Microsoft.com has
Dolby Atmos for Headphones Add-On (Xbox / Windows Digital) for use the
Dolby Access app (
free download) on sale for
$10.49. Thanks goosedude
Note, requires installation of the free
Dolby Access app (
free download) to use this add-on feature.
Description
- "Dolby Atmos for Headphones is an add-on for the Dolby Access app, Dolby Atmos for Headphones enables your Windows 10 PC to deliver a premium, immersive headphone experience. You’ll get the full Dolby Atmos moving audio experience with games, movies, and shows designed for Dolby Atmos, and an enhanced surround sound experience for all your favorite 5.1- and 7.1-channel content."
Compatibility:
- Windows 10 PC
- Xbox One / One S / One X
- Xbox Series S / Series X
Offer ends 12/3/20.
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EDIT: I wouldn't pay for this. I received it free with a headset purchase but it's not that much better than Windows Sonic. For $11? Maybe worth it but I'd rather spend my money elsewhere.
Headphones: Corsair VOID wireless and ATH-MX50
Game: Assassin's Creed Origin. Selected because it is marketed as a game for Atmos for headphones.
Method: I went into a city with a lot of ambient noises and found a donkey. With my eyes shut I ran away while pressing left and right and spinning my mouse for 5 to 10 seconds. I kept my eyes shut and then when the donkey started walking I would follow the sound and try and track back to the animal.
I repeated this for off, sonic, Atmos, and DTS for both headphones.
Then I climbed a building and stood by the edge. With my eyes shut I waited for a hay cart to come by and tried to jump into the cart.
Again I repeated this for all four for both headphones.
Results: Keep in mind the subjective nature of this and the very limited testing sample.
Overall sound quality. While the overall sound was marginally better with any 3D sound tech vs off I couldn't really tell much difference between the quality of the three options.
Non-voice sound effects had a better sense of depth with DTS than the other two 3D solutions. Noticeable but not significant (subjective use of the word, not statistical). I was repeatedly closer to the hay cart with DTS than the other two options.
Voice sound effects were identical for characters that were walking about, but there was a sense of distance. NPC yelling from a fixed point were very strange as their volume seemed to increase as I moved farther away from them until I could no longer hear them. This negated any depth information their sound provided.
Conclusion. Overall the distance a sound was coming from did seem improved with 3D sound enhancement vs off. In limited sampling no single 3D sound solution seemed the best. Angled sound was less impressive. DTS did seem the best of the three but more so when trying to locate birds above my head than people under me. In both above and below testing it was an acceptable improvement but not impressive.
This limited test suggests that, for gaming at least, Sonic is sufficient for improving sound.
Let me know if it's worth me taking the time to try more tests.
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Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank sanges99
DTS in-app unlock also is on sale during this event. Both have free trials, why not download them both and see if you have a preference.
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If you have dirt cheap headphones with little-to-no sound sound separation, then maybe you could get some benefit using something like Dolby Headphone. But any decent pair of headphones is going to sound best with a clean, unprocessed 2.0 signal. Stereo has absolutely no problem creating a 3D sound stage, especially with a good pair of headphones. All of this "virtual surround" stuff is muddled garbage.
Stereo Uncompressed: Sounds flat but nothing necessary seems off.
Windows Sonic: Sound stage seems larger with this option, but too "tinny and reverb-y" for my taste.
Dolby Atmos: A good balance between feeling like it has dimension without that tinny sound. You also can adjust some settings in the app to your preference.
I'm not an audio expert, but Dolby Atmos for Headphones in my experience seems to be the best option out of all of them.
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