Just got a brand new Dss 7.1 and glad that its working properly. Just something interesting that I observed while doing sound tests with my gr07 mk2. While using
http://www.amazon.com/Mediabridge-Toslink-Cable-Optical-Digital/dp/B004LSNF04/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370058293&sr=8-1&keywords=media+bridge+optical
which is gold plated on the ends, sound was warmer and a bit muffled in the top end while the flimsy all plastic optical cable that came with the dss actually sounded a bit better to me and clearer up there.
Dude. What is up with you and perceived differences to digital connections?
First of all, an optical cable will sound exactly the same whether the tip is gold plated, platinum plated, or just bare plastic, so long as that little red light from the fiber optic isn't blocked from shining out the tip. I didn't even know they
made gold plated optical cables. There is no analogue electrical signal being sent through conductive materials here that could have capacitance or electric contamination resulting in "warmth" or rolled-off top end, the signal is the red light transmitting in a binary on/off blinking way. I could see problems from a poor fit into the plug resulting in a misalignment, or a broken fiber optic, but still: either it works or it doesn't.
Your other issue about only getting 6 out of the 7 surround directions with your previous DSS, with one of the left positions missing, doesn't make sense either. Some games like Call of Duty MW3 don't use the center channel for positional audio (only use it for dialogue), but that doesn't explain why part of one of the side channels wouldn't work properly. All the directional channels are sent as one stream of info over that digital optical connection, then the DSS (or any other surround processor for gaming) decodes that single stream into separate channels using the Dolby Digital Live (DDL) processing algorithm, then Dolby Headphone processes all those channels at once to create a stereo (2 channel) mix that sounds like surround through headphones. Nowhere in there is there a place to lose just one channel of audio... It's another digital "works or doesn't work at all" scenario.
Something is messing with your perception... Either some kind of expectation bias (quite common, especially around the misconception that gold-plated plugs on cables = better) is making you think you hear things, OR the first DSS you got had (stereo) channel imbalance issues in the analogue stage, where one whole side was receiving weak current making that side of your headphone sound congested and grainy. Though I am skeptical about any real differences in optical cables, the issue with the DSS sounds more likely with a channel imbalance, since the components used are relatively cheap compared to a nicer headphone amp. The new processor that comes bundled with Turtle Beach's "Seven" headset may have a better analogue stage, but I wouldn't want the Seven headset... Having the DSS' volume turned almost all the way up and plugged into a nice headphone amp to control volume seems to do a good job of avoiding channel imbalances at normal listening volumes when using harder-to-drive headphones.
Thanks, MLE. You got any more to throw out there?
I'm not a surround processing expert, but hearing DH and four other forms of headphone surround processing I'd say that Silent Cinema is pretty close-sounding to DH in the way it processes surround. I'd take an educated guess that most of the in-house variants of Headphone Surround from respectable AV receiver manufacturers based their processing off the same research as DH, and shouldn't necessarily be overlooked as a possible option. Creative is one of the few companies that has seemed to have researched headphone surround further (there are a few others for PC use), I personally found their CMSS-3D effort too piercing for comfort but THX TruStudio Pro fixed that for me, and I hope their new SBX processing is as sophisticated while being backed by superior hardware. I really wish Creative would revisit/improve on their Recon3D USB hardware, or/and license their headphone processing to manufacturers of consoles or AV receivers.
Dolby is kind of like the Microsoft of the audio world: they're pretty good and their licensed product is ubiquitous, but a few less-supported options exist that can outperform, and Dolby Headphone specifically seems like something that is losing momentum in the mainstream. DTS apparently has a headphone surround algorithm, but I've never heard it.
New model receivers do not have Dolby Headphone. Do your homework on whatever receiver you're looking into. You would basically be using them as a basic dac/amp at that point.
I don't know speakers, so I can't answer that. I assume passive = no volume control, which I'd say is the better choice, as receivers have their own.
Active speakers have their own power supply/amping, like computer speakers. Passive speakers rely on an external amp like a Receiver or integrated amp. I know it's possible to improve on Dolby Headphone, so I wouldn't discount other processing options off the bat. Yay return policies for assurance?
