[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

Growth sector = more R&D, hopefully something will come along to fill the shoes of OpenAL (DirectAX11?). I wonder why Microsoft dropped support for OpenAL in Vista.

 
Microsoft dropped support for DirectSound3D. OpenAL remains unaffected, and they can't do anything about that because it's not an API they have control over, unlike the DirectX suite.
 
That's why wrappers like ALchemy, DS3DGX, 3DSoundBack, etc. are capable of "restoring" DirectSound3D support under Vista onward in the first place; they just wrap the DS3D API calls into OpenAL, much like one might wrap old 3dfx Glide calls into Direct3D or OpenGL for older games that only supported 3D acceleration through Glide.
 
That said, I still don't get why they bothered to remove DS3D in the first place, and I also don't get why game developers didn't continue to keep using OpenAL in its place.

 

[Evshrug]

Ah, ok thanks for the clarification. Still, it's all a mystery.

 

[genclaymore]

Quote:

 
I had the same problem with the Q701 headband.  As crazy as it may sound, I threw a baby seat strap cover over mine. 
 
Something like this: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3591059
 
I haven't had any comfort issues with the Q's since.  I can wear them all day when 'working' from home.

When I had the AKG K702 which shares the same headband design as the Q701, the bumps on it didn't hurt my head at all. Now the only headphone that ever hurted the top of my head after long use, was the HFI-780's Headband stick. When it put a dent in my head and hurted after I took it off. Which why i stay far away from ultrasone headphones now because of that silly stick of butter that they call a headband.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I don't understand why people hate the Ultrasone headband padding. Literally the same as the PC360 padding. Zero issues with it.

I think people wear their headphones too tightly, if its digging into your skull. I tend to wear headphones slightly loose.

 

[raband]

Has anyone tried or got an opinion on the Creative Recon 3D mixamp style device?
 
Looks promising (unless it's a dud)

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Has anyone tried or got an opinion on the Creative Recon 3D mixamp style device?

Looks promising (unless it's a dud)

Stay tuned.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

Yeah, I remember reading somewhere (the Q701 appreciation thread?) that someone else had used a seatbelt cover wrapped over the headband.

 
That was probably me.  I'm always telling people to do that. 

 

[AxelCloris]

Quote:

 
That was probably me.  I'm always telling people to do that. 

 
I may have to swing by Dayton sometime to see how that works out, it always sounded weird to me. Especially since I find the bumps quite comfortable.

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

Has anyone tried or got an opinion on the Creative Recon 3D mixamp style device?
 
Looks promising (unless it's a dud)

 
For PC gaming, I'm a bit disappointed coming from proper X-Fi sound cards, though it's still better than nothing. Most of it is due to quirks with Creative's software OpenAL device for products like that, their X-Fi MB software suite for integrated audio codecs, and so on.
 
For console gaming, it actually seems to fare a bit better there, but I can only test that aspect in a limited fashion through the original Xbox. (It doesn't help that it's useless for analog Pro Logic II sources like GCN/Wii games.)
 
Mad Lust Envy's telling you to stay tuned because he gets one to review tomorrow, along with a JVC/Victor SU-DH1.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the features the Recond3D USB has. I prefer simplicity for things like that. I hope it's not a nightmare to tweak. I basically just want to compare it directly with Dolby Headphone, to see if it's better or comparable at positioning and overall SQ.

The SU-DH1's test will be comparing the different room sizes, and seeing how well the DTS decoding works. My assumption is that it converts DTS to Dolby Digital, and from DD to DH. I know the DTS light will be on, but I'm betting it's just converted.

That DH vs CMSS3D Crysis 2 vid really is a HORRIBLE DH test, as I don't know ANY game that sounds that echoey and processed through the Mixamp. It honestly sounded like ultra-processed DPLII into DH in room 3 or something.

 

[chicolom]

So does the Recon3d use CMSS3D or some THX DSP?
 

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

So does the Recon3d use CMSS3D or some THX DSP?

 
THX TruStudio Surround.
 
It does NOT sound like CMSS-3D Headphone, not even close. Less sense of distance to the sound, and directionality seems less distinct for PC games.

 

[Fegefeuer]

Quote:

 
Microsoft dropped support for DirectSound3D. OpenAL remains unaffected, and they can't do anything about that because it's not an API they have control over, unlike the DirectX suite.
 
That's why wrappers like ALchemy, DS3DGX, 3DSoundBack, etc. are capable of "restoring" DirectSound3D support under Vista onward in the first place; they just wrap the DS3D API calls into OpenAL, much like one might wrap old 3dfx Glide calls into Direct3D or OpenGL for older games that only supported 3D acceleration through Glide.
 
That said, I still don't get why they bothered to remove DS3D in the first place, and I also don't get why game developers didn't continue to keep using OpenAL in its place.

 
Creative as stubborn as they always were didn't come in terms with MS for licensing issues for proprietary Creative Tech so MS brought Xaudio2 for PC as well and the whole world turned to Middleware only - porting over become easy as never before. Of course MS wanted to have gamers more on the Xbox side than PC but that's another (though interconnected) issue. 
 
Creative dropped their own support as well (remember when they sent devs to game studios for EAX/DS3D?) and didn't do much about boosting OpenAL support/popularity. Plus MS porting tools covered the whole process - it became too easy. Why bother with OpenAL.  
 
Unreal 3 games used to have OpenAL as well, Gears of War, Mirror's Edge, Mass Effect etc...
I think the latest ones even dropped that part. 
 
Guild Wars 1 had EAX and it was very fun, now the second one dropped it and the audio engineer was recently bubbling about CPUs are very powerful today and all that ********. 

Anway, we seem to have a bit better times ahead with Win 8 at least and since successor consoles seem to have dedicated audio dsps maybe we will get something back. 
 
On another note: I dropped the T90 for a very good price and when I brought  back the loaner HD 800 to my dealer I got me a new one with a subtle discount. 

 

[Evshrug]

Has anyone tried or got an opinion on the Creative Recon 3D mixamp style device?

Looks promising (unless it's a dud)

I wrote a review on it, focusing on its performance with an Xbox 360 since the only PC game I'm playing currently is Starcraft 2 on Mac OS X. http://www.head-fi.org/products/creative-sound-blaster-recon3d-thx-usb-external-sound-enhancer-for-pc-ps3-xbox-360-and-mac-sb1300/reviews/7395

I spent hours trying different games and trying to share useful impressions, but I have my own taste for sound. Before I used the Recon3D I had been using Yamaha's propriety virtual surround feature (which worked pretty well but stood out as being a bit echo-y in comparison); I don't know firsthand how it compares to Dolby Headphone. It competes with the first DSS, which can be found for hella cheap on eBay, and the Mixamp Pro which is the only Mixamp Astro is selling separately right now ($130). I expect Mad won't find it to be a revelation, but I think the Recon3D does virtual surround pretty well, and is a great deal if you find it on sale like I did.

 

[Evshrug]

Also, Mad,
It should work with your 360 out-of-the-box without tweaking. I did just because I was already on the computer (really wanted to get the sound working on my Mac again), but all I did IIRC was max out the surround bar and turn down the bass a bit. Let me know if you try something and wanna know if it's the same on my unit.

Edit: also, if you DO install the software and DO make changes, you have to save it to the THX profile (last tab on the sidebar) to use it on your 360.