[hifinoob005]

There is no "atmos information" to decode, since there are no games that supply it in the first place (but movies do), no, not even Overwatch. What dolby atmos for headphones is supposed to do is to take whatever surround information is available to it and turn it into HRTF stereo, which it wasn't doing until now (except for sound tracks on legally...cough...bought blu rays). And when a game shows "2.0" it means it does not supply surround.



And this is irrelevant because dolby atmos for headphones is not supposed to act as a media player decoder for whatever exterior devices you're trying to use, except for good ol' headphones as a HRTF algorithm for virtual surround.



Again, no games supply atmos information outside of BF series and then it only works over hdmi with home theater typ setup, HOWEVER move tracks do go through the algorithm.

You're confusing dolby atmos with dolby atmos for headphones, which are different beasts and not made for the same purposes.

I'm referring to Dolby Atmos for Headphones.

If I take an UHD disc with a soundtrack that has Atmos included, can DAfH virtualize with the Atmos information? The format is not Dolby Digital Plus (E AC-3).
Not via external solution, but internal. Xonar sound card to headphones via analog.

 

[nraymond]

I'm referring to Dolby Atmos for Headphones.

If I take an UHD disc with a soundtrack that has Atmos included, can DAfH virtualize with the Atmos information? The format is not Dolby Digital Plus (E AC-3).
Not via external solution, but internal. Xonar sound card to headphones via analog.

My research thus far into UHD disc playback indicates that the only official way to play back UHD discs is via PowerDVD, and the hardware requirements are very narrow due to industry requirements for DRM:

https://www.cyberlink.com/support/faq-content.do?id=19144

PowerDVD cannot downmix or interact with any Atmos or DTS:X content. It can bitstream output it to a receiver, and that works reasonably reliably in PowerDVD 18 (though if you change playback media from say, DVD to Blu-Ray you typically have to go back into the PowerDVD preferences and re-select bitstream for audio output). I've read user complaints/reports that PowerDVD 19 does not reliably bitstream Atmos from UHD discs (but does continue to work for Blu-Ray). I don't have a UHD drive and don't have an Atmos capable receiver so I haven't tested any of this, and have just been researching in advance of future purchases... hopefully they'll fix it.

But none of that will get you Atmos for headphones, i.e. an HRTF that includes the height information as part of the sound field. You'd need to output the bitstream Atmos audio to a receiver via HDMI from a PC and then plug headphones into that, or get a Smyth A16 Realiser (which runs a few $k):

https://smyth-research.com/

I don't think any of the Dolby Access stuff for Windows has the ability to interact with a bitstream of Atmos coming off a UHD disc, since all that DRM the movie industry wraps the UHD disc in (why PowerDVD has such narrow hardware support) prevents access to that stream in Windows. You'd have to play a non-Atmos fallback stream rendered into uncompressed multichannel audio and loose the elevation information for any hope of feeding it into any sort of HRTF in Windows or to a USB connected audio device that applies it's own HRTF. At least if you keep the DRM intact. If you strip off the DRM I have no idea if you could do more with it... maybe if you purchased professional surround sound mastering software like the Dolby Media Producer Suite you could play it back on PC then with an HRTF with height information preserved, who knows:

https://www.dolby.com/us/en/professional/content-creation/products/dolby-media-producer-suite.html

 

[hifinoob005]

My research thus far into UHD disc playback indicates that the only official way to play back UHD discs is via PowerDVD, and the hardware requirements are very narrow due to industry requirements for DRM:

https://www.cyberlink.com/support/faq-content.do?id=19144

PowerDVD cannot downmix or interact with any Atmos or DTS:X content. It can bitstream output it to a receiver, and that works reasonably reliably in PowerDVD 18 (though if you change playback media from say, DVD to Blu-Ray you typically have to go back into the PowerDVD preferences and re-select bitstream for audio output). I've read user complaints/reports that PowerDVD 19 does not reliably bitstream Atmos from UHD discs (but does continue to work for Blu-Ray). I don't have a UHD drive and don't have an Atmos capable receiver so I haven't tested any of this, and have just been researching in advance of future purchases... hopefully they'll fix it.

But none of that will get you Atmos for headphones, i.e. an HRTF that includes the height information as part of the sound field. You'd need to output the bitstream Atmos audio to a receiver via HDMI from a PC and then plug headphones into that, or get a Smyth A16 Realiser (which runs a few $k):

https://smyth-research.com/

I don't think any of the Dolby Access stuff for Windows has the ability to interact with a bitstream of Atmos coming off a UHD disc, since all that DRM the movie industry wraps the UHD disc in (why PowerDVD has such narrow hardware support) prevents access to that stream in Windows. You'd have to play a non-Atmos fallback stream rendered into uncompressed multichannel audio and loose the elevation information for any hope of feeding it into any sort of HRTF in Windows or to a USB connected audio device that applies it's own HRTF. At least if you keep the DRM intact. If you strip off the DRM I have no idea if you could do more with it... maybe if you purchased professional surround sound mastering software like the Dolby Media Producer Suite you could play it back on PC then with an HRTF with height information preserved, who knows:

https://www.dolby.com/us/en/professional/content-creation/products/dolby-media-producer-suite.html

Apparently it's possible via MakeMKV with this method:
https://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-n...ng-uhd-4k-discs-makemkv-instructions-how.html

Also this: https://www.avsforum.com/forum/194-3d-tech-talk/2814033-help-converting-3d-blu-ray-mkv.html

In this case, how would it be possible to decode the Atmos information?

There are a few test links if anyone can try it out:
Dolby Digital Plus based Atmos files :- https://download.dolby.com/us/en/test-tones/dolby-atmos-trailer_leaf_1080.mp4
https://download.dolby.com/us/en/test-tones/dolby-test-tones_9_1_6.mp4
https://download.dolby.com/us/en/test-tones/dolby-atmos-trailer_amaze_1080.mp4
https://www.dolby.com/us/en/guide/dolby-atmos-trailers.html
Dolby TrueHD based Atmos files :- https://thedigitaltheater.wetransfe...17b3f4e3f302e56f01e8cd7b20160427225823/1d9d59
https://thedigitaltheater.wetransfe...7892745290636cc9434fb48920160427225625/4c5be4
https://thedigitaltheater.com/dolby-trailers/

 

[hifinoob005]

Tried to install Dolby Atmos for Headphones (DAfH), but it conflicted with Waves NX and OOYH. Disabling these 2 did not work. I have a dual boot system with the same OS, Win10x64 1903(18362.239). The second one does not have NX or OOYH and managed to install DAfH there.

When activating DAfH it set the system's audio to 2 channels and 16 bit 48Khz mode.
Tested with Xonar DGX (UNI drivers), Sennheiser HD380 Pro via headphone jack (analog out). The Xonar has Dolby Headphone incorporated.
Played files in Windows Media Player, MPC HC(x86) + LAV filters (0.74.1), Edge browser.

According to this ticket (https://sourceforge.net/p/mpcbe/tickets/450/?limit=25) and other info, TrueHD+Atmos cannot be decoded by Windows. Only Dolby Digial Plus (DD+) + Atmos on WMP and Edge (with Netflix only?).

Used Edge to listen to these 3 demos and some multi channel music (96Khz):
https://download.dolby.com/us/en/test-tones/dolby-test-tones_9_1_6.mp4
https://download.dolby.com/us/en/test-tones/dolby-atmos-trailer_amaze_1080.mp4
https://download.dolby.com/us/en/test-tones/dolby-atmos-trailer_leaf_1080.mp4

Downloaded the demos above (which are DD+ with Atmos), as well as the DD+ (without Atmos) and TrueHD + Atmos versions of Amaze and Leaf. Checked with Media Info that the files have Atmos.
Could not find other versions of Dolby Test Tones 9_1_6:
https://thedigitaltheater.com/dolby-trailers/

The Dolby Test Tones 9_1_6 demo:
LAV Audio sent the 6 Atmos ceiling speaker sounds in this manner:
First (from the TV wall) Left -L C
First (from the TV wall) Right -R
Second (from the TV wall) Left -BL
Second (from the TV wall) RIght -BR
Third (from the TV wall) Left -BL
Third (from the TV wall) Right -BL BR

The 2nd (from the TV wall) Right and Lleft ground speakers - L and BL, R and RL respectively.
The last 2 Right and Left were BL and BR.

Opened in 3 instances at once, Edge, MPC HC and WMP.
Listened to the (Dolby Test Tones 9_1_6) speaker sounds in rotation, but specifically the farthest (from the TV wall) Right speaker (on the floor), then the 1st ceiling Left speaker.
The last floor speaker sounded the same on all 3 players. The 1st ceiling Left sounded the same in MPC HC and Edge, but different in WMP. Positioning wise there was not much of a difference. I could not tell that the Atmos speakers were in the ceiling.

In the 2nd demo, Amaze, at about the 0:24s mark there is a spacial sound made by an insect. Listened on the 3 players (the DD+ and Atmos version of Amaze). Also listened to DD+ without Atmos version, as well as the TrueHD + Atmos versions.
Could not tell the difference between the 5 instances. There was no identifiable vertical sound unique to the Atmos versions. Either it's too subtle, incorrectly mixed, DAfH and the playing software was not working (correctly or DAfH can't do it), or my headphones + sound card don't have the soundstage or the capability for detailed 3D audio.

Same with the Leaf demo.
A 4th demo, Nature's Fury, was only available in DD+ with Atmos, and TrueHD+Atmos. Same.
When installing DAfH it takes you to a demos page (tried with FF and Edge), but no vertical sound detail:
https://www.dolby.com/us/en/guide/dolby-atmos-trailers.html

Compared to Dolby Headphone (DH1 and DH2) and Waves NX, DAfH is without reverberations, sounds dry and not spacial. With DH and NX it sound's like an actual room, while DAfH dosen't.

 

[hifinoob005]

Pics:

 

[Avean]

Tried to install Dolby Atmos for Headphones (DAfH), but it conflicted with Waves NX and OOYH. Disabling these 2 did not work. I have a dual boot system with the same OS, Win10x64 1903(18362.239). The second one does not have NX or OOYH and managed to install DAfH there.

When activating DAfH it set the system's audio to 2 channels and 16 bit 48Khz mode.
Tested with Xonar DGX (UNI drivers), Sennheiser HD380 Pro via headphone jack (analog out). The Xonar has Dolby Headphone incorporated.
Played files in Windows Media Player, MPC HC(x86) + LAV filters (0.74.1), Edge browser.

According to this ticket (https://sourceforge.net/p/mpcbe/tickets/450/?limit=25) and other info, TrueHD+Atmos cannot be decoded by Windows. Only Dolby Digial Plus (DD+) + Atmos on WMP and Edge (with Netflix only?).

Used Edge to listen to these 3 demos and some multi channel music (96Khz):
https://download.dolby.com/us/en/test-tones/dolby-test-tones_9_1_6.mp4
https://download.dolby.com/us/en/test-tones/dolby-atmos-trailer_amaze_1080.mp4
https://download.dolby.com/us/en/test-tones/dolby-atmos-trailer_leaf_1080.mp4

Downloaded the demos above (which are DD+ with Atmos), as well as the DD+ (without Atmos) and TrueHD + Atmos versions of Amaze and Leaf. Checked with Media Info that the files have Atmos.
Could not find other versions of Dolby Test Tones 9_1_6:
https://thedigitaltheater.com/dolby-trailers/

The Dolby Test Tones 9_1_6 demo:
LAV Audio sent the 6 Atmos ceiling speaker sounds in this manner:
First (from the TV wall) Left -L C
First (from the TV wall) Right -R
Second (from the TV wall) Left -BL
Second (from the TV wall) RIght -BR
Third (from the TV wall) Left -BL
Third (from the TV wall) Right -BL BR

The 2nd (from the TV wall) Right and Lleft ground speakers - L and BL, R and RL respectively.
The last 2 Right and Left were BL and BR.

Opened in 3 instances at once, Edge, MPC HC and WMP.
Listened to the (Dolby Test Tones 9_1_6) speaker sounds in rotation, but specifically the farthest (from the TV wall) Right speaker (on the floor), then the 1st ceiling Left speaker.
The last floor speaker sounded the same on all 3 players. The 1st ceiling Left sounded the same in MPC HC and Edge, but different in WMP. Positioning wise there was not much of a difference. I could not tell that the Atmos speakers were in the ceiling.

In the 2nd demo, Amaze, at about the 0:24s mark there is a spacial sound made by an insect. Listened on the 3 players (the DD+ and Atmos version of Amaze). Also listened to DD+ without Atmos version, as well as the TrueHD + Atmos versions.
Could not tell the difference between the 5 instances. There was no identifiable vertical sound unique to the Atmos versions. Either it's too subtle, incorrectly mixed, DAfH and the playing software was not working (correctly or DAfH can't do it), or my headphones + sound card don't have the soundstage or the capability for detailed 3D audio.

Same with the Leaf demo.
A 4th demo, Nature's Fury, was only available in DD+ with Atmos, and TrueHD+Atmos. Same.
When installing DAfH it takes you to a demos page (tried with FF and Edge), but no vertical sound detail:
https://www.dolby.com/us/en/guide/dolby-atmos-trailers.html

Compared to Dolby Headphone (DH1 and DH2) and Waves NX, DAfH is without reverberations, sounds dry and not spacial. With DH and NX it sound's like an actual room, while DAfH dosen't.

Not sure if i understand what you wrote here. Did you just enable Dolby Atmos for Headphones on an Atmos enabled surround system? Its for headphones and works good in games and much better than DH and DH2 which adds tons of reverb sound. It should sound very spatial but then again it depends on your headset. Im using a HD700 which has a great soundstage.

 

[hifinoob005]

Not sure if i understand what you wrote here. Did you just enable Dolby Atmos for Headphones on an Atmos enabled surround system? Its for headphones and works good in games and much better than DH and DH2 which adds tons of reverb sound. It should sound very spatial but then again it depends on your headset. Im using a HD700 which has a great soundstage.

Don't have an Atmos capable surround system, just installed Dolby Atmos for Headphones from the Windows app store.

DAfH does work as a DSP, it virtualizes sound correctly.

The question is not if DAfH can virtualize multi channel audio, it's if it decode Atmos signals.

According to this post (https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones...apparently_dolby_atmos_for_headphone_may_not/) in order for the player to decode an Atmos signal it needs to support Media Foundation. WMP supports it, but I'm not aware of any other player that does. I'll need to do more research.
Can you tell the difference of an DD+ with Atmos file being played on WMP vs. MPC HC, or another player?

As far as the quality of the virtualization that DAfH does, it's a subjective matter.

 

[hifinoob005]

Don't remember if I tested or not, but WMP (x84/x64) does not play any DTS/DTS HD MA (whatever number of channels), or TrueHD.
Doing a google search indicates that there seems to be some issues, but haven't delved too much into it.

There are codecs for Media Foundation, but they seem to be for versions of windows that didn't have them in the first place:
https://www.codecguide.com/windows_media_codecs.htm
https://www.codecguide.com/faq_wmp.htm
https://support.acquiredigital.com/hc/en-us/articles/360003318953-K-Lite-Codec-Tweak-Tool-
In any case, they are used only by WMP.

Watched the first episode of Our Planet on Netflix. At around 17:34 there seems to be some more spacial sounding effects, but not distinct. Otherwise, no identifiable vertical sounds.

Some music has been released in Atmos TrueHD, R.E.M and INXS:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=296633&page=2

 

[nraymond]

Some music has been released in Atmos TrueHD, R.E.M and INXS:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=296633&page=2

REM, Kraftwerk, BBC Earth... there are a number of Blu-Ray audio discs with Atmos tracks that I own that I'd love to hear on headphones. I don't have an Atmos receiver though, and extracting the Blu-Rays to MKV won't help me without one as far as I know because you need a playback app built with Windows Media Foundation (not legacy DirectShow), and I think all the open source solutions are DirectShow solutions (I own CyberLink PowerDVD, which is commercial, and no Atmos decoding comes with it, just pass-through support). Only Microsoft "Universal" apps from their app store are built with Media Foundation, so we're talking streaming playback of media to get Atmos decoded on a PC, because there are no disc-playback solutions that are built with Media Foundation (so no access to Atmos decoders). Also there are no open-source Atmos decoders, unlike TrueHD and DTS-HD MA, which have open-source solutions. Atmos is part of a TrueHD stream, and the Atmos portion is not decoded by anything that doesn't understand it (so the stream remains 5.1/7.1 to a non-Atmos decoder). So I could extract my Atmos music Blu-Rays to MKV, but I'd still have to bitstream the TrueHD track out of my PC via HDMI to a receiver or other external device with Atmos support in that device to decode the Atmos part (and then apply an HRTF to hear it on headphones). Which is super-annoying, IMO. Heck, I would even buy a portable Blu-Ray audio player in a heartbeat if I could plug in headphones and hear Dolby Atmos for headphones audio from a disc! Right now I just have Atmos music discs gathering dust until I upgrade my receiver (which will happen someday, but since I'm the only one in my family that cares much about audio, it doesn't have funding priority)... I won't hold my breath that CyberLink will add Atmos support anytime soon.

 

[Alphasoixante]

Can someone please recommend a USB DAC/Amp with microphone input under $200 USD that I can use with my laptop? My laptop is the Nitro 5 (if it matters). Thanks very much.

 

[Inspectre]

What does everyone think of the Valve Index? I'm not a big VR fan, but the deep dive sound interesting, and mentioned immersion as a top priority, so it caught my attention.

https://www.valvesoftware.com/en/index/deep-dive/ear-speakers

 

[Zenvota]

What does everyone think of the Valve Index? I'm not a big VR fan, but the deep dive sound interesting, and mentioned immersion as a top priority, so it caught my attention.

https://www.valvesoftware.com/en/index/deep-dive/ear-speakers

BMRs! Thats cool, I dont know of any headphones that use bmrs, let alone earspeakers. Thats all very true about how they radiate sound and the lack of breakup at high frequencies. Theyre generally more affordable/lighter, etc.

 

[Inspectre]

Where are BMRs used? I'd never heard of them before this.
The Valve Index is 1k... it'd be nice if they could separate the VR from the headset, super interested to try it one day.

 

[Zenvota]

Where are BMRs used?

http://www.philharmonicaudio.com/BMR Philharmonitor.html

https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/usa/en/products/speakers/aeromax-6

 

[Inspectre]

Woah, looks like you can't try BMRs on the cheap, at least. I guess it's going on the wishlist.