Install Steam
login
|
language
简体中文 (Simplified Chinese)
繁體中文 (Traditional Chinese)
日本語 (Japanese)
한국어 (Korean)
ไทย (Thai)
Български (Bulgarian)
Čeština (Czech)
Dansk (Danish)
Deutsch (German)
Español - España (Spanish - Spain)
Español - Latinoamérica (Spanish - Latin America)
Ελληνικά (Greek)
Français (French)
Italiano (Italian)
Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
Magyar (Hungarian)
Nederlands (Dutch)
Norsk (Norwegian)
Polski (Polish)
Português (Portuguese - Portugal)
Português - Brasil (Portuguese - Brazil)
Română (Romanian)
Русский (Russian)
Suomi (Finnish)
Svenska (Swedish)
Türkçe (Turkish)
Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
Українська (Ukrainian)
Report a translation problem
Discussions Rules and Guidelines
Report this post
E.g.: windows sonic 7.1 + game 7.1 + sound card stereo + sound card's virtualization off
or
windows sonic 7.1 + game 7.1 + sound card stereo + sound card's virtualization on
It was created to emulate the presence of other speakers/sources around you - and it works quite well!
Make sure to turn off ALL OTHER virtualization, including "x.y" virtualization and other settings.
Eg. Windows Sonic/Dolby/whatever + game SURROUND or STEREO if it does not have that option* + sound card STEREO + sound card virtualization OFF + any 5.1 or 7.1 checkbox OFF [unselected]
(to use your example format)
*
Also, if you have a USB dongle (THX or other "7.1" volume control box on your headphones/box), turn that off as well.
However:
If you do have a standalone box or hardware Surround Sound of some type (USB dongle or little box of some type that came with your soundcard), that would be superior to the Windows Sonic or Dolby or any other _Software_ Virtual Surround Sound emulation; as it would be _Hardware_ Surround Sound emulation (via specialized ICs), which will produce a higher quality Virtual Surround Sound Emulation.
Examples of this are;
USB dongles (little hard portions of your volume control, or USB adapters, etc)
Breakout Boxes (little standalone consoles or boxes with knobs, plugs, etc)
Multi-speaker Headphones (little speakers inside your headset, creating 'almost true surround sound' via directional sources around your ears/head)
Answered here. Only thing is I didnt say virtualised surround., because virtual or truesurround, will both have surround sound signals for those speakers. So to be clear. Only 1 surround sound setting, real or virtual, with stereo headphones.
Does anyone know if realtek's virtualization is 7.1? To be honest realtek's one sounds weird.
On TS3 there is an option "Mono sound expansion - mono to surround (if avaible)", should I use it when I use virtual surround?
If the game is set to SURROUND, there is a loss of 'normal' left and right and the environmentals are accentuated (echoes/reverb, etc) as it is trying to communicate with a true Surround sound system.
This may sound like things are 'out of balance', with extra echo and distance effects (some things will sound 'farther away' than they appear in the game).
(that is the point - but try it on your specific game and headset to see which sounds better to you)
Here is the Official Razer Surround page on their Surround Pro software (surround sound emulation), which states it utilizes Stereo:
https://www.razer.com/ca-en/surround
Here is the Official FAQ for Dolby Surround Sound (Windows 10), which states:
Why do I need to turn off other virtualization on my headset?
Any virtualization or equalization supplied by the headset would result in the sound being processed twice: once by the content and once by the headphones. The result would be unpredictable and not effective for content such as games and movies.
(This is exactly what I state above, where if you have a "Surround" or "7.1" button on your headset volume control or breakout box, you should turn/leave those OFF, if you plan on using the Software Emulation for Virtual Surround Sound)
Should I also turn off any virtualization on my PC?
Yes, you should turn off virtualization to avoid processing your game or movie content twice. If your Windows 10 PC includes Dolby Audio™ or Dolby Atmos, you should turn that off before playing your Dolby Atmos content. You should also turn off any other built-in virtualization (surround sound) or automatic equalization features.
(This explains that you should turn off "Surround" settings otherwise, because it may be trying to process directionals and audial effects TWICE (which results in obfuscation and incorrect distancing, etc, as I state above))
https://www.dolby.com/us/en/apps/access/pc-xbox.html#2
Also, in case you are still not sure, think of this: not all games have the Surround option – so why would it ‘have to be set to surround’ when not all games even offer that? These companies would not be able to advertise “works with all games, etc”…
As for your TS3, do not use the Expansion option. It will try to send chat/voices through the surround emulation, but it might also mess up the processing of the game itself.
Balance the audio level(s) for Chat software/client separately, after starting the game and while playing, to get the best balance of audio for your headset and personal preference.
HTH
Does my game have to support 5.1 or 7.1 for Razer Surround to work?
Razer Surround can only work with sound that the game (or any other files and software with audio tracks) was programmed to produce. To reproduce the compelling audio experience intended by the producers, please make sure your game or software is set to produce 5.1 or 7.1 audio.
Btw I don't like Razer it's too loud and I've delayed audio, perhaps it has some conflicts with Realtek.
The Official Dolby FAQ states the same thing:
Will Dolby Atmos improve the sound of my existing content?
Yes, Dolby Atmos for Headphones rendering will provide more accurate positional audio to all 5.1 and 7.1 games and movies than did earlier generations of headphones with Dolby technologies.
If the game or movie offers 5.1/7.1 audio, then try it - it will try to keep the original audio processing - however, it will take the 'newer generation' of software to keep it properly.
Razer is just stating that their software is 'the newer generation' as well, where it will try to work with the x.1 audio that is being produced.
However, both of them state to turn off all OTHER audio virtualization - AND that it is meant for Stereo sources (again they could not advertise "works with all sources" if it was meant to use x.1 audio...).
[I personally contacted DOLBY and asked them about the setting for "Surround audio" or not and Dolby stated to TRY IT OUT MYSELF as each headset and game and movie are different, so to try each way and see which sounded better to me.
I tried Surround in games and I tried Stereo in games, and found that with the "surround" or "5.1/7.1" in games, the audio was processed twice, too loud in some parts and too quiet in others, delayed or echoing too much.
The end result:
The best way was to leave the source on STEREO (in my testing so far, with the games I tested so far)]
However, in some games and with newer software, this may be alleviated - so TRY it both ways and see which sounds better to you (which is the exact response from DOLBY when I contacted them).
Also, if you have Razer Surround Pro (I have that and use it sometimes), did you adjust your equalizer?
Sometimes if you set your equalizer too high, it will over-process some frequencies and produce clipping and/or loss of audio in some sounds. This can cause what sounds like 'delayed audio'.
If you are using Razer Surround, you should try your game into the STEREO setting (again, all games).
The delayed audio AND the "too loud" may be the result of the Surround being processed too many times (accentuating the directionals and audio effects over and over), which results in imbalanced sound.
Again:
"TRY it both ways and see which sounds better to you (which is the exact response from DOLBY when I contacted them)."
About the delayed audio, I've read I need to disable HPET however in the latest bios update of my mobo they removed that option and disabling it from windows doesn't help.
If you have Realtek Audio Console could you test its virtualization? I need to know if it is 5.1 or 7.1 but I think I'll keep windows sonic.
I personally prefer Stereo to be set in almost every game I've tried so far (with the Surround Sound Virtualization software working) - but as the official response from DOLBY states, you should try it yourself and see which sounds better to you.
As for Realtek, I don't normally use the Realtek interface (when I plug in my headphones, which are USB and have their own volume control with "7.1" button on them, the Realtek HD Audio Manager clears itself of options then closes itself).
Plugging in my headphones directly into the 3.5mm jack of the mainboard, the Realtek Audio Manager comes up. "Headphone Virtualization" is off.
I read on Realtek's website that it just 'emulates a living room home theater' - and testing with it, it sounds like it is indeed a bit 'muffled' but also 'coming from the front' a lot more (the sound directionals seem to be from "front" sources).
I personally turn that off, but you try and see which is better sounding to you.
If you mean the "7.1 Virtual Surround Sound" checkbox, in the properties of the Realtek High Definition speakers in Windows, that checkbox is Unchecked.
This is what I thought all the software companies were talking about when they say "all other Virtualization settings OFF" - but again, try it selected and not, and see which sounds better to you.
I have used Windows Sonic a lot and find that its' "7.1 Surround Emulation" works quite well, yes.
GL with it
USB headphones can't use sound cards.
Anyway thank you!
Headphones set to stereo at source, ingame. Software set to surround. Thats 1 software to surround only. Do not set sonic and realtek and dolby or any other virtualization.
Any headphones use the soundcard. 3.5mm jack headphones will use the soundcard whether they are connect directly to the soundcard or a port on the case (provided motherboard is connected to do this) USB headphones will use your soundcard no matter what USB port you connect them to.
So
Plug in headphones
set game to stereo headphones or just stereo.
Turn on what virtual surround you want to use and make sure others are off.
Done play game