Surround Sound Headphones?

Has anyone here tried surround sound headphones with the SPDIF output on an nForce mobo? If so, how do they work with games?
-r

Quote
Originally posted by Ryu Connor
I've had to read your question a few times to be sure that I'm answering the question right.
I'd have to say the general answer to your question is no.
Setting the panel to headphones is supposed to cause Windows to do something to the output of the sound. I can't perceive any difference when I shift the setting about. I've begun to wonder if the setting is only applicable to analog sound cards.
Furthermore an external DSP is required to use S/PDIF. At minimum you need a DAC to convert the digital signal back into analog. You also have to remember that any DD sound output from the S/PDIF must be decoded before it goes to the DAC. Since it appears that the nForce encodes any sound that passes through it, this too would make a DSP required.
I should have been a bit clearer on the external DSP. I realize a DD decoder is necessary when using the SPDIF output, but a DSP for additional HRTF would not necessarily be needed (if I'm understanding this correctly).
Quote
The adjustment of these settings along side Pro Logic tend to create the necessary HRTF output through headphones. That's for DD content any ways. 3D Sound API's acheive their goal by processing before output through the S/PDIF or analog outs.
But is the 3D Sound API's sound processing "preserved" when encoded to Dolby Digital? In other words, does the EAX and/or A3D positional infomation remain after it is encoded to DD?
Quote
One person who recently listened to a DVD-A song on my rig said the following afterwards, "Wow, the sound felt like it was in the back of my head."
Which I suppose is the result you're looking for.
Yes, exactly! But for games as well as DVDs?
Good info Ryu! Thanks!!
-r

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X-fi and surround sound headphones

I'm interested in buying the X-Fi XtremeMusic, but I've been told that it's not good with surround sound headphones. I'm using Genius 5.1 headphones. They do have a switch that enables me to only use 2.1 if I want.
Will the X-Fi work with these?

I don't see why not. They would probably need bass redirection enabled with the +15dB subwoofer boost as one way to get correct channel volumes. This very long thread:
http://forums.creative.com/creativel...essage.id=8533
might give you some useful insights.
Did whoever told you they weren't good tell you anything about why or in what way?
-Dave
[email protected]

Surround sound headphone solution for iMac in Bootcamp/Windows 7

Hi all
I have a 27" iMac which, unfortunately, in Windows, outputs only in stereo (I have NO idea why). It has no PCI option that I aware of.
I like to game in Windows 7 (dual booted) and have in my possession:
Creative X-Fi USB 5.1 soundcard (http://us.store.creative.com/Sound-Blaster-XFi-Surround-5.1/M/B0017QQQAE.htm);
Turtle Beach Earforce DSS;
AKG K271 Studio headphones.
I am using the CMSS-3D software with the X-Fi and getting okay results. I have also tried plugging in the Earforce DSS via the optical out on the X-Fi (with CMSS-3D off) and have two different results:
Movies/DVDs, etc. the Earforce clicks into Dolby Digital mode;
Games (Dead Space, Metro 2033, etc.), I get only the Pro Logic light coming on.
I can't tell much difference between CMSS-3D and the Pro Logic on the Earforce so am debating getting rid of them both (not the headphones, I use them for music) and going for another solution, as I don't think I can really get a very good performance from these. I previously owned Astro Mixamp and A40 headset and thought they sounded fantastic on 360, really helped on Battlefield Bad Company 2, etc. What I am using now just doesn't seem to measure up.
So, any thoughts? Logitech G35? One of the Sennheiser ones?
Cheers!
Steve

I have a G35 and the surround works great in Windows 7 under Boot Camp. The headphones will also work in a basic way with OS X, but you'll only get stereo since there is no Mac version of the software

Enable CMSS-3D with 5.1 Surround Sound Headphon

Hey everyone I heared of a post or something on another site that a creative rep or soemthing said that you should have CMSS-3D off when you have the X-FI configured for 5. speakers. Is this true? I did a search of the forums and didnt find an answer. So please someone answer! thanks!

It depends on what you're doing. When you have 5. headphones connected, you should set up the card as if you are using 5. speakers. The CMSS-3DHeadphone option is for when you are using standard stereo headphones, and the speaker selection is set to "Headphones".
You can enable CMSS with your 5. headphones (but set the speaker selection to 5., that way you get the right CMSS setting), so you get 5. from sources like music, for instance. Music is normally only stereo.
Cat

How do I convert analogue 5.1 surround sound into a digital signal? (Pioneer SE-DIR800C headphon

I understand that my SB Audigy 2 card will only output 5. sound from games through its 3 analogue connectors. How do I convert this analogue signal into a digital one? What hardware do I need to purchase?
I have read the thread on "Digital Connections, SPDIF and Dolby Digital Info", and also I've thoroughly read the "Creative Speaker Connectivity Guide".
The reason I ask is that I have just bought a pair of Pioneer SE-DIR800C Surround Sound headphones. This are supposedly fantastic for recreating surround sound on headphones because there is a clever little decoder box. They accept a DTS / Dolby Digital signal via the digital co-axial and optical inputs, and there is a single analogue input which only accepts stereo sound.
My XBox and PS2 will output true digital 5. sound via an optical cable and I am confident this will work perfectly with these headphones. I'm really looking forward to playing Halo in surround sound! But for gaming on my PC, I'll be limited to just an analogue stereo signal. Well, unless I can find some device that will convert my SoundBlaster's analogue 5. outputs into a digital signal, which I can then plug into the little decoder box for these headphones.
So, back to my question:
What hardware do I need to buy to convert an analogue 5. signal (via 6 x RCA or 3 x 3.5mm stereo ) into a true digital signal (via optical or co-axial SP/DIF)? Is it some type of headphone amplifier I need? If possible, please recommend makes & models of equipment.

Thanks stefan
OK, basically I have found 3 options for getting digital 5. out of a PC:
a) Creative DTS-60 (approx $90). This converts the SB's analogue into digital, but it's not available in the UK and it also introduces a noticeable 50ms sound delay. Also, who wants an extra box hanging out of their PC?
b) Buy a new sound card which has Dolby Digital Li've output. For example, ) BlueGears HDA X Mystique 7., or 2) Turtle Beach Montego DDL, or 3) Terratec Aureon 7. PCI (NOT the Space, FireWire or Uni'verse cards). I couldn't find the first two available in the UK so I have just ordered the Terratec card from Komplett.
c) Buy a new motherboard that has built-in Dolby Digital Li've output, for example the ABIT Fatalty AA8XE. Unfortunately my PC is only just over year old and I'm not quite ready to replace it.
I hope this info is useful for people. Maybe Creative will start making a card with DDL output too.Message Edited by NinjaHeretic on 2-22-2005 08:46 AM

Problems with HQ-2300D headphones. Lack of surround sound and other minor probs.

I've bought Creative HQ-2300D, and I am disappointed so far.
My first problem was instructions. I am not trying to insult anyone, but the booklet didn't instruct anything. It merely explained what the buttons did and what did the pictures mean (as if I can't recognize a notebook when I see one). The diagram did not include PCs, either.
Regardless, it wasn't useless as finally I've made the headphones & the decoder work. I was surprised that the cable connecting my machine and the decoder was short and thin. Very thin. Here's what I had in my bundle, aside from the decoder, headphones, and cheap Energizer AA batteries:
http://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0020qh6.jpg
"A" is used for connecting the headphones to video game consoles, I gathered, so I put it aside, since I needed to connect the headphones and decoder to my PC. I tried using "B", but couldn't fit the black thing anywhere. "C" worked. Did I get it right?
I tried music first. Horrid. Bass sounded blurred out and what closely followed could only be described as hands clapping with bass at zero. After messing around with settings, I've managed to reduce that effect to a minimum. Then I've tried watching a movie, and the sound quality was actually very good. Although I've been watching a DVD, I didn't notice surround sound.
Then I've tried games. Half-Life 2 and then Doom 3 with EAX patch. The sound quality is admirable, but I didn't notice surround sound. Is there anything I need to tweak? Also, there's faint noise after low sounds.
Are the headphones defected, or what?
EDIT: Forgot to mention my soundcard is X-Fi Platinum.
Message Edited by Flawless on 07-07-2007 08:31 AM

I'm really sorry for the double post, but after thoroughly reading the instructions again, I've managed to eliminate that faint static by pressing Dolby Pro Logic II and Dolby Headphones buttons simultaneously and holding them for 2 seconds.
But the surround sound is still absent. I thoroughly tested with the helicopter sound circling you, with both CMSS-3D on and off, I fired up Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 and tested if there's any difference between front and back, with both CMSS-3D on and off. I closed my eyes, and I couldn't tell where the sound was coming from.

Surround Sound Via Headphone Sockets With ALSA and/or OSS?

I have a surround sound system that uses the green and black 2.5 milimeter jacks for surround sound. Is it possible to configure ALSA, so that the headphone socket on my laptop produces the front (green) output, and the external microphone socket produces the rear (black) output? Also, is this possible with OSS?
Last edited by Wintervenom (2009-09-04 21:17:54)

Possible in Alsa, yes. Quite a bit of modification of your .asoundrc. Check this out.

How to turn the surround-sound-like effect off with headphones?

When I plug in the headphones into my ipad I notice the sound in the headphones becomes kinda surround-like. For instance I clearly hear keyboard clicks "at a distance" in front of me when using headphones. This "effect" is nice for keyboard clicks but totally ruins any music listening experience because any song gets distorted and is perceived at some distance when played. This becomes extremely annoying when listening to mono content. The special sound processing applied to get this surrround-like sound effect adds artefacts into the sound, please let me know how to turn this off Apple, I couldn't find any option in the settings.
Overall, I couldn't even imagine I'd get such an annoying and unprofessional effect applied by default without a possibility to turn it off. If I knew that in advance I'd never buy my ipad since currently it's not possible to listen to music with it
Message was edited by: vvtrus

vvtrus, did you ever consider that turning off the clicks or other sounds might have an effect? So, before telling people who want to help you that an answer makes no sense to you, you might first try it.
Since hearing and listening to music is a very subjective matter which also depends on the quality of the headphones you use, it might be the case that you hear on your iPod something that you couldn't hear on your laptop and portable music player (both of non-apple design). Then you should blame those other devices to deliver you such poor sound. On the other hand, you might have a better hearing than other people which might give you the impression of surround-sound-like effects -- in which case we can't help you either.
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Audigy 2 zs surround sound through dual channel headphones ?

< Hello,?
I've heard of virtual surround sound that the Audigy 2 zs can supposedly do. ?Does this mean that i can get surround sound out of regular dual channel headphones? i know it wont be true surround sound but the idea is that it will be something close to it right ?
if this is possible how do i set this up ?
thanks for your help!

What happened is when you installed the new itunes 7 it messed around with all of your files for the sound check and as a result when u are using sound check your speakers will not work correctly (I just fixed this problem). To fix it, simply go into the edit menu, then preferences and then click on the playback tab. In that tab the third box you can check off from the top should be sound check. Simply uncheck that box and you should be fine.
Good Luck

True 5.1 surround sound from headphone port over a Toslink cable?

http://support.apple.com/kb/SP690 page regarding the headphone port simply says: "Support for audio line out (digital/analog)". So, in planning a purchase I have the following 2 questions:
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2. Using the above confuguration will the new MacBook Pro be able to play true 5.1 surround sound on HD movies purchased or rented from iTunes?

Probably: http://osx411.com/index.php?/topic/38-hook-your-macbook-pro-up-to-your-surround- system/

How do i get my surround sound to work with my laptop while using a hdmi cable for the video

I have a Sony surround sound system hooked up that works great. My X-Box 360 works with it and I can get my HP G60 to play audio files through the surround sound system with a red and white audio jack plugged into the back of my surround sound receiver, the red and white audio cord goes to a 3.5mm headphone jack that i plug into the headphone plug on the front of my computer. The problem occurs when I hook my HDMI cable into my computer and connect it to my Samsung Flat screen, the HDMI sound takes over and wont allow the sound to go through the headphone jack. My tv does not have any audio output plugs, and my suround sound reciever doesnt have an HDMI input. Is there a setting on the computer that will allow me to over ride the HDMI sound and direct the sound through the head phones? or is there an app or tool that will allow my laptop to recognize my suround sound system plugged into my laptop? I have been to best buy, walmart, radio shack and even my local car audio store to ask about this issue and everyone has a different solution, and so far none of them have worked???????? sincerley frustrated! please help!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Hello JaeRoc48,
I understand that the sound is not working.
Go to start.
Type Sound.
Select sound.
Select speakers as default.
Click OK.
Let me know how everything goes.

Optical audio and surround sound speakers for my Mac Pro

In the back of my Mac Pro there's an in and out for Optical Audio. What is this and are there any surround sound speaker systems out there that will plug into it? Most surround sound speakers seem to require a PC-style triple-input, with three jacks (Green to front, Orange to centre and Black to rear channels). Very few surround sound systems have the additional option for a single headphone socket-style jack, and I'm not sure if they will work terribly well with this single connection.
Can anyone recommend some speaker choices, particularly in the UK, that will give me good surround sound from the optical audio or single headphone jacks? Many thanks.

You might want to look at a device called the Griffin FireWave: [http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/firewave]
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Using sky go from Mac air to TV and surround sound speakers

I have skygo, and want to watch it on my tv through HDMI cable, can I use logitech surround sound pc speakers too somehow?

As your TV has HDMI inputs which will support sound as well as video, use a MiniDisplay port to HDMI cable (Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Cable by Cablesson works great) or a MiniDisplay port to HDMI adaptor and HDMI to HDMI if not. Just make sure the adaptor supports audio as well as video. Just select HDMI in the Preferences Sound
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Connecting my Macbook (Alu) to my surround sound system in the lounge?

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You can get multi-channel audio out of the MacBook using the optical audio output that is accessed through the same port as the standard 3.5mm analog audio out (i.e. the headphone output). However, the only software that Apple provides that outputs multi-channel audio is the DVD Player.
Digital optical to coax converters are available so to access the optical output you'd need a 3.5mm to TOSLINK adapter (cheap about $2 USD), an optical cable, an optical to coax converter (relatively inexpensive), and a section of coax cable.
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???????????HOW TO GET SURROUND SOUND ON MACBOOK???????????????????????

I have a macbook osx 10.5.8. I purchased some Logitech X-540 5.1 surround sound speakers to hook up to my laptop. There are 3 cables (an orange, green, and black) that come from the different speakers/subwoofer that are supposed to plug into the computer, but i can only plug in 1 of the 3 into the headphone jack my macbook. Here's some pics of the speakers:
http://techgage.com/print/logitechx-540_51speakers
When I do so, only some of the speakers play, not all of them. I went to BestBuy and asked someone if surround sound is possible for a macbook, but he said "no". I have seen online many people claiming it is possible to get 5.1 surround sound for mac, but haven't figured out how. Can someone please be of some assistance????

Since you only want to play CD's why not just use the two for the normal Left/Right channels your CD was created with?
If you want to use ALL of your speakers, you'll need to invest in a USB or Firewire device that will connect to your Macbook and then allow you to connect all your speakers.

Surround Sound Headphones?

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