[Eric_C]

[size=13.333333969116211px]GA-Z68XP-UD3-B3[/size]

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

[size=13.333333969116211px]GA-Z68XP-UD3-B3[/size]

All I could find is a setting for Dolby Pro logic IIx.
Might want to download the latest audio drivers for your motherboard,
it turns out the latest update came out today (12-4-2012)
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3852#dl

 

[Eric_C]

Thanks Purple, I'll check that out when I'm home.

 

[Eric_C]

Btw PurpleAngel: what was the Xonar card that you'd recommend? I've been looking at some CMSS vs Dolby Headphone comparisons on YouTube, and I think Dolby sounds just a wee bit better to me.

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

Btw PurpleAngel: what was the Xonar card that you'd recommend? I've been looking at some CMSS vs Dolby Headphone comparisons on YouTube, and I think Dolby sounds just a wee bit better to me.

 
If you're thinking of the Crysis 2 video, DH definitely comes across as a bit better-sounding on that one. I don't know why, but they're more even with my first-hand experiences, aside from the opposite frequency emphasis on each (CMSS-3D Headphone favors treble, Dolby Headphone favors bass).
 
By the way, have you heard this one? (No DH, but this gives you an idea of CMSS-3D Headphone at its positional best. If only it didn't take the bite out of the gunshot sounds...)
 

 
Anyway, while I'm not PurpleAngel, I've seen enough posts to know that your likely recommendations are:
 
-Xonar DG (just $30, PCI, has Dolby Headphone and slight headphone amp capability)
-Xonar DGX (around $45, basically a DG with PCI-Express)
-Xonar Essence STX (around $120 used, PCI-Express, powerful FiiO E9-ish amp built-in)

 

[Eric_C]

Good to know that DH and CMSS are fairly equal, then. I did get the impression that the tonal balance of DH was more bassy--and given my headphones (880 and HE-400), that's a better tilt than more treble.
 
Ya saw that CoD2 vid, it's not too bad either. 
 
I'm still stuck at work right now, but when I get home I'll try and fiddle with my mobo to see if I can squeeze 5.1 out via optical to my MixAmp. Maybe that, or even Realtek's onboard "Headphone Virtualization" will suffice.

 

[Evshrug]

All I could find is a setting for Dolby Pro logic IIx.
Might want to download the latest audio drivers for your motherboard,
it turns out the latest update came out today (12-4-2012)
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3852#dl

Hey, that's my MoBo too!
I was thinking about doing a fresh from scratch OS reinstall of OS X anyway, so boot Win8--> update drivers --> wipe other SSD with OS X --> reinstall OS X.

Still haven't figured out the most elegant way to boot off of the SSD while storing the user account on my new (3rd) harddrive in Lion. Closest thing seems to be directing individual program libraries (such as iTunes) to store on the HDD. The most annoying part is that I can't connect to the Internet from home (mom's Pyrrhic victory until I move out), so I have to research info to take home with me on my iPad before leaving work.

Man, am I glad it's Friday!

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Btw PurpleAngel: what was the Xonar card that you'd recommend? I've been looking at some CMSS vs Dolby Headphone comparisons on YouTube, and I think Dolby sounds just a wee bit better to me.

Asus Xonar DG (or DGX) sound card ($26), comes with a half-way decent headphone amplifier and Dolby Headphone surround sound.
Personally I can see using headphones up to 150-ohms with it, some even use their 250-Ohm headphones, but I think at 250-Ohm you might lose a little quality in the sound.
The Asus Xonar DX or D1 sound cards are a good low cost choice ($65-$80) if you plan on using an external add-on headphone amplifier.
Asus Xonar Essence STX, ($180) comes with everything built in.
 
Currently the (refurb) Creative Titanium (non-HD) is selling for just $43, great value for those into FPS gaming.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102043&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=4003003&SID=6zvyqod4scp5

 

[Dead Ghost]

Quick question: 
Would you say that DDL hardware support is only useful for (modern) games, and DTS Connect only for movies? I'm asking because some movie players already support Dolby Headphone (e.g: Cyberlink PowerDVD), independent of the soundcard used (i guess all the processing is done by the CPU).

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Quick question: 
Would you say that DDL hardware support is only useful for (modern) games, and DTS Connect only for movies? I'm asking because some movie players already support Dolby Headphone (e.g: Cyberlink PowerDVD), independent of the soundcard used (i guess all the processing is done by the CPU).

DDL (Dolby Digital Live) is useful because it allows you to send up to 7-channels of compressed audio thru S/PDIF (optical & coaxial).
Compressed audio for movies or games and some specialized 5.1 audio music.
Otherwise S/PDIF only carries 2-channel of PCM (uncompressed) audio.
DTS is a competitor to Dolby. so DTS tries to offer the same features as Dolby.

 

[Dead Ghost]

Hmmm...so either of them would work with pc games, including DTS encoding? PC source (game) -> DTS encoding => S/PDIF output => external Dolby Headphone hardware => headphones
 
I admit all this is a bit confusing to me, i was under the impression that most modern games (console ports) use Dolby Digital, and most movies use DTS, and if you want to get 7 channels of compressed audio through S/PDIF, you need DDL encoding for games, and DTS Connect for movies. And if you want both (movies and games), you'll need both encoding standards, one for each, supported by the source.

 

[Chawanwit]

Hey 
 
Few days ago I saw a gaming headset (Logitech G35) being on the shelf of a IT store. Made me wonder besides the microphone and buttons on the headset. What are the differences between these and audiophile headphone like the hd498 for example. Do they have better surround sound like wider soundstage and such?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hmmm...so either of them would work with pc games, including DTS encoding? PC source (game) -> DTS encoding => S/PDIF output => external Dolby Headphone hardware => headphones
 
I admit all this is a bit confusing to me, i was under the impression that most modern games (console ports) use Dolby Digital, and most movies use DTS, and if you want to get 7 channels of compressed audio through S/PDIF, you need DDL encoding for games, and DTS Connect for movies. And if you want both (movies and games), you'll need both encoding standards, one for each, supported by the source.

DDL and DTS Connect take whatever audio signal they receive, they compresses it, send it thru S/PDIF and decompresses it on the other end.
 
 
If compressed with DDL, then you need Dolby Digital at the other end to uncompress the audio signal
If using DTS Connect to compress, then you need DTS at the other end to uncompress.
I believe DVD movie sound tracks like Dolby Digital and DTS come compressed on the movie disk already.
I believe Microsoft pushes for Dolby on their console games, not sure about PS3.
I believe Blu-ray movies that use DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby Ture-HD can not pass thru S/PDIF, only pass thru HDMI.
I believe Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS ES can pass thru S/PDIF, Blu-ray movie disks might come with these audio tracks also for S/PDIF use.

 

[Dead Ghost]

Ok, i think i got it now, thanks.  
 
Do you know what is the level of compression done by DDL/DTS Connect needed for the S/PDIF output? Versus uncompressed, through HDMI? I presume that it's the same as with digital music, mp3 (lossy) vs flac (lossless), right? Could a good headphone (<500 usd) clearly show the audio differences between DTS-HD Master Audio/Dolby Ture-HD (thru HDMI, GPU -> receiver) and Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS ES (thru S/PDIF => receiver), on a movie's soundtrack, using Dolby Headphone or equivalent virtualization?
 
I've not yet decided on the external audio device that will get me Dolby Headphone virtualization from my PC, as well as my consoles. I could go for a receiver and get the audio and video signal thru HDMI. Or get any other device with S/PDIF input, like JVC/Victor SU-DH1 (hard to find), MixAmp. Or something wireless, like the Audio Technica ATH-DWL3300 (i like this one because i can use my own headphones, similar to the MixAmp 5.8). Or the only wireless headset that supports uncompressed audio thru HDMI inputs, Sony MDR-DS7500, but i'm not convinced that the headphones supplied are good enough to enjoy uncompressed audio.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Ok, i think i got it now, thanks.  
 
Do you know what is the level of compression done by DDL/DTS Connect needed for the S/PDIF output? Versus uncompressed, through HDMI? I presume that it's the same as with digital music, mp3 (lossy) vs flac (lossless), right? Could a good headphone (<500 usd) clearly show the audio differences between DTS-HD Master Audio/Dolby Ture-HD (thru HDMI, GPU -> receiver) and Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS ES (thru S/PDIF => receiver), on a movie's soundtrack, using Dolby Headphone or equivalent virtualization?
 
I've not yet decided on the external audio device that will get me Dolby Headphone virtualization from my PC, as well as my consoles. I could go for a receiver and get the audio and video signal thru HDMI. Or get any other device with S/PDIF input, like JVC/Victor SU-DH1 (hard to find), MixAmp. Or something wireless, like the Audio Technica ATH-DWL3300 (i like this one because i can use my own headphones, similar to the MixAmp 5.8). Or the only wireless headset that supports uncompressed audio thru HDMI inputs, Sony MDR-DS7500, but i'm not convinced that the headphones supplied are good enough to enjoy uncompressed audio.

Have no idea on the level of compression for going thru S/PDIF, could be around 4X?
The audio quality of  DTS-HD Master audio/Dolby TrueHD over DD 5.1/DTS-ES will be heard no matter what your using, $20 headphone or $500 headphones.
I prefer Yamaha receivers, Yamaha has there own headphone surround sound (Silent Cinema) which comes in 99% of their receivers.
With other brands, I think it's hard to tell if they have headphone surround sound.