Mad Lust Envy's Headphone Gaming Guide: (8/18/2022: iFi GO Blu Review Added)
Aug 7, 2019 at 3:49 AM Post #42,691 of 48,560
Like with SBX always use speaker modes. I don't have BF1 but there should be a speaker/surround setting. Never use headphone modes with SBX, GSX and Co. Always treat those solutions ingame like speakers.

That's what they actually do, you know.Virtualize a 5.1/7.1 speaker environment.
Except in the case of Dolby Atmos in combination with games that offer real Atmos geodata.
 
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Aug 7, 2019 at 3:50 AM Post #42,692 of 48,560
But i tried it with Battlefield 1 and there was absolutely no difference! Airplanes where still zipping from left to right and everything was spanning left to right just like what you would expect from Windows Sonic. What am I missing? Audio Options are Headphones and Surround. Sound Properties: Dolby Atmos for Headphones.
Really sorry i only have overwatch off that small list. I was thinking maybe the other have an atmos option in the audio settings of the game like overwatch does. If that was the case then the windows setting only seems useful for films and 7.1 ddhp type stuff. That seems pointless.
 
Aug 7, 2019 at 3:55 AM Post #42,693 of 48,560
Like with SBX always use speaker modes. I don't have BF1 but there should be a speaker/surround setting. Never use headphone modes with SBX, GSX and Co. Always treat those solutions ingame like speakers.

That's what they actually do, you know.Virtualize a 5.1/7.1 speaker environment.
Except in the case of Dolby Atmos in combination with games that offer real Atmos geodata.

i understand but the headphones option in game menue gave me the best separation and volume while still implementing the virtual surround feature by windows sonic. I tried all possible combinations.
 
Aug 7, 2019 at 4:04 AM Post #42,694 of 48,560
Err one forum says bf1 only does atmos over hdmi to atmos recivers. Geeeze. So like fege says. Enable atmos and 7.1 virtual in windows and in game set 7.1 speakers and hope for the best? Alternative is straight stereo in windows and in game headphone mode. See which you prefere? Dont think windows atmos will touch or alter a stereo signal? So heaphone mode in game should sound the same with atmos on or off? Im afk so guessing,sorry

Found this:
This is the official responsse from Dolby Atmos Support:

"On Nov 13, 2017, at 1:15 PM, DolbyAccessT2_support@dolby.com<dolbyaccesst2_support@dolby.com> wrote:

Thank yo for your quick response. Unless you have your PC hooked up to a receiver that supports Dolby Atmos and then you have Dolby Atmos positioned speakers. The toggle to turn on Atmos is going to be greyed out. What this means is that the BF1 implementation of Atmos is an in-game, early adopter technology that requires bit stream out and only supports Atmos home theater products like AVRs and sound bars. it doesn't engage the Atmos support built into the OS but rather bypasses it. SO, your only other choice would be to play it on Xbox.
Thank you for you patience!
The Dolby Support Team.
ref:_00D709YuG._5000g1oKQFr:ref"
Post edited by xxxCoOlBr33zExxx on November 2017
 
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Aug 7, 2019 at 7:00 AM Post #42,695 of 48,560
Hi, I got the DSS but the analog is not working (don't hear party chat).

I follow the directions in this diagram:
8273580_thumb.png


I tried with dolby bypass on and didn't work either.

The 3.5mm cable I used work, I connect my headphones to my computer

I also tried connecting my phone but didn't hear anything either.

Is there something I'm doing wrong here or I got a damaged DSS?

I found the DSS manual and it says there that it can't play the digital and analog input at the same time.

I am not sure who created the above diagram, but if you see this please explain how you got this to work
 
Aug 7, 2019 at 8:42 AM Post #42,696 of 48,560
@Mad Lust Envy in your review of the mad dog, which is a modification of the Fostex T50RP, you understandabley did not have have high expectations for its imaging in competitive FPS gaming and gave it a score of 6.5 in competitive category. I just to want to clarify something: Does this apply to the stock T50RP as well or is this mediocre imaging caused by the mad dog modification which was not intended for competitive gaming to begin with? I am reading rave impressions about the imaging power of the stock T50RP in competitive FPS even from owners of the AKG K series and AD700x and HD 598s. I am about to buy it but read your Mad Dog review and pulled on the brakes!
 
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Aug 7, 2019 at 1:01 PM Post #42,697 of 48,560
The BF1 discussion here is exactly why hardware solutions like the G6 are still viable, and in many cases preferable. Basically every game has "normal" surround so every game is going to work. And this confusion is in a game which has Atmos as an in-game, advertised feature no less.
 
Aug 7, 2019 at 3:47 PM Post #42,698 of 48,560
I haven't used the dolby access app, but I would have thought it came with a decoder for atmos bitstreams. Anyway, it also functions as virtual 7.1 for headphones in a lot of games that don't support windows spatial sound, so you are rarely left empty handed.
 
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Aug 7, 2019 at 4:32 PM Post #42,699 of 48,560
i understand but the headphones option in game menue gave me the best separation and volume while still implementing the virtual surround feature by windows sonic. I tried all possible combinations.

If you are using windows sonic for headphones, you should have battlefield one set to large speakers, surround. And make sure to check the virtual 7.1 option for windows sonic as well.

Also, remember that it will tell you in the taskbar if windows sonic for headphones is working.
https://i.imgur.com/3gtCZXH.png
 
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Aug 7, 2019 at 8:07 PM Post #42,700 of 48,560
For enable Dolbly Atmos in Battlefiel 1 go C:\Users\{you user}\Documents\Battlefield 1\settings open the file "PROFSAVE_profile" and change "GstAudio.IsATMOSOptionEnabled 0" to "GstAudio.IsATMOSOptionEnabled 1"
In my subjective opinion about vss SBX is great but "OpeanAL Soft default HRTF" built-in HeSuVi is better without compromising the audio quality and using oratory/Harman eq presets
 
Aug 8, 2019 at 12:34 AM Post #42,701 of 48,560
Hi, I got the DSS but the analog is not working (don't hear party chat).

I follow the directions in this diagram:
8273580_thumb.png


I tried with dolby bypass on and didn't work either.

The 3.5mm cable I used work, I connect my headphones to my computer

I also tried connecting my phone but didn't hear anything either.

Is there something I'm doing wrong here or I got a damaged DSS?

Hi, I just started using my DSS 2 again because everything was too hazy from my Creative SoundBlaster Katana Soundbar. DSS2’s DAC is much crisper, and it works well double-amped to my big amp (Sennheiser HDV 820). However, for chat I just use the mic built into my PlayStation Camera, because it leaves a USB port open and sounded quite good since it sits on my PC monitor (not too far away).

If you don’t have a PlayStation Camera (I got it for VR and streaming), then I believe you can plug the little (Sabrent?) USB Audio Dongle with headphone and microphone ports directly into the PS4. Select it in the Playstation’s “Sound and Devices” settings as chat input, and set the output as “Optical: all sounds.” That should work, but I’m not going to know for sure because I don’t use a little USB Audio dongle. Good luck!

But i tried it with Battlefield 1 and there was absolutely no difference! Airplanes where still zipping from left to right and everything was spanning left to right just like what you would expect from Windows Sonic. What am I missing? Audio Options are Headphones and Surround. Sound Properties: Dolby Atmos for Headphones.

I see the problem.
Do not select “headphones” as the output in Battlefield 1 settings. That creates a (crappy) binaural stereo mix, and then Windows Atmos just sees it as a stereo (2 direction) sound and basically passes it through. Dolby Atmos basically needs to be fed a 7.1 (or better, 7.1.4) “home theater” or “large speakers” surround mix, so that it has 11 directions of audio to work with and make a truly 3D binaural mix.
 
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Aug 8, 2019 at 12:36 AM Post #42,702 of 48,560
For enable Dolbly Atmos in Battlefiel 1 go C:\Users\{you user}\Documents\Battlefield 1\settings open the file "PROFSAVE_profile" and change "GstAudio.IsATMOSOptionEnabled 0" to "GstAudio.IsATMOSOptionEnabled 1"
In my subjective opinion about vss SBX is great but "OpeanAL Soft default HRTF" built-in HeSuVi is better without compromising the audio quality and using oratory/Harman eq presets

OpenAL was great. Shame Windows tried really hard to kill it with the release of Vista. Because of the way Microsoft changed the audio stack, enabling OpenAL became a backdoor workaround pain, and new games don’t bother to truly support it. Borderlands 2 with OpenAL enabled a similar way as you described for Atmos was pretty wonderful though.
 
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Aug 8, 2019 at 1:53 AM Post #42,703 of 48,560
Hi, I just started using my DSS 2 again because everything was too hazy from my Creative SoundBlaster Katana Soundbar. DSS2’s DAC is much crisper, and it works well double-amped to my big amp (Sennheiser HDV 820). However, for chat I just use the mic built into my PlayStation Camera, because it leaves a USB port open and sounded quite good since it sits on my PC monitor (not too far away).

If you don’t have a PlayStation Camera (I got it for VR and streaming), then I believe you can plug the little (Sabrent?) USB Audio Dongle with headphone and microphone ports directly into the PS4. Select it in the Playstation’s “Sound and Devices” settings as chat input, and set the output as “Optical: all sounds.” That should work, but I’m not going to know for sure because I don’t use a little USB Audio dongle. Good luck!

I can chat, I plug a usb sound card to the DSS, but I can't control the chat volume because the analog can not work while the optical is connected. So, I think someone should edit this diagram, so no one else will be misguided as I did.

Maybe in the DSS 2 it works.
 
Aug 8, 2019 at 9:57 AM Post #42,704 of 48,560
Do not select “headphones” as the output in Battlefield 1 settings. That creates a (crappy) binaural stereo mix, and then Windows Atmos just sees it as a stereo (2 direction) sound and basically passes it through. Dolby Atmos basically needs to be fed a 7.1 (or better, 7.1.4) “home theater” or “large speakers” surround mix, so that it has 11 directions of audio to work with and make a truly 3D binaural mix.

There is a binaural audio option in battlefield 5, but battlefield one doesn't have it. In battlefield one, there are two options, one where you can select stereo or surround sound, and the other where you select speaker type (small speakers, large speakers, headphones, war tapes), which I assume has to do with a high pass filter (large speakers get all the low frequencies), dynamic range compression (war tapes is the loudest, most compressed), and speaker placement (+/-90 degrees for headphones vs +/-30 degrees for speakers) .
 
Aug 9, 2019 at 5:28 PM Post #42,705 of 48,560
@mindbomb Cool, tbh I haven’t owned the series since Battlefield 4 (I also picked up the first game of the Battlefront reboot series... just for the VR mission and space combat), so I’m not as intimately familiar with the sound settings. Still, I have reason to believe that you should still select the “Surround” and the “Large Speakers” option.

Related personal story: with my gaming console, I had lately been using a Creative Sound Blaster Katana for months because it actually decodes Dolby and processes SBX for its headphone jack, but it wasn’t cutting the mustard. I started playing CoD4 Remastered (aka Modern Warfare remastered, for those with no sense of history :sweat_smile:), and I KNEW from experience that the surround and tactical cues could be so much more. I dug up my old DSS2, and immediately the sound was much cleaner and crisper (both the Katana and DSS2 were hooked up to a beefy HDV 820 amp to drive all my headphones with ease, ask me my thoughts on double-amping sometime :wink:).

However, I noticed the DSS2’s “Dolby Signal Locked” light was off. I checked my PS4’s settings, and the sound output was correctly set for Optical as the primary output, and Bitstream Dolby as the preferred output... switched it to Linear PCM then back to Dolby Bitstream, still no joy, then I switched it to HDMI as the primary output (Optical still worked) and it asked me to select output formats (I noticed Dolby was unchecked, so I fixed that) and switched it back to Optical + Dolby, and this time the settings stuck and Surround was working great!!!

The Katana might image better with the surround now that I “turned it off and on again” in settings, but I prefer the DSS2’s EQ and positional settings over the Katana’s default options, and like I said it seems like the DSS2’s output is less hazy and more crisp. Until the release of the Smyth Realiser A16 or a Sennheiser processor (DSP) that is surround-compatible with a console, I’ll probably stick to the DSS2. Shame though, sometimes it’s nice to use the Katana speakers as a break from headphones, but overall everything just sounds better with the DSS2 for now.
 

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