Hardware & Technical Dolby 7.1 v DTS-X

[Hessfire]

Greetings,

So my old headset (Logitech G930) just gave up the ghost - she served me well. I have replaced it with the G933, which works phenomenally well - but leaves me with a question.

With the added DTS-X support in ED the question becomes which settings I should choose? The 933 supports Dolby 7.1 Surround as well as DTS-X, so which provides the better soundscape for playing the game?

Thoughts and suggestions at welcome...

Thanks

 

[shadragon]

I doubt you could tell the difference between the two without very accurate sound measuring gear.

Try them both in the same environment like sitting on an upper landing pad in a station and just listen for a few minutes. If one sounds better, go with that.

 

[Shadowdancer]

With the Creators Update, Windows 10 natively supports some positional audio emulations for headphones. As far as headphones go, a good stereo set with emulation will pretty much always be better than a set with multiple drivers.

 

[xondk]

Greetings,

So my old headset (Logitech G930) just gave up the ghost - she served me well. I have replaced it with the G933, which works phenomenally well - but leaves me with a question.

With the added DTS-X support in ED the question becomes which settings I should choose? The 933 supports Dolby 7.1 Surround as well as DTS-X, so which provides the better soundscape for playing the game?

Thoughts and suggestions at welcome...

Thanks

That is a really, really tricky one to answer, some people swear to dolby, some to DTS, which is best.......well, the one you enjoy the most.

 

[Para Handy]

Just want to throw something in the mix (sorry) -

Doesn't the DTS-X that F D supports only work via the analogue stereo headphone port? Wouldn't the "wireless" connection negate that, just as the USB connection that my Hyper-X cans use does?

 

[Shadowdancer]

Doesn't the DTS-X that F D supports only work via the analogue stereo headphone port? Wouldn't the "wireless" connection negate that, just as the USB connection that my Hyper-X cans use does?

USB-connected headphones shouldn't be an issue unless they're crap, as they are not any more or less "analogue" than whatever other interface with a headphone output you have. Just make sure you set them up as a stereo device.

Bluetooth would be an issue since that will recompress the signal and discard a lot of information.

 

[Para Handy]

USB-connected headphones shouldn't be an issue unless they're crap, as they are not any more or less "analogue" than whatever other interface with a headphone output you have. Just make sure you set them up as a stereo device.
...................

Since USB "dongle thingies" which the headphone's jack plug connect into have built-in DSPs (well they do in mine) that is why I am positing the question.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Since USB "dongle thingies" which the headphone's jack plug connect into have built-in DSPs (well they do in mine) that is why I am positing the question.

Most of them will just be cheap standard USB audio chips with some fancy-sounding names tacked on, most of the processing will be done in software. (I'd go ahead and file anything in the "crap" category that can't be told to quit it with the effects and just be a set of stereo headphones, and yes, those would have a good chance of breaking positional audio.)

 

[Gully Foyle]

Which system sounds best for music would be my deciding factor.

 

[JetsonRING]

Greetings,
So my old headset (Logitech G930) just gave up the ghost - she served me well. I have replaced it with the G933, which works phenomenally well - but leaves me with a question.
With the added DTS-X support in ED the question becomes which settings I should choose? The 933 supports Dolby 7.1 Surround as well as DTS-X, so which provides the better soundscape for playing the game?
Thoughts and suggestions at welcome...
Thanks

I have a G933. It works fine and frankly sounds brightest with the surround sound "feature" turned off. The surround-sound on the G933 doesn't work so terrific anyway, there are only the two speakers, it is using algorithms to simulate surround, not extra speakers so, bleh. IMO turning on the surround-sound mode makes it sound like I am under water. The 3rd button on the left ear-pad switches between the surround-sound modes, the second button turns surround-sound mode on and off. Use the GUI in the software and you can keep track of which mode you are in as you listen to the changes in sounds as you switch modes. I do this while sitting in the docks at a space station. I also suggest turning off all of the lighting effects as they greatly reduce battery life and you can't see them when you are wearing the headset anyway. o7

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I doubt you could tell the difference between the two without very accurate sound measuring gear.
Try them both in the same environment like sitting on an upper landing pad in a station and just listen for a few minutes. If one sounds better, go with that.

On the G933, Dolby and DTS surround-sound modes sound significantly different from each other.

 

[Branithar]

How convincing are the surround effects in virtual surround headsets? I've heard a lot of hype, but I've listened to sound demos of various surround formats on my expensive recording headphones and I wasn't impressed: nothing sounded like it was behind or surrounded me, it just widened the stereo field some.

 

[Hessfire]

All,

Thanks for the input/suggestions, gives me something to think about and fiddle with as I get these new headphones dialed in.

@Jettison - Thank you for the input concerning the LED lighting on the set. I prefer to leave them on (even though it draws down on the battery) as my spouse uses them as a visual clue to know whether I am "listening" to her while in game. I find it less disruptive than the head slap I would get for ignoring her whilst wearing the G930's (just don't tell her I said that...please...:x).

Much to try, and good suggestions made...

- - - Updated - - -

How convincing are the surround effects in virtual surround headsets? I've heard a lot of hype, but I've listened to sound demos of various surround formats on my expensive recording headphones and I wasn't impressed: nothing sounded like it was behind or surrounded me, it just widened the stereo field some.

To date I have found the Dolby Surround in the G930 and 933 to be quite convincing and helpful - especially in docking/undocking larger ships as I get a sense of others fore/aft/port/starboard/ventral/dorsal positioning.

But that's just me...YMMV

 

[JetsonRING]

How convincing are the surround effects in virtual surround headsets? I've heard a lot of hype, but I've listened to sound demos of various surround formats on my expensive recording headphones and I wasn't impressed: nothing sounded like it was behind or surrounded me, it just widened the stereo field some.

A true "surround-sound" headset will have 3 drivers inside each ear-pad to provide as close to true positional audio as possible. Nothing under several hundreds of dollars will do that. "Digital" or "virtual" surround-sound headphones have a single driver per side and use digital signal processing to, as you noticed "widen the stereo field" but do not provide anything like true surround-sound as you would experience with 7 speakers placed around you. It can sound pretty convincing, though. Traffic Control talks right into your ear. o7

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All,

Thanks for the input/suggestions, gives me something to think about and fiddle with as I get these new headphones dialed in.
@Jettison - Thank you for the input concerning the LED lighting on the set. I prefer to leave them on (even though it draws down on the battery) as my spouse uses them as a visual clue to know whether I am "listening" to her while in game. I find it less disruptive than the head slap I would get for ignoring her whilst wearing the G930's (just don't tell her I said that...please...:x).
QUOTE]

Apparently you can configure the lighting effects to change depending on conditions for instance: changing from green to red (or simply turning on) when hard-points are deployed, to let another person know whether it is, or is not a good time to interrupt. o7