Is it just me? Dolby Digital not pinpoint accurate

[Thalion]

Whats up guys. First of all, I just received my Astros this week and Iove them. Top notch quality. Im very technically savy and am very critical of my technology down to the finest detail and the Astros are amazing.

But something is driving me nuts. Dolby Digital is obviously far superior sound quality than standard stereo in general, whether its your home theater or in this case your gaming headphones. However I find that when I have Dolby on while using my Astros that the sound is flat and directionals aren't as easily deciphered as compared to not having it on. Ive actually considered that my Dolby light on my mixamp is accidentally toggled backwards, so that when it says dolby is on that its actually off and so on. Is it just me? Ive been mainly play MW2.

Your opinions would help ease my compulsive nitpicking, lol. Thanks guys!

And again, Astro, you made a quality product.

[Thalion]

I am seeing where folks turn off the Dolby for FPS games. That just doesnt make sense to me, as Dolby should be the best choice for distinguishing directional audio.

[DBakerr]

The only thing I've personally noticed is that it's louder when the Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound button is off.

That's my take on this I guess ;/ :P

[Thalion]

It definately is louder with it off, but do you notice a distinct difference in directional clarity with it off? lol this is driving me nuts

[ASTRO stanimal]

Hi Thalion,

Are you using an optical cable with your Xbox 360 or just the RCA cables?

- ASTRO Stanimal

[Thalion]

Im using an optical. Thanks for the reply, awesome to see staff active in the forums.

[ASTRO stanimal]

Thanks! We're here to help. :D

What sound setup you prefer is definitely up to you, which is why we included the option to turn the Dolby on and off.

My preference has always been to play with the Dolby on because it'd easier for me to tell what's coming from where and to be better judge the distance.

Have you given both settings a try for several hours of gameplay? Which do you perform better at?

- ASTRO Stanimal

[Thalion]

Yes Ive tried both formats. Here is the wierd part: What you described and what everyone else has described is what I get when my Dolby is OFF. Is it possible my Dolby is toggled backwards?! Meaning when my Dolby light is off its actually on?

[DBakerr]

Yes Ive tried both formats. Here is the wierd part: What you described and what everyone else has described is what I get when my Dolby is OFF. Is it possible my Dolby is toggled backwards?! Meaning when my Dolby light is off its actually on?

Hmm, well.. you said with it off, it sounds louder, which is similar to what I hear. Maybe you're expecting something that isn't there? 'Cause I believe it's louder but not as.. distinct.. clear? Or as well because it's not in surround sound mode, it's only in Standard 2.0 I believe when it's off? So there's much more sound coming from just the front and back I think? So it has to mush all that sound together, which makes it louder, and easier to hear because it's louder if playing a game like.. Call of Duty persay.

Here, I'll test it myself as well when I get my MixAmp back. I'll play a few hours with it off on Modern Warfare 2, so I can feel the difference when I turn it on. I'm sure it'll be much more clear and you'll be able to distinguish nearly exactly where an enemy is coming from.. or teammate:p (When it is on)

What did whom describe if you don't mind?

-DBakerr

(I hope I'm being a little bit of help and am making a bit of sense?:P Or else this was just a waste of words and I am making a fool outta myself.) Though.. I am quite tired at the moment so I hope I'm not wasting anybodies reading time:P

[ASTRO stanimal]

Yes Ive tried both formats. Here is the wierd part: What you described and what everyone else has described is what I get when my Dolby is OFF. Is it possible my Dolby is toggled backwards?! Meaning when my Dolby light is off its actually on?

Hi Thalion,

Please contact our Support Team (http://www.astrogaming.com/support) if you have any further questions about our MixAmp. They may be able to troubleshoot your question and provide a solution.

- ASTRO Stanimal

[ninjikiran]

On a pair of headphones which have no true center channel you notice sharp channel seperation. When dolby is enable it smooths it out and gives you an emulated center channel on top of full 5.1. This gives a better 3 dimensional sound stage. Therefore a sound coming from the left will not be as sharp and defined as it would in pure stereo mode but it is more realistic and less fatiguing.

Personally I find myself easily able to pick up sounds becoming from every angle the 3 dimensional aspect allows me to better determine distance.

So basically dolby is pinpoint accurate but something coming from center left without it on is anything but pin point. Some people have trouble adjusting to this as you are used to deciphering a sharp left and with knowledge of the situation able to figure out where it is coming from with ease.

[Thalion]

Well, let me try to describe it better.

When the dolby is on, the sound is as if it has a filter on it. It doesnt sound bad, dont get me wrong there. Example: If in individual is shooting to my right and my DD is on, I can still slightly distinguish that it is indeed on my right, however it has like an echo or hollow sound to it. If said situation is done with my DD OFF, I can very boldly hear it on my right. It may just be my personal preference. I just assumed DD would sound far more distinct and clear for directional. Does this sound somewhat normal or am I goofy? lol

Thankyou kindly for your time!! I appreciate it.

[Thalion]

On a pair of headphones which have no true center channel you notice sharp channel seperation. When dolby is enable it smooths it out and gives you an emulated center channel on top of full 5.1. This gives a better 3 dimensional sound stage. Therefore a sound coming from the left will not be as sharp and defined as it would in pure stereo mode but it is more realistic and less fatiguing.

Personally I find myself easily able to pick up sounds becoming from every angle the 3 dimensional aspect allows me to better determine distance.

So basically dolby is pinpoint accurate but something coming from center left without it on is anything but pin point. Some people have trouble adjusting to this as you are used to deciphering a sharp left and with knowledge of the situation able to figure out where it is coming from with ease.

This definitely makes alot of sense. Thank you!

[ninjikiran]

This definitely makes alot of sense. Thank you!

NP, in a perfect world all sound would be engineered to work well with headphones AND speakers negating the need for Dolby.

[Gosukusan]

I just came across this topic while searching for info about this exact same issue. I have done extensive testing and I also came to the conclusion that it might be possible that my dolby button was somehow reversed. Music sounds slightly more clear with dolby light turned off, and my pc games seem to have more directional clarity.

However, with the dolby button lit up, I get the sense that I am in a room with multiple speakers around me, especially while listening to music. In fact, it almost feels like those emulated speakers may be slightly off sync with each other at times, or are even producing a little reverb and/or echo, as the original poster described. To be honest, I like the way everything sounds with the button turned on, and off...and I really can't make up my mind as to which I like more...lol.

One thing I have noticed with dolby lit up, is that I do have a better sense of distance with sound, and the 3D sound stage definitely has more of a presence. Perhaps after further testing I will come to favor the dolby on.(at least I think it's on) Either way, I am happy with the product so far, and the sound quality is outstanding all around.

[FLeUry]

Make sure you changed your xbox audio settings in the dashboard to 5.1 dolby.

[Gosukusan]

Make sure you changed your xbox audio settings in the dashboard to 5.1 dolby.

I forgot to mention that this is a PC only issue. I have yet to do extensive testing on my xbox or ps3.

[ninjikiran]

I forgot to mention that this is a PC only issue. I have yet to do extensive testing on my xbox or ps3.

Really depends, I always have it on for my games PC or otherwise. The clarity through my headphones doesn't change(Through either my Sonys or Beyers). I never have it on for music since it adds tons of coloring to it. (Make sure your windows settings are set to output 5.1, with stereo music you will still only be using 2 "speakers" anyway).

Stereo AC3 streams on videos tend to shine with DD enabled, as do 5.1 AC3. Everything else I leave it disabled.

They might be off sync, even on full systems I know you can tweak delay. Personally I still don't notice any syncing issues but I may not be sensitive to them.

[LoJack]

i know this thread is about a month or so old, but i'm with Thalion...i just got my set about a week ago...with the light off, i can pinpoint everything better,, it sounds better...but when the light is on, it kinda just sounds like its 2 channel, you can pinpoint direction but very little. i did play alots of rounds in MW2 with both setting and i always go back to having the light off...now, i play with these headphones on PS3..optical cable...when i started playing Uncharted 2,
i did some test, if you played the game, you know in some parts you'll have people following you around (so called helping) i did the same thing...play with the light on DD on...you couldnt really tell if the person was behind,left, right, etc...with the light off, i can tell where everything was coming from. when they start talking to you, there footsteps, gun shots, etc...Sounds weird?...maybe...again, it just might be the way we like to play, but overall...even with the DD light off, they just sound amazing.

to Thalion
if you did talk to the support team, can you let me know if it is a defect, if you have to return it, or if the setting are wrong...i would appreciated

Thx for your time,
LoJack

[ninjikiran]

i know this thread is about a month or so old, but i'm with Thalion...i just got my set about a week ago...with the light off, i can pinpoint everything better,, it sounds better...but when the light is on, it kinda just sounds like its 2 channel, you can pinpoint direction but very little. i did play alots of rounds in MW2 with both setting and i always go back to having the light off...now, i play with these headphones on PS3..optical cable...when i started playing Uncharted 2,
i did some test, if you played the game, you know in some parts you'll have people following you around (so called helping) i did the same thing...play with the light on DD on...you couldnt really tell if the person was behind,left, right, etc...with the light off, i can tell where everything was coming from. when they start talking to you, there footsteps, gun shots, etc...Sounds weird?...maybe...again, it just might be the way we like to play, but overall...even with the DD light off, they just sound amazing.

to Thalion
if you did talk to the support team, can you let me know if it is a defect, if you have to return it, or if the setting are wrong...i would appreciated

Thx for your time,
LoJack

This could kind of fall into the whole "Soundstage vs Headstage" which says when you close your eyes stereo positional audio in music is more discernible than when you have your eyes open. Considering we are concentrating on our games, with the lights on you might have trouble falling into the trance of the game if that makes any sense.

Still I have no problem with my headphones and positional audio regardless of light or not.