x-fi related sound oddities

[imported_Field]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

http://www.limexb360.co.uk/product/Sharkoon_X-TATIC_v3_5.1_Dolby_Digital%C2%AE_Headphones_SXVD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102015&Tpk=X-Fi%20Elite%20Pro

wow that is some fancy equipment. what do you do for a job again?


well anyways if set my sound to hardware the problem went away but then i dont get the difference between hardware and x-fi because isnt that your hardware? lol

but srsly though maybe its my headphones but with a soundcard and slightly adjusted sound settings i find it really hard to tell a difference between high and ultra high

[=98=]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

well anyways if set my sound to hardware the problem went away but then i dont get the difference between hardware and x-fi because isnt that your hardware? lol

but srsly though maybe its my headphones but with a soundcard and slightly adjusted sound settings i find it really hard to tell a difference between high and ultra high

Well, I believe X-Fi mode will use EAX HD 5.0... but to be honest, it's a marketing project. They team up with Creative in the hope that it creates more x-fi sales and gives BF a unique selling point.

In reality, the differences are often theoretical.

[imported_Field]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

well they got ME to buy one didnt they ?

[TrooperJac]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

If the problem is solved with hardware mode stick with it. With Vista - Microsoft did away with EAX because they went with a new driver model. Supposedly it's not a problem with 2142 because it uses OpenAL. It's not a problem though, the XFi is still a good card because of the quality of it's DSPs etc.

It's probably the end of the line for hardware based sound cards because the sound it produces is as good as you could want. At present there is no reason to evolve it.

If you are using headphones your next purchase may be a good set of 5.1 speakers - they really do make a great difference to the game but are problematic if you use VOIP.

[imported_Field]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

what if i grabbed some 5.1 headphones but bought a clip on mic? what kind of problems do you get with 5.1?

[Lolyn]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

http://www.limexb360.co.uk/product/S...eadphones_SXVD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102015&Tpk=X-Fi%20Elite%20Pro

wow that is some fancy equipment. what do you do for a job again?

Actually it was an awaited birthday present :P It was either them or the Tritton AXPro, but the sharkoons are essentially them, but re-branded and re-designed. The differences aren't huge in gaming, not a significant improvement over mid-range 5.1 headsets and arguably Dolby Digital enhances sound imperfections in older games (think CS:S AWP sound) - but for music and movies they're incredible. They're also exceptional for console gaming set-ups which is nice for the rare occasions I touch consoles... I have a set of Logitech Z5500 speakers for when I want to turn up the volume though. I just enjoy sound/music a lot.

I owned the medusa 5.1 pro-gamer headset before. Good headset once you'd set it all up but I found the build quality on them was a bit iffy given the actual ear-pads were connected to a flimsy piece of plastic. That and if you HADN'T set them up properly, they of course detract from the experience more than add to them. Get them right and at least IMO - you get a richer feel for the game, and get SIGNIFICANTLY more sound-aware. Medusa's also had a nice vibration feature... which made orbital strikes hilarious.

I would say this though, if you want 5.1 in a headset - you really should spend good money on them, spend enough time calibrating your sound setup to get them sweet, and USE them enough to warrant them as well. Mid-range headsets (medusa, zalman, and there's a razer one) are ok, but for the money you may as well get a 2.1 set of sennheisers and emulate surround. It all depends on how you justify the expense to be honest given how many arguments I've seen for and against them.

Given you're in the U.S, if you're serious about 5.1, look up the Astro A40's. Then try not to dribble over your keyboard.

Alternatively, there's the sharkoon v3's/tritton AXPro (functionality is effectively the same but design, packaging and branding is different). ROCCAT are making a new 5.1 headset which could be interesting, and there's also the Logitech G35's and the Razer Megalodon's. They're all pricey as hell, but on the higher end of the scale. 100% do your research first though :P

[TrooperJac]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

I haven't tried 5.1 phones but I expect they will not be as good as proper 5.1 speakers in terms of sound localisation. Maybe someone else will have 1st hand experience.

Problems wise I find that my speakers feed back into the mic sound so people hear the game running as well as my voice on VOIP but then my mic is a crappy desktop example - i practically never use VOIP.

[Minmaster]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

5.1 headphones are a gimmick. i bought one. its no different than stereo ones.

[Lolyn]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

I haven't tried 5.1 phones but I expect they will not be as good as proper 5.1 speakers in terms of sound localisation. Maybe someone else will have 1st hand experience.

That's true, due to the small distance between the speakers, and them and your ears. However in the THX console in X-Fi, you can calibrate individual speaker distances and volumes to create a more realistic setup in your headset.

Spend the time doing it correctly and it's worthwhile.

[imported_Field]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

5.1 headphones are a gimmick. i bought one. its no different than stereo ones.

naw naw naw i went to bestbuy to try out these gamecom777 cans with the dolbe virtual 5.1 usb card and they sound REAL good. they still sound real good on my soundcard but the 5.1 is something special. because then if i got an actual 5.1 headset it would theoretically sound even better when sourced off an x-fi card when set up properly.

i am eyeballing the HD555s at this point but i dont want to be stupid and make a bad decision again

[=98=]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

I had some 5.1 Speedlink Medusas and I was fairly disappointed. It worked, but the sound quality was awful.

I bought some HD555's and the quality is amazing and emulating the positional audio works absolutely fine for me. Although, to be fair, I care more about my music than game audio.

[imported_Field]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

ZoMFG

[=98=]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

Looks like a rip-off laden with gimmicks.

[imported_Field]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

yeah i mean if i didnt care about spending upward of $300 for headphones i would get them because id have the peace of mind that its one of the best

idk at this point i am once again really eyeballing the AX Pros.

[=98=]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

Yet they probably wouldn't, they'd probably be some stupid, overcharged, gimmicky things.

Just do yourself a favour and get some HD555's... seriously. Don't mess with this stupid 5.1 setup that will provide no real world benefit.

Those Tritton ones you posted above look god awful. Read some reviews, do your maths and stop being taken in by rip offs.