7.1 Sound card

**Yuhaney** · 02-02-2013, 11:40 PM

I have 0 knowledge regarding sound cards. All I know is that the current surround sound is split into to factions, "true" and "virtual".

If you own both, true 5.1 and/or 7.1 sound card with true 5.1 and/or 7.1 headset, does that combination make all games into 5.1/7.1 surround sound, or just the games that have a option in the menu to choose between stereo, 5.1/7.1?

**Yuhaney** · 02-06-2013, 01:15 AM

No one knows?

**Danny Boy** · 02-06-2013, 01:19 AM

no Idea... sorry. Maybe yahoo answers should be a better place to post your questions.

**Yuhaney** · 02-07-2013, 05:54 PM

Well, if I'll get the sound car someday I might as well look into it myself then.
Thanks for the input!

**plutomaniac** · 02-07-2013, 07:13 PM

I don't understand what you are asking really but I think I got it. You cannot have two sound cards, only one at a time. In order to support for example 5.1 sound you must have a soundcard,speakers and a game that supports it. Some soundcards that are for example 5.1 have a virtual surround option that will make the sound look like it is coming from a 7.1 set. If this is enabled then the game can be set at 7.1 and it should work, virtually always. It depends on the game too though. For example in order to use that with Amnesia you have to add the library soft-oal.dll as mentioned in Luis guide.

**Yuhaney** · 02-07-2013, 09:44 PM

What I meant was that if I buy myself 7.1 sound card and same channel headset, does that combination make old games that don't have the separate setting for 7.1 audio settings virtually sound like them?

**plutomaniac** · 02-07-2013, 09:52 PM

Ok now I get it completely. No, I don't think so at least. If the game is not made for 7.1 but for 2.1 then you will get 2.1. It works the other way though. If the game supports 7.1 but your headsets only 5.1 then "emulating" it via the headsets should work virtually.

Again, I'm not certain but it does make sense that way. Great question actually, never though of that.

**Yuhaney** · 02-07-2013, 10:23 PM

OK. I guess that's what happens with my current Logitech G930. This was my first gaming headset and after I got to understand how it works I've been loving it.

Since it's virtual 7.1, most of the games seem to work in 'surround' even though the settings in the menu says stereo. Music also sounds better with the virtual surround than regular stereo. Don't know why, but for me it works so much better.

Currently I'm just thinking of upgrading to 'true' surround headset since some games don't really work well with the virtual and setting the in-game to true 5.1 / 7.1 won't work either since some channels just don't exist within this headset. I remember when I bought this and thought that it was really a surround sound but didn't know that it's just emulated from stereo, I changed some games, like Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and Dead Space 2 to surround settings and was wondering why I didn't hear all of the sounds. After I changed them back to stereo it started to sound like surround and all the audio was back.

Also, sometimes I hear something is somewhere around me but when I turn around to look, there's nothing. One example would be Battlefield 3 where I can hear enemy helicopter coming from behind but after I turn, there's nothing... In fact it was above me the whole time.

Small complaints, I know. But being my first gaming headset, I must say that haven't regret the purchase. But it is time for me to reach out from virtual to true.

**plutomaniac** · 02-07-2013, 11:01 PM

(02-07-2013, 10:23 PM)Scraper Wrote: Since it's virtual 7.1, most of the games seem to work in 'surround' even though the settings in the menu says stereo. Music also sounds better with the virtual surround than regular stereo. Don't know why, but for me it works so much better.

Mmm, that's weird. How can it emulate 7.1 if the game was not made for 7.1 in the first place? Strange...

(02-07-2013, 10:23 PM)Scraper Wrote: Currently I'm just thinking of upgrading to 'true' surround headset since some games don't really work well with the virtual and setting the in-game to true 5.1 / 7.1 won't work either since some channels just don't exist within this headset. I remember when I bought this and thought that it was really a surround sound but didn't know that it's just emulated from stereo, I changed some games, like Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and Dead Space 2 to surround settings and was wondering why I didn't hear all of the sounds. After I changed them back to stereo it started to sound like surround and all the audio was back.

So maybe in order for the surround effect to work the game must be set to what the headset supports. So for example set a game to 5.1 because your headsets operate at that even if the game supports 7.1.

(02-07-2013, 10:23 PM)Scraper Wrote: Also, sometimes I hear something is somewhere around me but when I turn around to look, there's nothing. One example would be Battlefield 3 where I can hear enemy helicopter coming from behind but after I turn, there's nothing... In fact it was above me the whole time.

That's probably glitches of the fake surround system. Or the game might not correctly support such a conversion.

(02-07-2013, 10:23 PM)Scraper Wrote: Small complaints, I know. But being my first gaming headset, I must say that haven't regret the purchase. But it is time for me to reach out from virtual to true.

Lately I've been thinking of buying a headset too but as I found that they are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. Well if I get something I want it to last and have very good comfort and quality. So for me it's either good and expensive or nothing at all.

**Yuhaney** · 02-07-2013, 11:50 PM

(02-07-2013, 11:01 PM)plutomaniac Wrote:
(02-07-2013, 10:23 PM)Scraper Wrote: Since it's virtual 7.1, most of the games seem to work in 'surround' even though the settings in the menu says stereo. Music also sounds better with the virtual surround than regular stereo. Don't know why, but for me it works so much better.

Mmm, that's weird. How can it emulate 7.1 if the game was not made for 7.1 in the first place? Strange...

This headset is wireless and works completely via one USB so it simply can't be true, but for some reason it works as long as Windows is set to 7.1 and game is set to 'stereo' or 'headphones'.

Also I've noticed one weird thing with YouTube while using this headset with the surround on. When the video has only either left or right channel audio and people make that cliché "my left/right ear feels lonely", I turn the surround off and notice that the video indeed only had mono audio. However, when surround is on, you won't notice it so easily and usually I've just viewed the video without even realizing the whole thing.

If you want good virtual surround gaming headset, I'd say to get this one.