[Khazit]

Hey, I need some help since I'm new to audio compared to most of you, right now I am using ATH-R70x open back headphones (great by the way) with the essence STX II

I am wondering on whats some good competitive settings with this card. I'm not sure if I should be using 2-ch with Hi-Fi or if 8-ch dolby headphone (using DH-1 .. DH-2 and DH-3 don't sound very nice; with the Uni xonar drivers which are the better ones) is better for positional hearing, knowing where people are by their footsteps.

I know a lot say just use stereo with good open back headphones, but what if you use dolby with good open back headphones? I'm not sure what people use at the e-sport theme but I know some of their headphones do have 7.1 supported without the need of a special sound card. (please dont link that virtual barber shop video, it uses binaural, which majority of games do not use)

I appreciate any help and advice on the subject!

 

[Strangelove424]

A lot of this is personal preference, but for gaming on headphones these are my settings: 6 channel, Dolby Headphone, DH-2, w/ whatever EQ settings I made for the headphone I'm using at the time. This setup gives a very close approximation of my speaker system. It's kind of spooky sometimes and I have to take my headphones off to make sure it's them I'm hearing. And the sense of space it creates not only gives better positioning (I don't care about being competitive at all, mostly play RPGs) but it reduces the fatigue some sound effects can create and I also get a better sense of being in the environment. My main goal w/ gaming audio was always immersion. I use DH-2 because DH-3 feels too spread out.

These settings don't work at all for music. For music I just stick it in 2 channel mode, same sample rate as material, no DSP except EQ. Hope that helps.

 

[Khazit]

A lot of this is personal preference, but for gaming on headphones these are my settings: 6 channel, Dolby Headphone, DH-2, w/ whatever EQ settings I made for the headphone I'm using at the time. This setup gives a very close approximation of my speaker system. It's kind of spooky sometimes and I have to take my headphones off to make sure it's them I'm hearing. And the sense of space it creates not only gives better positioning (I don't care about being competitive at all, mostly play RPGs) but it reduces the fatigue some sound effects can create and I also get a better sense of being in the environment. My main goal w/ gaming audio was always immersion. I use DH-2 because DH-3 feels too spread out.

These settings don't work at all for music. For music I just stick it in 2 channel mode, same sample rate as material, no DSP except EQ. Hope that helps.

Thats what I've been trying at the moment, I'm not sure if there is a big difference between 6 channel and 8 channel sound wise, but it sounds really good with dolby headphones and without it, kinda hard to tell which I prefer

thanks for info!

 

[PurpleAngel]

Hey, I need some help since I'm new to audio compared to most of you, right now I am using ATH-R70x open back headphones (great by the way) with the essence STX II
I am wondering on whats some good competitive settings with this card. I'm not sure if I should be using 2-ch with Hi-Fi or if 8-ch Dolby headphone (using DH-1 .. DH-2 and DH-3 don't sound very nice; with the Uni xonar drivers which are the better ones) is better for positional hearing, knowing where people are by their footsteps.
I know a lot say just use stereo with good open back headphones, but what if you use dolby with good open back headphones? I'm not sure what people use at the e-sport theme but I know some of their headphones do have 7.1 supported without the need of a special sound card. (please dont link that virtual barber shop video, it uses binaural, which majority of games do not use)
I appreciate any help and advice on the subject!

Did you by chance disable the motherboard's on-board audio, in the BIOS.
Small chance active on-board might effect the add-on sound card.

Do you have the game (FPS gaming?) set to output 6-channel (5.1) or 8-channel (7.1) audio?

 

[Khazit]

Did you by chance disable the motherboard's on-board audio, in the BIOS.
Small chance active on-board might effect the add-on sound card.

Do you have the game (FPS gaming?) set to output 6-channel (5.1) or 8-channel (7.1) audio?

I do have the on-board audio disabled in the BIOS, I think nvidia also installed its own audio drivers I have just disabled them under device manager.

the game doesn't have the options to change the mode so I'm fairly certain its in stereo output, I'm not sure where to check on what it actually supports (mainly playing Rainbow six Siege at the moment)

 

[PurpleAngel]

I do have the on-board audio disabled in the BIOS, I think nvidia also installed its own audio drivers I have just disabled them under device manager.

the game doesn't have the options to change the mode so I'm fairly certain its in stereo output, I'm not sure where to check on what it actually supports (mainly playing Rainbow six Siege at the moment)

If a source (game) only comes with 2.0 stereo audio output, there is not really a lot a sound card could do for creating what I would call true headphone surround sound.
(sound card really needs a 5.1 (6-channel) or 8-channel (7.1) feed to process/create what I would call true headphone surround sound)
Dolby can do a fake headphone surround sound (Dolby Pro Logic), with a 2.0 source, but I think you better off just setting the sound card to 2.0 audio, leave Dolby turned off.

 

[Khazit]

If a source (game) only comes with 2.0 stereo audio output, there is not really a lot a sound card could do for creating what I would call true headphone surround sound.
(sound card really needs a 5.1 (6-channel) or 8-channel (7.1) feed to process/create what I would call true headphone surround sound)
Dolby can do a fake headphone surround sound (Dolby Pro Logic), with a 2.0 source, but I think you better off just setting the sound card to 2.0 audio, leave Dolby turned off.

I see, if the game does support 5.1 or 7.1 though dolby headphone would sound pretty good, at least better than what stereo could do?