[roguegeek]

My trigger finger became too twitchy when I saw the Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD card for only $99 at J&R. Already purchased it. Hope I made the right decision. Someone please say something that wont give me buyer's remorse!!!

 

[genclaymore]

You made a good choice, it is a good card and you should enjoy it.

 

[Evshrug]

Nice! Dayyymn, I am wishing I could take advantage of that deal too!

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

My trigger finger became too twitchy when I saw the Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD card for only $99 at J&R. Already purchased it. Hope I made the right decision. Someone please say something that wont give me buyer's remorse!!!

 
Nice. Everyone should get in on that deal while it lasts!
 
Guess that's more reason to get the X-Fi setup guide finished soon; you'll probably want it the instant it shows up on your doorstep.

 

[roguegeek]

Thanks for the reenforcement, everyone. That card wasn't even on my radar when I started my research and this thread has been super helpful in getting me where I want to be. I can't wait to pair it with the AD700!

 

[element72]

I just got the xonar U3. I'm not sure what settings ppl play for the best positional cues. Let me know what to tryout or what's best for you on dolby headphone. I have audio channel set to 8 (recommended by Asus for 3D games), gaming mode set (this enables dolby headphone and DH-2; there is also option DH-1 and DH-3). 
 
Again the settings I'm using are audio channel 8, gaming mode preset, and "headphone" in game. I'm currently playing left 4 dead 2. I just wish someone would tell me how they set up their sound for dolby headphone.
 
Edit: It seems you get more distinct positional cues with 7.1 virtual speaker shifter checked, so I'll keep that always checked from now on. I'm comparing DH to CMSS-3D by using Xonar U3 and Titanium HD. Xonar U3 is more distinct in positional sound. From testing with the Titanium HD I can't really distinguish what's in front of me or behind me. Also note that I'm testing by using the RightMark 3DSound Positional Accuracy test. Please let me know if I'm doing anything wrong or tell me what I should try out.

 

[element72]

I recently discovered this thread. If I were to use a desktop amp such as the magni or fiio e9k, then is the section, "Method for using sound card as DSP to output to any audio device," exactly what I should follow if I were to use the optical out on my titanium HD?

 

[Fa11ou7]

I have a Turtle Beach PX5 that I picked up to use with my Xbox/PC and overall it works great but occasionally I get a pop in the audio when listening on my PC. I don't have an audio card I'm just using the optical out from my onboard sound (Realteck ALC892). I'll run it on my Xbox for a few hours to see if I get the same pop but do you guys have any ideas? I'm using the 3.5mm audio out to my Koss DJ100 or KSC75.

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

I just got the xonar U3. I'm not sure what settings ppl play for the best positional cues. Let me know what to tryout or what's best for you on dolby headphone. I have audio channel set to 8 (recommended by Asus for 3D games), gaming mode set (this enables dolby headphone and DH-2; there is also option DH-1 and DH-3). 
 
Again the settings I'm using are audio channel 8, gaming mode preset, and "headphone" in game. I'm currently playing left 4 dead 2. I just wish someone would tell me how they set up their sound for dolby headphone.
 
Edit: It seems you get more distinct positional cues with 7.1 virtual speaker shifter checked, so I'll keep that always checked from now on. I'm comparing DH to CMSS-3D by using Xonar U3 and Titanium HD. Xonar U3 is more distinct in positional sound. From testing with the Titanium HD I can't really distinguish what's in front of me or behind me. Also note that I'm testing by using the RightMark 3DSound Positional Accuracy test. Please let me know if I'm doing anything wrong or tell me what I should try out.

 
The first thing I'd try with the Titanium HD is to make sure it's running in Game Mode and that it's set to Headphones. That ensures you get CMSS-3D Headphone at its best. (You may also want to go in and set CMSS-3D Headphone's Elevation Filter to "On". MacroFX can be set to taste; it makes close sounds louder in volume, but this can result in having to turn the overall volume down and risk not hearing distant sounds because your own gunfire and other close sounds are uncomfortably loud.)
 
Also, the RightMark 3DSound Positional Accuracy test uses DirectSound3D, so you must set up ALchemy for it to work correctly. In practice, this amounts to copying the ALchemy dsound.dll and a dsound.ini file with a few configuration settings to the same directory as the game/app's executable. Word is that the Xonar DS3DGX approach has its wrapper somewhere in the Windows System folder, so you don't need to set it up on a per-game/app basis, but some people don't find it to work as well as ALchemy + hardware X-Fi. (I'll leave that judgment to you.)
 
Quote:

I recently discovered this thread. If I were to use a desktop amp such as the magni or fiio e9k, then is the section, "Method for using sound card as DSP to output to any audio device," exactly what I should follow if I were to use the optical out on my titanium HD?

 
For the optical S/PDIF output, you don't need to follow those instructions at all, because that section's instructions are meant for USB DACs.
 
Instead, all you need to do is go into the X-Fi's settings under the Console Launcher or Audio Control Panel and check "Play Stereo Mix using Digital Output", then connect the optical cable to your DAC. Nice, simple, and you don't impair audio quality significantly.

 

[Heretic817]

Just wanted to share my excitement. I just ordered all of the components including some upgrades from Mouser to build my own Objective 2 Amp.
I also ordered the chassis, front plate, knob, and PCB from JDS Labs. All done shipping and all for about $80!!

 

[Evshrug]

Nameless,
MacroFX sounds like what Creative was trying to do with Scout Mode on the Recon3D. I don't think Scout Mode is nearly as effective since the card receives zero positional data (well... at least when connected to the Xbox via Optical, I haven't used Scout Mode on PC), I just use Scout Mode when my ears are tired and I want to play at low volume whilst not missing the more subtle cues. For those that don't know, my theory about Scout mode is just that it compresses most sounds to play at ~ the same dB volume level, which hurts positional accuracy and "naturalness," but I can get used to it and still be competitive.

Does Creative give the user instructions on how to configure ALchemy? Having not yet tried, I would have no idea what "few configuration settings" would be set for, or what format they would be in (in game settings? .ini file edits?). I'm sure I'll find out some day though. Does Borderlands 2 have some kind of 3D audio support?

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

Nameless,
MacroFX sounds like what Creative was trying to do with Scout Mode on the Recon3D. I don't think Scout Mode is nearly as effective since the card receives zero positional data (well... at least when connected to the Xbox via Optical, I haven't used Scout Mode on PC), I just use Scout Mode when my ears are tired and I want to play at low volume whilst not missing the more subtle cues. For those that don't know, my theory about Scout mode is just that it compresses most sounds to play at ~ the same dB volume level, which hurts positional accuracy and "naturalness," but I can get used to it and still be competitive.
Does Creative give the user instructions on how to configure ALchemy? Having not yet tried, I would have no idea what "few configuration settings" would be set for, or what format they would be in (in game settings? .ini file edits?). I'm sure I'll find out some day though. Does Borderlands 2 have some kind of 3D audio support?

 
I always thought Scout Mode was an EQ effect meant to emphasize important sounds, but on the Recon3D USB, it suffers from not being able to function in tandem with THX TruStudio Surround.
 
Creative actually does give instructions on how to set up ALchemy. Just edited that guide to include it in the links section.
 
Borderlands 2 actually does have OpenAL support, but it's hidden. This seems to be because it's using an audio middleware that isn't FMOD Ex, by contrast to the first Borderlands and most other UnrealEngine3 games. It defaults to XAudio2, but if you don't mind editing the WillowEngine.ini file a bit, you can enable OpenAL mode. Note that I haven't really tested the audio yet, just because I have yet to get a group of friends together for some co-op.

 

[element72]

Quote:

Also, the RightMark 3DSound Positional Accuracy test uses DirectSound3D, so you must set up ALchemy for it to work correctly. In practice, this amounts to copying the ALchemy dsound.dll and a dsound.ini file with a few configuration settings to the same directory as the game/app's executable. Word is that the Xonar DS3DGX approach has its wrapper somewhere in the Windows System folder, so you don't need to set it up on a per-game/app basis, but some people don't find it to work as well as ALchemy + hardware X-Fi. (I'll leave that judgment to you.)

Took me all day yesterday trying to figure out how to install and use ALchemy. The only way I could successfully install it was using the cd that came with my titanium HD. The latest version came out 2 months ago i think. I can't install that because I keep getting that weird error that supported device is not detected.
 
What settings should I use for ALchemy when trying out the RightMark 3DSound Positional Accuracy test?

 

[Evshrug]

I always thought Scout Mode was an EQ effect meant to emphasize important sounds, but on the Recon3D USB, it suffers from not being able to function in tandem with THX TruStudio Surround.

Creative actually does give instructions on how to set up ALchemy. Just edited that guide to include it in the links section.

Borderlands 2 actually does have OpenAL support, but it's hidden. This seems to be because it's using an audio middleware that isn't FMOD Ex, by contrast to the first Borderlands and most other UnrealEngine3 games. It defaults to XAudio2, but if you don't mind editing the WillowEngine.ini file a bit, you can enable OpenAL mode. Note that I haven't really tested the audio yet, just because I have yet to get a group of friends together for some co-op.

I'm bookmarking this post. I don't mind editing code, as long as I know what I'm doing beforehand
I'm not sure if I'm getting Borderlands 2 for Windows or Xbox yet, I want the technical prowess possible in the PC version, but most of my gamer friends only play on Xbox and can't keep a PC working to save their lives I do have one friend with a decent PC and a few windows games, if I decide to go that route (or if you want to talk me into it) I'll be sure to let you know. Good to know a very recent game has OpenAL, even if it is a bit hidden!

 

[Fa11ou7]

Quote:

I'm bookmarking this post. I don't mind editing code, as long as I know what I'm doing beforehand

I'm not sure if I'm getting Borderlands 2 for Windows or Xbox yet, I want the technical prowess possible in the PC version, but most of my gamer friends only play on Xbox and can't keep a PC working to save their lives

I do have one friend with a decent PC and a few windows games, if I decide to go that route (or if you want to talk me into it) I'll be sure to let you know. Good to know a very recent game has OpenAL, even if it is a bit hidden!

Check this Youtube video out and let that help you decide which platform you would rather play on. I was able to get it for both platforms but my wife wanted to play with me and she wanted a controller and the TV so we ended up playing it through twice on the Xbox. It sure is beautiful on the PC though, and if your worried about your PC specs, don't. My GPU is an ancient Radeon 5770 and even with PhysX (which is supposed to be Nvidia only, but can be made to work with Radeon) turned on to medium it ran fine.  
 
Edit: I should point out that the video is PC with and without PhysX so not exactly platform comparison but PhysX is only available on PC so that shows you what is possible on a PC and the without clips are essentially what you would get on a console except maybe not even that visually impressive.