improve my gaming audio with my hardware that I was unaware of.

 

[Playstation]

What does everyone think about the Behringer and Fosi brands for desktop dac/amps?

 

[Fegefeuer]

Didn't find the staging of the D7200 something to write home about, particularly depth. Impressions are a few years back though. Despite a slight treble peak it was a fairly good listen though. TH-900 is less balanced and worse in the treble tonality wise with that hotness but staging and imaging is quite superior. Much better gaming can. Both are not very isolating though.

T5P 2nd Gen also comes with great staging and imaging properties. Classic Beyer. Timbre is off though, can also come off as metallic.

 

[Zerufos]

Has anyone had any experience with the MrSpeakers Aeon Flow and pairing them with the G6? I’m really considering pulling the trigger and pairing them with a modmic.

 

[Lay.]

I didn’t even know you could get an Atmos license. I’ll check that out. Thanks.

I do have to have to reiterate that my post above was more to do with me accepting the use of the THX 788 as a good-enough-as-is-for-gaming DAC/amp. I’m happy that it replaced the G6 as it gives me more options for headphones and other audio experiences, not just gaming.

It seems my apathy towards this subject has triggered some valid information that will improve my gaming audio with my hardware that I was unaware of.

Does THX 788 have optical input? That way you could use G6 and VSS optical out --> THX 788 --> Headphones for gaming.

USB --> THX 788 for music etc.

 

[CFGamescape]

Does THX 788 have optical input? That way you could use G6 and VSS optical out --> THX 788 --> Headphones for gaming.

USB --> THX 788 for music etc.

It does have an optical input, and it's something I've considered doing, but I rather keep my setup simplified (i.e., one unit for all). If I have time, I may tinker. I did just purchase the Atmos license and am trying it out.

 

[CFGamescape]

Here's a dumb question. If I have Atmos enabled in Windows, do I enable or disable it in-game, like Overwatch?

 

[Celty]

Does THX 788 have optical input? That way you could use G6 and VSS optical out --> THX 788 --> Headphones for gaming.

USB --> THX 788 for music etc.

There ya go

 

[Chastity]

Here's a dumb question. If I have Atmos enabled in Windows, do I enable or disable it in-game, like Overwatch?

For best results, you enable Atmos in Overwatch, and turn on Dolby Access. This will decode Atmos, and give you the surround HRTF.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Let's clear a confusion (for the reader) again:

DIRAC SENSAROUND II can NOT be better than G6, in fact it can NOT even be as accurate as G6.

G6 can take in discrete 7.1 multichannel input. That contains positional audio information from 7 directions.

DIRAC SENSAURAND II inside Monolith THX only takes in 2-channel stereo sound.

No amount of trickery can somehow recreate 7-channels of diretional sound from that.

It may sound "nice" and "enveloping" and "smooth" but for positinal 3D accuracy it is worse.

As Per Monolith THX amp manual:

"multichannel audio signals.... are not supported".

THis is a common misunderstanding in 3D gaming positional audio algos.

Stereo INPUT cannot re-create multichannel sound positional cues.

Only multichannel input can.

Well that's not ENTIRELY true. Mostly true, yes.

But Dolby Pro Logic II can matrix in convincing surround from two channel sources.

The Nintendo Wii had PLII and you can get good virtual surround from that. Not as good as a native 5.1 source, but definitely much better than a linear 2ch.

But yes, in general, you're correct.

PLII is old tech more or less isn't used today. Which is a shame.

 

[ronfifer]

Didn't find the staging of the D7200 something to write home about, particularly depth. Impressions are a few years back though. Despite a slight treble peak it was a fairly good listen though. TH-900 is less balanced and worse in the treble tonality wise with that hotness but staging and imaging is quite superior. Much better gaming can. Both are not very isolating though.

T5P 2nd Gen also comes with great staging and imaging properties. Classic Beyer. Timbre is off though, can also come off as metallic.

Then what is your absolute favorite closed-back for gaming?

 

[SierraMadre]

Here's a dumb question. If I have Atmos enabled in Windows, do I enable or disable it in-game, like Overwatch?

For best results, you enable Atmos in Overwatch, and turn on Dolby Access. This will decode Atmos, and give you the surround HRTF.

For games where there is a pre-mixed Atmos for headphone audio option in the game’s settings (of which Overwatch is one AFAIK), no Dolby Access licence is required. Where the user also already has a Dolby Access licence, it should be one on and one off, not both on.

Broadly speaking there are two types of Atmos for headphones: ad hoc and pre-mixed.

Ad hoc

Ad hoc is where the Atmos for headphone algorithm is applied by the host system (Xbox or PC) to convert a true Atmos surround audio feed into Atmos for headphone or a standard 5.1/7.1 Dolby surround or PCM surround feed into what is essentially the latest iteration of Dolby headphone virtual surround. (As for a 5.1/7.1 DTS surround feed, can’t remember. I think probably, but if not, then DTS Sound Unbound would work anyway).

In the case of the former, my experience is that games and other media content with true Atmos soundtracks offer fairly convincing height effects/cues when converted into Atmos for headphones.
In the latter case of application to a conventional surround mix, my experience is that Atmos for headphone has better depth projection than traditional Dolby headphone but the supposed upmixing to create virtual height cues and 360 3D effects is slight if there at all (after all, there would be no such cues/effects in the original mix). YMMV here as some users such as MLE report little perceived benefit from applying Atmos for headphone to conventional surround mixes so it will depend on your own HRTF.

In any case, the ad hoc method is done via the Dolby Access app. There is a free 14 or 30 day trial before you have to pay for a lifetime licence which is good for upto 10 registered devices. Just download it and follow the setup guide process. As the multichannel conversion happens at source (the Xbox or PC), whatever dac/amp you use would not need to decode or be able to decode multichannel as it is simply receiving a pre-Dolby-Atmos’d VSS stereo feed. If the game you are playing has multichannel speaker configuration options in its audio settings then you should set it to the highest channel configuration possible. Once done, or if the game has no such audio settings like Shadow of the Tomb Raider (which just means the game engine is looking to the Windows/Xbox system settings for multichannel configuration), then just activate Atmos for headphone in your system’s audio settings and you are good to go.


Pre-mixed

This is where Atmos for Headphone is available as a pre-converted / pre-mixed audio option in the game itself’s audio settings, meaning it’s been pre-mixed into the game’s audio engine by the devs themselves. In this case, you don’t need the Dolby Access app / licence. You just select Atmos for headphone from the game’s audio settings and ensure that all other VSS processing algorithms are turned off in your system settings and on any external dac/amp devices.

AFAIK, Overwatch Atmos for headphones is an example of pre-mixed. If you have a Dolby Access licence, you want to ensure that Atmos for headphones is turned off for games like Overwatch otherwise you will be double-binauralising and distorting / exaggerating cue placement. Alternatively, you could have Atmos for headphone turned on in your system audio settings but the in-game pre-mixed Atmos for headphones de-selected and replaced with a true atmos speaker config setting instead and see which implementation works better for you. Either way, for accuracy, it should be one on and the other off, not both on.