Optimal Settings for Stereo Headphones?

[gamefoo]

I am messing around with all my sound settings (I am using a Creative sound card) and I was wondering whether BF2142 works better using the CMSS 3D option turned on or off.

I was testing it in HL1 and there is a much more profound sense of spatial positioning with the option off.

What do you use for the best surround effect?

Soundcard (don't laugh):

Creative SoundBlaster Live! 24-bit Internal

I am using the Creative EAX console to play around with settings. Currently I have it at:

Speaker Settings: Headphones
CMSS 3D: StereoSurround -> (On/Off) Not sure which to pick for BF2142.

[geubes]

i tried this for a while and the the cmss 3d on your get a much stronger 3d surround sound through stereo headphones. plus i found that the sounds are alot richer and less tinny with it off. just make sure you got the console set to game mode and headphones and it will work sweetly

[gamefoo]

I dont have a game mode. I think thats just for the Xi-Hi-Fi whatever thingy. This is the cheapo version so only one mode. I'll keep on playing with the settings but more input is appreciated!!! :)

[Ryan Williams]

If you have good-quality headphones then you absolutely do not want CMSS3D enabled, unless you don't mind losing a lot of fidelity and quality.

If you want to hear how much of a difference it makes, play a piece of music (or sound effect loop, whatever) in your media player and then open the Creative sound options. While still listening, toggle the CMSS3D option.

There is a distinct loss in quality of using CMSS3D as it basically processes the hell out of the sound to fool your ear into thinking it's coming from a certain direction (ie: emulating how the shape of your ear would perceive it coming from a given direction). This unfortunately has disastrous results on quality when using CMSS3D in headphone mode.

Weirdly though, the quality impact is extremely minimal if CMSS3D is used in speaker mode (on an X-Fi, anyway). Sadly, this doesn't work if you use headphones as the ear-tricking technology needs to work differently.

All that said, the quality of your headphones will ultimately make the most difference here. If you're using a £20 pair then you might not notice that much difference between normal listening and CMSS3D, but if you're using expensive £75+ Sennheisers then you'll hear a huge difference between the two.

If you're playing with bass and such, a good rule of thumb to bear in mind is that cheaper headphones often need more tweaking to compensate for their relatively poor fidelity, while high-end headphones generally need very little tweaking (X-Fi's Crystalizer ruins music on them) as they have such good fidelity. The most you'll need to do with high-end equipment is perhaps push the EQ's lows and highs up a notch or two (bass and treble, basically) to your personal taste.

[venny]

i find running games wif the cmss3d on makes it better at spotting enemies. had it on always by default in game mode, find it better.

[TrooperJac]

I been looking for the answer to this question for ages. Tried posting on the Creative support forums but what they don't know could fill a warehouse.

I can remember trying the Xfi option in BF2 with XP and being impressed with the sense of surround. Not sure how to recreate under Vista or if the settings work the same. Maybe I got used to the effect but it doesn't seem as defined.

There should be a setting in the windows control panel to set speakers to 5.1 over headphones. That way we could balance the virtual speakers with the audio control panel and the game would see 5.1 speakers and just send sounds to them.

I do add a touch of EAX ampitheatre to my sound as it makes it much richer

[gamefoo]

If you have good-quality headphones then you absolutely do not want CMSS3D enabled, unless you don't mind losing a lot of fidelity and quality.

If you want to hear how much of a difference it makes, play a piece of music (or sound effect loop, whatever) in your media player and then open the Creative sound options. While still listening, toggle the CMSS3D option.

There is a distinct loss in quality of using CMSS3D as it basically processes the hell out of the sound to fool your ear into thinking it's coming from a certain direction (ie: emulating how the shape of your ear would perceive it coming from a given direction). This unfortunately has disastrous results on quality when using CMSS3D in headphone mode.

Weirdly though, the quality impact is extremely minimal if CMSS3D is used in speaker mode (on an X-Fi, anyway). Sadly, this doesn't work if you use headphones as the ear-tricking technology needs to work differently.

All that said, the quality of your headphones will ultimately make the most difference here. If you're using a £20 pair then you might not notice that much difference between normal listening and CMSS3D, but if you're using expensive £75+ Sennheisers then you'll hear a huge difference between the two.

If you're playing with bass and such, a good rule of thumb to bear in mind is that cheaper headphones often need more tweaking to compensate for their relatively poor fidelity, while high-end headphones generally need very little tweaking (X-Fi's Crystalizer ruins music on them) as they have such good fidelity. The most you'll need to do with high-end equipment is perhaps push the EQ's lows and highs up a notch or two (bass and treble, basically) to your personal taste.

I definitely heard some loss of quality when I played music using the CMSS 3D option enabled.

OK so there is a loss in quality of sound because CMSS 3D processes it to simulate a surround sound experience, but did you think that it gives a better sense of spatial awareness in movie and games?

When I played around with it, the option turned off made sounds coming from the left play only in the left channel, while the right channel had no sound from that source. However, when CMSS 3D was turned on, I would hear that same noise which was left of my position on both channels. I could not tell whether the left channel was more profound than the right channel

Granted I am using very cheap headphones right now, my good ones are coming in today.

I guess it makes sense that you should hear some of a left positioned sound effect in the right channel, but CMSS 3D seems to over-exaggerate it. Is there a place I can download a surround-sound demo to test CMSS 3D's effectiveness?

[imported_Ezekiel]

Too much complicated talk lol

I have cheap Headphones and i dont mess with the settings, works a charm lol

[gamefoo]

Too much complicated talk lol

I have cheap Headphones and i dont mess with the settings, works a charm lol

You aren't an audiophile. You couldn't understand :)

[venny]

i believe there is a place to test inside the console. i rmb there's this ball that keeps circling when u play it. there's even a setting for toilet!

[gamefoo]

I can't find that in my console

I dont have the XiFi card though, just a basic creative. Anyone else know how I can test my surround sound in headphones?

[Cann0n-Fodder]

Too much complicated talk lol

I have cheap Headphones and i dont mess with the settings, works a charm lol

I second this, except my headphones are like $30 microsoft ones.