I mean on the receiving end (the headphones). They have distinct characteristics so whatever the 7.1 simulation applies affects them in specific way, the 3D space that they project sound is distinct etc. On the source part, you can distinct the sound positioning and convert it to a surround like, but always you have to alter it towards the specific headphones (google surround sound algos and you’ll find out.
On the other hand, this whole process of simulating sound is totally useless because you can build normal headphones with really accurate representation of the 3D surrounding by default and without the use of any software.
They should be using their own algorithm to process the sound, which actually might be better (cause its tailored for the crappy headphones its giving life into).
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Dunno, its a market that people are unaware of what they’re buying (it started to shift eventually, but proper audio brands like senheiser are overpricing, so generally u’re better off with normal headphones and mod mics).
I tested 3 different 5.1/7.1 desktop speakers me or my brother had in the past, cause he wanted to keep just one (Logitech/Creative/some brand I forgot the name). Only one had a sub-woofer that was actually working in the correct range of frequencies, the rest going up to even mids. Pure junk.
7.1 virtual surround with the Cloud 2s sound better than Dolby IMO. Turn off Dolby and turn on 7.1
Both of these options are virtual. The 7.1 Kraken (on the site) uses virtual 7.1 and not truly 7.1 speakers (There are true surround sound headsets… but you are looking at ~$250 to start).
It is then up to you and your preference. I use the Dolby Atmos with my cloud alphas, and I have the hyperX 7.1 dongle.
It took a week of switching modes to get the one I felt gave me the best experience.
Try a day with 7.1 then try a day with Atmos. Do this until you are satisfied with which one you feel the most comfortable with.
I am not sure where you are getting this from. Positional tracking and audio has been in place since at least Halflife (one). CS and other games have been using positional audio, by being able to use 5.1 speakers (to now 7.1) there has been multichannel audio out from games. Where in if you have 7 speakers with one sub-woofer (the 7.1) you will get surround sound with distinct speaker sound. There was a Bose set up at a CES that blew me away.
Atmos and the virtual 7.1 translates the separate channel data accordingly. Atmos and virtual 7.1 are doing the same thing with the same data, just one is a built in-game translation vs. external.
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I think it sounds fine with Dolby. DTS sounded a bit weird to me.
Oh it was virtual 7.1 to begin with, god damn stupid razor and the bs they’ll write on a box.
Not really an audiophile but even if 7.1 headsets are a meme, isn’t it enough if you can hear stuff around you?
I’ve been testing the Kraken 7.1 for about 12 hours now, with the dolby setting in game turned off. Yeah sure it’s not true 7.1 like most people have pointed out, but I think being able to pinpoint things like high noons is good enough for me.
Will try to set my kraken to 2.0 and use the in game dolby setting later.
Thanks for all the info guys! It helped a lot.
I recommend testing every audio settings for each game. Some game where ambient audio is so well done, will get muddle by the headset 7.1 audio feature, whereas some game where ambient audio isn’t as great or clear, will benefit by the 7.1 audio feature since it makes the ambient audio more louder and more clear.
Yup. It took me about a month of perusing to settle on the Cloud Alphas. Wading through the Marketing to viewing several reviews.
I am not saying Kraken are bad, just, gotta really look. True 7.1 have 4 speakers in each ear cup. Virtual have only one driver(speaker) in each cup.
I am specifically trying to find out why you think 7.1 channels do not use spacial separation. It is why there are 7 sub channels.
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I’ve been playing Overwatch for about a month now. I did play it before then but never got into it due to lack of time to spend in the game.
A couple days ago I was looking into the sound options and decided to give Atmos a try and the difference is huge as far as positional audio goes. You are able to hear footsteps loud and clear as well as charging doomfist. Everything even overall location of the enemy team / player.
A lot of people think it is going to make things sound better and yes it does make things sound better as far as sounds being recognizable, but it doesn’t bring up the quality of the audio by much. Think about what your hearing with atmos off, when you turn it on you still hear the same sounds they are just far more pronounced but that doesnt mean its going to sound better overall.
I find that atmos is the only way to go in OW with stereo headphones. All I can say is I’m very glad I messed around with the sound settings because I was always so annoyed when people would say they could hear a widow coming or were able to tell which hero was incoming just by audio feedback alone.
The difference is pretty unbelievable. When you know what is coming and have time to weigh out your options, you do so much better. My situational awareness has gone up by a very large amount.
When you know what is coming, where its coming from and how close it is. It changes the way you play. I’ve become much more relaxed in game and that alone has brought up my accuracy, along with my K/D ratio, when to run, and when to gun.
Turn on Atmos, you won’t go back. As others have mentioned it does take some getting used to but after a few solid hours with it on, good luck playing with it off. I know it is not possible to play with it off, for me at least.
I will say again, atmos does take some getting use to. But once you’ve used atmos for a hour or two, it is not possible to go back. I’m sure this isn’t a very big deal for people that have known about it. But if your like me and its recently been the first time giving it a chance. Its very, very, game changing.
Tried Logitech headset surround vs overwatch atmos.
EZ test:
just stand in among the moving robots, have my eyes close and determine the location of the robots only by the sound.
For me, Logitech headset won.
I have G933 and honestly I think both the atmos and “7.1” were bad. Tested at the practice range and it’s just too weird that you can hear bot firing on your right side from your left side too. If you turn all enchancements off then it works classically and you’ll only hear the sound from the side the bot is on. Haven’t had any problems hearing footsteps or charging Doomfists when using them at normal mode.
So, this is a good question. The answer really comes down to how much Overwatch you play. If it is your main game, then yes, turn off virtual 7.1, and use dolby atmos for headphone. If you, for example, play a lot of black ops 4 and some overwatch on the side, then you might be better off just using virtual 7.1 for both and turning atmos for headphone off.
Atmos for headphone and virtual 7.1 are both surround sound virtualizers for headphones. The main advantage that atmos has is that it effectively has more channels, including height channels, which are absent in 7.1. However, how well these virtualizers work depends on how frequently you are exposed to them. Hence why virtual 7.1 can be better than atmos for headphone if you don’t play OW a lot.
There also is this contingent of people saying that they don’t use either, and play in just regular stereo audio. Let me be clear about this: this puts you at a competitive disadvantage, one that is completely preventable. Since stereo audio is just two channels, left and right, its handling of front and back is poor compared to either virtual 7.1 or atmos for headphone. This makes those players particularly more vulnerable to getting spawn killed, more vulnerable to getting killed while scoped and preaiming as Ana or Widowmaker, and generally more vulnerable to characters like Sombra and Doomfist. Even small details, like the fact that the initial game menu takes place in a 3d environment, and that selecting a sub menu can move the character on the title screen behind you, is impossible to convey on regular stereo without a surround virtualizer.
HAHAHAHA these guys know nothing!!
Dolby atmos for headphones is actually “OK”, its better then simple stereo by a bit for sure.
But true 7.1 headsets are the best for actual audio positioning no question.
How could they not be?? If a sound is left of you and behind, the speaker that is behind you on the left is the one the sound comes from, making it easy to turn that way.
When they use stereo headsets with virtual surround like dolby atmos for headphones it still plays all sounds through both ears just one is reduced in volume to simulate its position.
One of the biggest issues with dolby atmos or any virtual surround is it sounds the same when someone is in front of you or behind you, you can know right vs left but forward vs backward requires line of sight.
what happens if i do both?
It’s like both the left and right side of your brain trying to control the left side of your body. They would interfere with each other.
Also from my understanding, you don’t want headphones that have heavy base to them. Something about it drowning out sounds like footsteps and so on.
It’s not a good idea to use both virtual 7.1 and dolby atmos for headphones together because it would conflict and may create incorrect directional cues.
Oh so thats why the sound sounds really weird and washed out when i turn on the headphones surround sound.
I thought my headphones were just bad