Out Of Your Head - new virtual surround simulator

[Chodi]

Thank for your further instructions. I never would have thought to try the Direct Sound output in JRiver as we are always advised to try any other alternative to Direct Sound as it colors the output going through the Windows mixer. I will give it a try.

 

[Chodi]

  Yep, got it working, but trying to overcome the 'thinness' of everything.  Doesn't seem to matter which preset I try, it seems to be losing most of the bass and the mids.  Yes, the soundstage and projection is larger, but the 'sound' is not there.  Any thoughts?
 
Darren

I just got it to work and I find exactly the same as you. Sound is thin and way different tonally than it should be. After a first listen with classical music I would say this is no competition for Isone. Maybe it would work with movies I haven't tried that. After a brief listen I am not impressed.

 

[project86]

You folks who have tried it - what headphones are you using? I imagine that choice makes a big difference towards the final result.
 
Also, forgot to mention that an OSX version is in the works, then iOS and Android after that. Assuming we like the sound, those would be really useful for watching movies on tablets. 

 

[FullCircle]

I was using a skunk works (? Driver) Noble IEM.

 

[darinf]

Hi everyone. Thanks for your comments. I had this long winded response about the sound and the comments, but again I think people can just try it for themselves.
 
I put together a demo page where you don't have to download or install anything. I just used Audacity to record the two channel output of Out Of Your Head. Then for the videos, I synced the processed audio to the video and posted those links online.
 
So all you have to do it go to the web page and you can listen or download the clips which have the processed output of Out Of Your Head as if you had the software installed. (For those of you that already have Out Of Your Head installed, please make sure it's not running when you listen to these demos otherwise the sound will be double processed!)
 
This way everyone, Mac or PC, can try a demo without installing anything.
 
Personally, I think the movie clips have a decent amount of bass, but you can tell me what you think.
 
Here's the demo page:
http://outofyourhead.net/demo/
 
-Darin

 

[darinf]

  You folks who have tried it - what headphones are you using? I imagine that choice makes a big difference towards the final result.
 
Also, forgot to mention that an OSX version is in the works, then iOS and Android after that. Assuming we like the sound, those would be really useful for watching movies on tablets. 

Yes, as we all know different headphones sound different...
 
I can measure and incorporate headphone EQ into my software, but I didn't. The main reason is that for me to EQ headphones, I need to have a pair available to measure. Quite frankly, I just don't have the resources to get a lot of brands/models of headphones to measure. So if I only listed the few models of headphone EQ settings, people might think that my software only works with those headphones.
 
So, my thinking on EQ was that I would give people the option of using their own preferred EQ methods and apply EQ that way. Sure, I wish I could do it for you. And I can if you come to San Diego for a measurement session. Then I can EQ your headphones using your head. But since that's not practical for most people, I invite you to use whatever EQ you like and apply the EQ in whichever software you want to use. All of it will work with Out Of Your Head. There are so many good EQ's out there, I also didn't want to have to write EQ software of my own. At least if you use your own EQ of choice, you can custom tailor the sound to exactly how you like it.
 
It's not ideal to have to EQ your sound in order to get Out Of Your Head to sound right with your headphones, but again, keep in mind that I am not doing any EQ at all. I am simply "playing back",  as accurately as possible, the sound of the speakers and the room acoustics that were measured. When we measure a room and speakers, we do a lot of A/B comparisons to make sure the Out Of Your Head sound matches the actual room and speaker sound while we are in the room. (In that case, we do EQ our headphone/amp combination to be flat to eliminate, as much as we can, any coloration introduced by the headphones themselves.)
 
But in the end, that's why the trial is so important. Try it for yourself and see what you think. It's not often here on Head-Fi that everyone can hear how a new product sounds for themselves rather than rely on other people's impression or going to a meet.
 
-Darin

 

[brunk]

@darinf - Great Idea on the pre-made clips! If I may offer one suggestion though - your webpage background is an excellent shade of gray for ease of reading, but the text also comes off as gray. Is there any way you make the text darker? Appearances are everything these days...blah-blah you get the idea. 

 

[blueangel2323]

There's a problem with the Pink Floyd demo.

 

[darinf]

  @darinf - Great Idea on the pre-made clips! If I may offer one suggestion though - your webpage background is an excellent shade of gray for ease of reading, but the text also comes off as gray. Is there any way you make the text darker? Appearances are everything these days...blah-blah you get the idea. 

Done! The text is now black. Looks better to me.

 

[darinf]

  There's a problem with the Pink Floyd demo.

I just tried it and it played back for me. Anyone else?

 

[blueangel2323]

  I just tried it and it played back for me. Anyone else?

The embedded file plays, but the download doesn't work. The file is only 359 bytes.

 

[darinf]

  The embedded file plays, but the download doesn't work. The file is only 359 bytes.

Fixed. Sorry about that. I had a space in the file name.

 

[darinf]

  Thank for your further instructions. I never would have thought to try the Direct Sound output in JRiver as we are always advised to try any other alternative to Direct Sound as it colors the output going through the Windows mixer. I will give it a try.

In JRiver, you can use WASAPI with Out Of Your Head, but you have to change a few settings to make it work. I just didn't want people to have to make all those changes in order to use WASAPI. DirectSound is much easier to configure.
 
Here's the instructions for using WASAPI in JRiver:
 

Spoiler: Warning: Instructions ahead!

Obviously, first in Options/Audio, change the Output Mode to WASAPI

Then in Output Mode Settings change it to this:

Then since Out Of Your Head only processes at 48K, you have to enable and change the "Options/Audio/DSP & Output Format" settings to this:
 

This way JRiver will resample everything to 48K and always send 7.1 channels.
 
Another note, I have found that using WASAPI seems to make the audio latency even longer. Seems like about -900ms for video sync on my computer
 
Let me know if you can hear a difference between WASAPI and DirectSound.

 

[deadie]

For me, to appreciate the value-add of Darin's presets, I have to listen to / use the presets on an absolute basis (straight to music with preset applied) vs. a comparative basis (headphone sound then to Out of Your Head preset).
 
Initially evaluating his software, I went from listening to unprocessed "headphone sound" music, then switched to Darin's various presets and the music (with the effect) sounded thin, bass shy, hollow.
 
After taking a break, I downloaded one of his music mp3 demos, Shantel Nicole Grace's "Your Love Goes On", and found the processed track / version quite appealing.
 
I emailed Darin and learned that the track was processed with "Acoustic Zen".  I bought the track and then applied the Zen preset to compare it to the downloaded demo with the preset baked in.  It sounded the same.
 
I found my brain needs a short reset / period of quiet after listening to "normal" headphone sound.  When I listened to the OOYH presets / processed music with a clean slate, I appreciated the effects in and of themselves.
 
They're quite a nice change of pace and I look forward to an iOS port, to use on the go with my Touch 5G, Centrance M8 and UERM.   
 
... forgot to mention, along with the UERM I use LCD-2 & DT-990 - all three balanced.  The latter two are amped with either a Headroom Balanced Desktop or the Emotiva Mini-X.

 

[darinf]

  For me, to appreciate the value-add of Darin's presets, I have to listen to / use the presets on an absolute basis (straight to music with preset applied) vs. a comparative basis (headphone sound then to Out of Your Head preset).
 
Initially evaluating his software, I went from listening to unprocessed "headphone sound" music, then switched to Darin's various presets and the music (with the effect) sounded thin, bass shy, hollow.
 
After taking a break, I downloaded one of his music mp3 demos, Shantel Nicole Grace's "Your Love Goes On", and found the processed track / version quite appealing.
 
I emailed Darin and learned that the track was processed with "Acoustic Zen".  I bought the track and then applied the Zen preset to compare it to the downloaded demo with the preset baked in.  It sounded the same.
 
I found my brain needs a short reset / period of quiet after listening to "normal" headphone sound.  When I listened to the OOYH presets / processed music with a clean slate, I appreciated the effects in and of themselves.
 
They're quite a nice change of pace and I look forward to an iOS port, to use on the go with my Touch 5G, Centrance M8 and UERM.   
 
... forgot to mention, along with the UERM I use LCD-2 & DT-990 - all three balanced.  The latter two are amped with either a Headroom Balanced Desktop or the Emotiva Mini-X.

Thanks for the updated impressions and tip for others who downloaded the trial.
 
I guess I am SO used to hearing speakers in headphones, that I forget that hearing this effect for the first time can be difficult for the brain to interpret especially if you don't have real speakers in front of you. I have given demos to people who could not figure out what they were hearing. But once I explained what they should be hearing and also only played one channel at a time, then the "picture" came into focus for them.
 
In @deadie's case, he went from thinking the sound was terrible to finding that the sound was good. BUT the actual sound out of the software never changed!
 
I guess the best way to get an idea of what my software does it to listen/view the pre-rendered online demo page. That seems to work better for everyone and it's platform independent. They will playback on mobile devices too. You can also get a good idea of the movie watching experience using Out Of Your Head on that page.
 
-Darin