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Dolby Atmos for Headphones Add-On (Xbox / Windows Digital) for Dolby Access App Expired

$10.50
$14.99
+136 Deal Score
77,682 Views
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
Good Deal?

Original Post

Written by
Edited November 24, 2020 at 05:30 PM by
I don't post much but this is a deal I noticed last night.

DOLBY ATMOS for Headphones for Windows 10 PCs, XBOX One, and XBOX SERIES S/X is on sale for $ 10.49 (Normal price $14.99). If you aren't familiar...only Windows Sonic is supported out of the box for Xbox consoles and Windows 10 PCs,

Dolby Atmos and DTS are extra and require installation / activation.

You will need to install the DOLBY ACCESS app (which comes with a 7-day free ATMOS trial) via the Microsoft store on Windows 10 & Xbox Consoles.

Via that app you can access the purchase of DOLBY ATMOS as well as the settings. You also can go directly to the link for purchase.

This rarely ever goes on sale though I do know vouchers for a free copy are included with some RIG headsets.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p...verviewtab
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Deal
Score
+136
77,682 Views
$10.50
$14.99

Community Wiki

Last Edited by UnstableChimp November 24, 2020 at 05:26 PM
For those who have questions, or simply want to learn more about Dolby Atmos and Windows Sonic for headphones, this is a really good article.
https://reddiamondaudio.net/windo...lby-atmos/

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Featured Comments

The x-box comes with real dolby atmos for real speakers. This is simulated Dolby Atmos for headphones only.
You can. I have it installed on two computers and use it with multiple headphones on those devices.

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.
I just did a quick test of both Atmos and DTS. Testing left right audio was useless as off provided sufficient information. Depth (distance from me) and angle (above or under me) were the values I ended up testing. I thought about making a more detailed youtube video, but since SlickDeals brought this deal to my attention I figured I would share my early results and then let you all tell me if it's worth making an longer video.

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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Showmethmoney
11-24-2020 at 12:59 PM.
11-24-2020 at 12:59 PM.
Quote from UT07 :
Well...because physics gonna physics, no matter how much marketing nonsense you tag to it. Dolby Atmos requires speakers above your head. You can't do that with software.

Did you mean Dolby Atmos won't sound as good using headphones as it would with a traditional surround sound speaker setup?
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mkdenar
11-24-2020 at 01:05 PM.
11-24-2020 at 01:05 PM.
Quote from Showmethmoney :
Did you mean Dolby Atmos won't sound as good using headphones as it would with a traditional surround sound speaker setup?

I think this depends, movies and regular gaming I do surround sound, multiplayer (hearing steps around me) require headphones.

I have this (came with a headset of mine) and am an amateur audiophile, and cannot discern between this and the "windows sonic" with any headset I've tested. If this is lifetime or you have it, why not; if this is 2 year subscription don't waste your money.
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jbyron
11-24-2020 at 01:07 PM.
11-24-2020 at 01:07 PM.
Quote from Sporkinum :
No, but it is currently broken. Seemed to break around a week ago. Having to have all sound from computer go out 5.1 now. Shame too, as the Atmos from PC to receiver sounded great while it was working. Hoping they get it fixed soon.
Oh thank god I thought it was just me. I was losing my mind. What's annoying is if you select atmos for headphones it works, but atmos for home theater does not. Not sure if there is a difference in the signal or data, but I've just left it on 5.1 for now.
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awdawg
11-24-2020 at 01:13 PM.
11-24-2020 at 01:13 PM.
Quote from kjvmartin :
My headphones were plug and play on the Xbox. No special software.

I will need to mess around more in the settings. Thanks
I'd test the demo content in the app out on the xbox. Should be pretty easy to test with those.
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TangoGames
11-24-2020 at 01:26 PM.
11-24-2020 at 01:26 PM.
Quote from StutterFace :
Wondering that myself, everything in the description page points to Win10.
It works on Series X. That's where I purchased it. I can use it on my PC through the same Windows Account that I use for my xbox.
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bad1234
11-24-2020 at 01:32 PM.
11-24-2020 at 01:32 PM.
Do you know if you can use it on different computer/devices if they're under a different login. For example, my xbox account and my computers windows account have different emails associated with them.
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UnstableChimp
11-24-2020 at 01:33 PM.
11-24-2020 at 01:33 PM.
Quote from StutterFace :
So is Windows Sonic no bueno? What does this give that Sonic doesn't?

Also, the product description only mentions Win10...nothing about consoles. Odd. Meh, sale ends in 10 days...time to educate myself.
Nice article on the differences here :
https://reddiamondaudio.net/windo...%20choice.
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UnstableChimp
11-24-2020 at 01:40 PM.
11-24-2020 at 01:40 PM.
Quote from UT07 :
Well...because physics gonna physics, no matter how much marketing nonsense you tag to it. Dolby Atmos requires speakers above your head. You can't do that with software.
Exactly. Windows Sonic and this app essentially take multichannel sound, and "manipulate" it for stereo (headphones) to emulate "surround sound". With that being said, sound can be manipulated to give the illusion ("trick your ears") into positional audio. Although physics will be physics, our senses can be "tricked". For instance our eyes can be tricked into 3D images. Even though the image is 2D, our eyes can be tricked into seeing in in 3D. The same can be said for audio.
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StutterFace
11-24-2020 at 01:40 PM.
11-24-2020 at 01:40 PM.
Quote from UnstableChimp :
Nice article on the differences here :
https://reddiamondaudio.net/windo...%20choice.
Good stuff, thanks!
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maverickSD
11-24-2020 at 01:50 PM.
11-24-2020 at 01:50 PM.
Heads up if you are in the "never knew I needed this" camp. There is a 7 day free trial and the banner says the deal is good for 11 days. Am trying now.
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kickendter
11-24-2020 at 02:00 PM.
11-24-2020 at 02:00 PM.
Just use Hesuvi which is free
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fyu
11-24-2020 at 02:02 PM.
11-24-2020 at 02:02 PM.
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ShetBoyardee
11-24-2020 at 02:08 PM.
11-24-2020 at 02:08 PM.
How do we confirm its lifetime sub? I see on packaging of RiG headphones it only is 2 yr activation
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4matic
11-24-2020 at 02:17 PM.
11-24-2020 at 02:17 PM.
Does anyone get crackling and audio cut offs on their Xbox one/series consoles using Dolby atmos? Also seems like it get interference every time I try to open up the Dolby app in Xbox and try to change settings.
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