major masingil Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 Good day Netduma forum, I'm running an Astro Mixamp for my Surround Sound on my XB1. I'm trying to understand if Sonic or Atmos would possibly provide a better soundstage. I have a couple questions: If a game isn't coded for Atmos or Sonic, do we still get spatial sounds, up to 7.1 surround, or does it default to stereo sound? Are most new games on the XB platform being produced with support for Atmos/ Sonic? Do we get any benefit over the Mixamp from either offering for games which were produced before the apps were released? Sonic for Windows is free, Atmos costs 15$. For gaming purposes, does one or the other offer better spatial sound? Has our resident audiophile done a test?@Zennon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N3CR0 Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 I can't answer any of your questions but I use Gen4 A40's with Mixamp and Dolby Atmos and CoD Black Ops 4 sounds amazing... but sounds better on my SteelSeries Artic Pro with GameDAC but the SteelSeries are used with my PS4 which doesn't have Dolby Atmos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
major masingil Posted December 24, 2019 Author Share Posted December 24, 2019 19 minutes ago, N3CR0 said: I can't answer any of your questions but I use Gen4 A40's with Mixamp and Dolby Atmos and CoD Black Ops 4 sounds amazing... but sounds better on my SteelSeries Artic Pro with GameDAC but the SteelSeries are used with my PS4 which doesn't have Dolby Atmos. Necro, I have the same Mixamp. I read that, in order to get the Atmos / Sonic experience you need to turn the Dolby off on the mixamp, and you can't use an optical cable between the console and the mixamp. Reportedly, HDMI is required for the amount of data Atmos uses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zennon Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 I use the Sennheiser HD800 headphones at the moment with the mixamp. Personally I find that the best is bitstream out / Dolby digital with the Dolby button on the mixamp on. Reasons, Atmos and Sonic fake depth by muffling sounds that are further away giving a depth to the stage. It sounds amazing but for Cod where you need every nuance to be heard it is a no go for me. The soundstage using standard Dobly is more realistic too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N3CR0 Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 3 hours ago, major masingil said: Necro, I have the same Mixamp. I read that, in order to get the Atmos / Sonic experience you need to turn the Dolby off on the mixamp, and you can't use an optical cable between the console and the mixamp. Reportedly, HDMI is required for the amount of data Atmos uses I've tried with Dolby on the Mixamp off and it sounds not so good so I leave it on. I've always used the optical cable so can't comment about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bert Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 The issue is that optical cables don't have enough bandwidth for proper surround sound. When I used my PS4 in the living room I had the sound going to my home theater through a HDMI switch which fed HDMI signal in the TV and the audio to the HT via optical cable. And instead of selecting linear PCM in the PS4 menu, I had to select Bitstream (Dolby) in the PS4 menu. Otherwise it would muffle front center speakers. Bitstream is essentially a compressed format. The only time optical shines is that it eliminates all interference, like from the electrical components in computers and consoles. In both of my places I have PC and PS4 set up together and I use a mixing panel with RCA inputs and then output to my speakers. That way I can mix game sounds and PC sound like music toghether. But in one the signal from my monitors give interference on my audio system on higher refresh rates and on the other it's the electronics in my PS4 that give interference when it's in sleep mode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zennon Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 I do not mind that is is a lossy format at all. I have Mp3 albums, Flac and DSD, I enjoy them all. I can not believe how well my old Mixamp 2013 sounds to this day and I like hi-end amps and headphones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
major masingil Posted December 25, 2019 Author Share Posted December 25, 2019 28 minutes ago, Bert said: The issue is that optical cables don't have enough bandwidth for proper surround sound. When I used my PS4 in the living room I had the sound going to my home theater through a HDMI switch which fed HDMI signal in the TV and the audio to the HT via optical cable. And instead of selecting linear PCM in the PS4 menu, I had to select Bitstream (Dolby) in the PS4 menu. Otherwise it would muffle front center speakers. Bitstream is essentially a compressed format. The only time optical shines is that it eliminates all interference, like from the electrical components in computers and consoles. In both of my places I have PC and PS4 set up together and I use a mixing panel with RCA inputs and then output to my speakers. That way I can mix game sounds and PC sound like music toghether. But in one the signal from my monitors give interference on my audio system on higher refresh rates and on the other it's the electronics in my PS4 that give interference when it's in sleep mode. Bert, Have you tried Atmos or Windows Sonic via HDMI and then made a comparison to an Astro Mixamp which utilized an optical cable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zennon Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 If you are using headphones do not worry it is pseudo-surround anyhow. The best is the default Dolby imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
major masingil Posted December 25, 2019 Author Share Posted December 25, 2019 1 minute ago, Zennon said: If you are using headphones do not worry it is pseudo-surround anyhow. The best is the default Dolby imo. I can't disagree. The Astro's sound really good to me. I was interested in hearing people's POV on Atmos to see if it's worth the 15$. If I didn't have a mixamp already, it would be a no-brainer. I'd run Atmos in order to get the surround. Thanks for your input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N3CR0 Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 46 minutes ago, major masingil said: I can't disagree. The Astro's sound really good to me. I was interested in hearing people's POV on Atmos to see if it's worth the 15$. If I didn't have a mixamp already, it would be a no-brainer. I'd run Atmos in order to get the surround. Thanks for your input. I got 2 years free Atmos with my Astro's. Wouldn't pay for it tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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