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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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.
In all seriousness, I appreciate this unconventional way of testing the features. Would be fun to watch a YouTube review like this. (See your character on screen following a donkey with your eyes closed)
Imagine paying for what's nothing more than an EQ setting.
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.
http://audiophile.rock
Would adding this Atmos for Headphones conflict with that or potentially improve it? I'm no audiophile but I do enjoy knowing where an enemy is or hearing things coming from all around. Just curious if there's any benefit to adding Atmos for headphones if I'm already using simulated surround sound processed by a dedicated DAC like I'm using?
Would adding this Atmos for Headphones conflict with that or potentially improve it? I'm no audiophile but I do enjoy knowing where an enemy is or hearing things coming from all around. Just curious if there's any benefit to adding Atmos for headphones if I'm already using simulated surround sound processed by a dedicated DAC like I'm using?]
I use this with a dac and it's great
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This guy is genius....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGulSll
In all seriousness, I appreciate this unconventional way of testing the features. Would be fun to watch a YouTube review like this. (See your character on screen following a donkey with your eyes closed)
I have a YouTube channel [youtube.com] where I am trying to focus on immersive entertainment. It started as a place where I posted tutorials for terrible software me and my friends were having issues with but at some point I decided I wanted to do more with it. It's pretty rough. Right now I am working on a video about the Canvia frame, ambilight for macOS, and a couple of longer series. Last month I did a live stream of my hot mess of a 'dream office' and I would like to focus on how to improve a real world office. Video's are totally a hobby for me so don't expect Linus. But maybe I will look through the supported game list and try and make some other benchmarks - before my trial runs out.
SlickDeals actually inspired another video I am working on. I have never sim raced before, so I thought it would be fun to do a multi-part review of the products from the perspective of someone new to the hobby. I recently picked up two Logitech wheels and a Thrustmaster T300 and some wheels to go alongside a Momo I found at goodwill. I am still trying to decide if I should pick up a Fanatec setup as well. (I would likely get a direct drive wheel, but that would cost more than double all the other wheels combined.) Every time I see a wheel go on sale here at SD I see lots of comments asking which ones to get. For this product in particular I feel the reviews all fall under one of three types: sim racers with years of experience and a $30,000 racing setup, an influencer who spent 2 hours with a product the manufacture sent them to capture footage, or someone reviewing the one they have used because they reasonably only purchased one. While there are benefits to all these perspectives they also contain significant bias.
I am very lucky to be in a position where I can just buy stuff. I haven't decided what I will do with all this equipment, but if it's like other purchases I might end up donating the ones I don't keep to a holiday drive. I am sure some kid would be thrilled to have it.
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