DTS Headphone: X - Is It Worth It? - Headphonesty

DTS Headphone: X is an audio solution that replicates the spatial sound experience you get when listening to sounds produced by multi-speaker sound systems. DTSSoundUnbound Here’severythingyouneedtoknowaboutDTSHeadphone:Xandmore. Havingsurroundsoundonyourheadphonesmakeseverygameormovieaudiomorerealistic.Withaccuratespatialsoundpositioning,‘flat’and‘plain’soundscantransformintosomethingthatbringsyouraudiotolife. Theproblemis,therearealotofdifferentsurroundsoundsoftwaresavailabletoday.Andchoosingonecanbedifficult,especiallysinceitinvolvesspendingsomehard-earnedcash. So,tohelpyoueasethatabit,we’llbelookingatoneofthebiggestnamesinspatialsoundtechnology:DTSHeadphone:X.Inthisarticle,we’llbetestingitouttoseeiftheapplication’sworthyourpenny.Readontofindoutmore! DTSSoundUnbound InThisArticle WhatisSpatialSound?WhatIsDTSHeadphone:XHowDoesDTSHeadphone:XWorkDTSHeadphone:XFeaturesandDrawbacksDTSHeadphone:X-IsItWorthIt?Conclusion WhatisSpatialSound? Beforedigginginfurther,let’sfirstunderstandwhatvirtualsurroundsoundisandhowitdiffersfromspatialsound. DifferenceofStereo,SurroundSound,andSpatialSound(From:Windows) Asyoumayknow,stereosoundreferstowhenthesoundissimplycomingfromyourleftorrightside. Virtualsurroundsound,ontheotherhand,isanaudiosystemthatcreatestheperceptionofsoundcomingfromdifferentdirections(besideandaroundyou).Itsalgorithmisdesignedtotrickyourearsintothinkingthattherearemorespeakersthanthereactuallyare. Typically,truesurroundsoundsystemsproduceimmersiveaudiobyusingmulti-channelsystems.Thisrefersto5.1surroundsoundsystems(5speakersandonesubwoofer)and7.1surroundsystems(7speakersandonesubwoofer). Withvirtualsurroundsoundtechnology,however,soundsareartificiallyreplicatedusingonlytwospeakers. Spatialsoundisoftenconfusedasbeingjustthesameassurroundsound.Butitactuallygoesbeyondwhatthetypical5.1and7.1surroundsoundcanoffer. ThroughSpatialSound,youraudioisperceivedtoflowinathree-dimensionalvirtualspace.Thismeansitprojectssoundtonotjustbebesideandaroundyou,butalsoaboveandbelowyou. WhatIsDTSHeadphone:X DTSHeadphone:Xlogo DTSisoneofthebiggestnameswhenitcomestospatialandsurroundsoundtechnology.Since1993,ithasbeenpioneeringanddevelopingaudiosolutionstoupthequalityandimmersivenessofaudio.Andaspartofitseffortsto‘maketheworldsoundbetter’,itrolledoutitsDTSHeadphone:Xfeaturelast2015. DTSHeadphone:Xisanaudiosolutionthatreplicatesthespatialsoundexperienceyougetwhenlisteningtosoundsproducedbymulti-speakersoundsystems.ThissoftwareleveragesMicrosoftSpatialsoundtoproduceaccuratesoundlocalization.Itworksonanysetofheadphonesandisabletovirtuallyrendersoundsabove,around,andclosetotheheadphoneuser. DTSHeadphone:X7.1vs.DTSHeadphone:Xv2.0 Ifyou’renewtoDTS,youmaygetconfusedabouthowDTSHeadphone:X7.1differsfromDTSHeadphone:Xv2.0. Well,basically,themaindifferencebetweenthetwoisthattheformerishardware-basedandthelatterissoftware-based.Here’saquickrun-throughofthetwo: DTSHeadphone:Xv2.0isaspatialsoundsoftwarethatcanworkonanysetofheadphones.Thev2.0isthenewerandmoreadvancedversionofDTSHeadphone:X.Itincludesnewfeaturessuchasenhancedbassrenderingandaudioclarity.Plus,itimprovedproximitycues,andlosslessHi-Resaudiosupportcomparedtothefirstversion. TheDTSHeadphone:X7.1,ontheotherhand,referstothehardwarethattransformsstereosoundsintoimmersivesurroundsoundoutput.It’sahardwareprocessor,usuallyintheformofaUSBdongleortransmitter. 7.1isspecificallytunedfortheparticularsetofheadphonesthatitcomeswith.AnexampleofthisistheTurtleBeachStealth700withDTSHeadphone:X7.1surroundsoundheadphones. GirlwearingTurtleBeachStealth700whileplaying(From:Amazon) HowDoesDTSHeadphone:XWork Asdiscussed,DTSHeadphone:Xusesacertainalgorithmtotransformstereosoundintoalifelikeandrealistic3Daudiooutput.Thisinvolves‘backwardsprocessing’,aprocessthatenablesyourearstoperceivesoundinawaythatthehumanearperceivesthemas‘spatial’. Unlikeolderaudioformatswhichareaudio-based,theDTSHeadphone:Xstandardisobject-based.Thismeansthatthisaudiocodecoptimizesandaddsdepthtotheaudiobyencodingaudiometadatathat‘tells’theamplifierwhereaspecificsoundiscomingfrom. Withthis,theaudio’sloudnessisadjustedaccordinglyandsoundreflectionistakenintoaccount.Thisway,DTSHeadphone:Xisabletomimicimmersivesoundsproducedbymulti-speakersetups. DTSHeadphone:XFeaturesandDrawbacks Gamerwearingheadphones(From:Unsplash) Nowthatwe’vediscussedwhatDTSHeadphone:Xisandhowitworks,wecannowdivedeeperintoitsadvantagesanddisadvantages.BelowisalistofitsfeaturesanddrawbackstohelpyoudecideifDTSHeadphone:Xisindeedworththepurchase. WhatWeLikeRealisticsoundqualityWorkswithanypairofheadphonesCustomizablevoicevolumecontrolWhatWeDon'tLikePaidapplicationLimitedmediaandplatformsupportSlightlypriciercomparedtocompetitors Realisticsoundquality MostaudiophileswouldagreethatDTS’soundtechnologyisoneofthebestwhenitcomestosoundquality. Whencomparedtoitsnumberonecompetitor(Dolby),DTSisabletocompressaudiometadatatoa4:1ratiowhileDolbycompressesitata10to12:1ratio. Toputitsimply,thelowertheaudiocompressionis,theclearerandmorerealisticthesoundis. AndthankstoDTStechnology’slowcompressionrate,itisabletoproducemorerealisticsoundsthananyotherspatialsoundsoftwaresoutthere. Workswithanypairofheadphones Anothergreatthingaboutthissoftwareisthatitworksonallheadphonemodels.Thismeansthatyouwon’thavetoworryabouthavingtobuyanothersetofheadphonestoexperienceit. AccordingtoDTS,thistechnologyalsoincludesadatabaseofmorethan500custom-tunedheadphoneprofiles.Thankstothis,thesoftwarecanconsidertheheadphones’specificbuildtoachieveanoptimallisteningexperience. Customizablevoicevolumecontrol DTSHeadphone:Xletsyoucustomizethevolumerangeofvoicesinmoviesandgames.Voicevolumecontrolisextremelyusefulinsituationswhereimportantdialoguesinmovies/videogamecutscenesarebeingoverpoweredbyloudsoundeffectsand/orbackgroundmusic. DTSHeadphone:X–Thedrawbacks Paidapplication UnlikeotherspatialsoundapplicationssuchasWindowsSonic,DTSHeadphone:Xisn’tfree.Togetitslicense,you’llneedtopurchaseitfromtheDTSSoundUnboundstoreforaone-timepaymentof$19.99. Fortunately,DTSHeadphone:Xcomeswithatwo-weekfreetrialperiod.Ifyouwanttotestitout,youcandownloaditviatheDTSSoundUnboundapplicationhere. Limitedmediaandplatformsupport SinceDTSHeadphone:Xisafairlynewaudiocodec,somemediaandapplicationsdonotsupportityet.Onlyahandfulofmainstreamvideogamesand4KBlue-raymoviessupportitasofthetimeofwriting(April,2021) Slightlypricieroption Casuallistenerswithuntrainedearsusuallywon’tbeabletotellthedifferencebetweenthesoundqualityofDTSanditscheapercounterpart,DolbyAtmos.Soifyou’reacasuallistenerwho’sonastrictbudget,goingforthecheaperoptionmaybethewisermove. Forcertifiedaudiophiles,theslightlyhigherbitrateofDTSHeadphone:Xcanmakeadifference,though.Butwhetherthisslightdifferenceinsoundqualityisarelevantbuyingfactor(consideringtheUSD5differencebetweenthetwosoftware)comesdowntopersonalpreference. DTSHeadphone:X–IsItWorthIt? Manwearinggamingheadphones(From:Unsplash) Consideringhowmuchitimprovesyourlisteningexperience,DTSHeadphone:Xcanbeanirresistibledealforanyone.Plus,whenyoubuyDTSHeadphone:X,itcomesbundledwithDTS:Xdecoder.Whatasteal,right? But,thisstilldependsonhowyou’llusethesoftware.Sotomakethisreviewmorethorough,weweighedinthebenefitsofthesoftwarebasedonitsintendeduses.Here’showDTSHeadphone:Xmeasuredup: DTSHeadphone:X,andotherDTS:XproductsthatsupportMicrosoftSpatialsound,areautomaticallylicensedfordeviceswithDTSHeadphone:Xv2.0.Ontheotherhand,ifyourdeviceonlyhasthefirstversion,DTSHeadphone:X,anadditionalin-apppurchasewillberequiredtounlockotherDTSproducts. Formovies Worthit?Itdepends. DTSHeadphone:Xprovidesanimmersiveaudioexperiencethatmakesyoufeelasifyou’reinsidethemovie. AsStevenStevenSpeilbergsaid,“Soundandmusicmakeupmorethanhalfofcommunicatingastory,greatereventhanwhatyou’reseeing.” Withitsadvancedspatialsurroundsoundtechnology,yourheadphonesareabletodeliversoundstomakeyoufeellikeyou’reactuallyinthescenes.Soifyou’reamoviefanatic,thissoftwareisdefinitelyworthit. Asofwriting,however,nativeDTS:XmovieformatisonlycurrentlyavailableonsomeBlu-rayandUltraHDBlu-raydiscs.Netflix,DisneyPlus,Hulu,andAmazonPrimedon’thaveDTS:X-supportedcontentyet. IfyouplaymoviesusingDTSHeadphone:Xonthesemoviestreamingplatforms,theappwillonlybeabletoproducethetraditional5.1/7.1surroundsoundoutput,insteadofthemorerenownspatialsound. Ifyou’recuriousaboutwhatmoviesarecurrentlyavailableinDTS:Xformat,youcancheckoutthislist. Forgaming Worthit?Yes! DTSHeadphone:Xcanofferthebestsoundtechnologyforgamingcomparedtotheircompetitors.Thisapplicationoffersexcellentimmersivesoundpositioningwhilekeepingsounddistortiontoaminimum. TheimmersiveaudioofDTSHeadphone:Xenablesyoutopinpointwhereexactlyyourenemies’footstepsarecomingfrom.Youcanalsoenjoyin-gamecutscenesastheengaging3Dsoundswillmakeyoufeellikeyou’reinsidethegameandnotjustanoutsidespectator. However,itseffectcanonlybefullyenjoyedwhenusedwithDTS:X-supportedgames.Butevenifyouplaygamesthataren’tnaturallyDTS:X-supported,youcanstillnoticeanimprovementinsoundquality.Inthiscase,DTScanstillcreateavirtualsoundfieldalthoughtheaudiomaynotsoundasgood. ThenewlylaunchedXboxSeriesX&Scomeswithabuilt-inDTS:Xspatialsoundtechnology.MuchlikeDTSHeadphone:X,ittransformsyourgamingaudiointoanimmersive360°soundexperience.Italsopromisestodeliverdetailedpositionalsoundswithobject-basedpinpointaccuracy. Foryourreference,here’salistofDTSHeadphone:X-supportedgamesasofthetimeofwriting(April2021): Gears5 Borderlands3 CallofDutyModernWarfare ForzaHorizon4 ShadowoftheTombRaider Assassin’sCreedOrigins ForHonor FinalFantasyXV ResidentEvil2 MetroExodus TheDivision2 HavingtroubleconnectingyourBluetoothheadphonestoyourXboxSeriesS/X?Checkoutourguideforsixsolutionsonhowtodojustthat. Forcasualmusiclistening Worthit?Itdepends. Ifyou’reahardcoreaudiophile,you’lldefinitelyappreciatetheincreaseinsoundqualitythatDTSHeadphone:Xcanprovide.Ithascustomizableequalizersettingsthatyoucanadjusttosuityourpreference.Throughthisapp,youcanalsohearanincreaseinspace,clarity,anddepthinyourmusic. Butwhileitinarguablyimprovesyourmusiclisteningexperience,theverylimitedarrayofDTSHeadphone:X-supportedmusiccontentisoneofthefactorsthatyoushouldconsiderifyou’replanningtousethisforcasualmusiclistening. AccordingtoDTS,theaudioshouldbeinnativeHeadphone:Xsurroundsoundformatsothatyoucanenjoyitsfulleffect.Buteventhoughtheaudiotrackisn’tinthisformat,youcanstillhearanimprovementintheoverallmusicqualitywhenyouusetheapp. ComparedtoaudiosspecificallymixedforDTS,regularaudiotrackswon’thavethesamewidesoundstageandaccurateinstrumentpanning/positioning.ListeningtoregularaudiotrackswithDTSHeadphone:Xwillonlyamplifysomefrequencies,andnotreallyaccuratelypinpointeachinstrumentandvocaltrackfora3Daudioexperience. Asofwriting,therearen’tmanysongsthatareinthisformat.Therealsoaren’tanyavailableHeadphone:X-supportedmusiconstreamingplatformslikeSpotify,YoutubeMusic,AmazonMusicHD,andTidal. Sounlessyou’reahardcoreaudiophilewho’swillingtoinvestinthisspecificaudioformat,buyingDTSHeadphone:Xforcasualmusiclisteningmaynotbethebestoption. Conclusion Overall,DTSHeadphone:Xisagreatapplication.It’sanaudiosolutionmadetoachievethatimmersiveandlifelikelisteningexperiencethatwealllove. ItmaytakesometimeforDTSHeadphone:Xtomatureasaformatandofferawiderarrayofcontentsupportedbyit,though.Yet,investinginthisapplicationforthelongrunisagreatmoveespeciallyforthosewhotrulyappreciatethebeautyofspatialsound. So,haveyoudecidedyet?HowdidyoufindDTSHeadphone:X?Letusknowinthecommentssectionbelow.We’dlovetoknowyourthoughts! FiledUnder:appDTSHeadphone:Xspatialsoundvirtualsurroundsound 5comments Thereseemstobesomemisinformationinthisarticleoratleastveryconfusing. ThearticleisaboutDTS:XforheadphonesviatheDTSSoundunboundapp,IhavebeenusingthisforquitesometimenowandIneversawanyoptiontoAdjustvoicecontroloranyequalizersettingsasmentionedinthisarticle. TheymaybeavailableforheadphonesthathavenativeDTS:XsupportbutthosesettingsarenotavailableintheDTSsoundunboundappforwindows/xbox. Reply youcanadjustitintheggengineapp.separatefromfromsoundunboundappusedtoenableandchooseheadsetmodel. Reply Onedetailinthisarticlewhichseemstobeinaccurate,isthementionedinclusionofDTSHeadphone:XtechnologywithintheXboxSeriesconsoles.IjustselectedthatformatforthesoundpreferenceofmyXboxSeriesX,andit’sonlygivingtheoptionofafreetrial.Ionlystumbledacrossthisarticlewhilelookingforwhattheactualcostofusingthisformatmaybe. Reply Customizablevoicevolumecontrol DTSHeadphone:Xletsyoucustomizethevolumerangeofvoicesinmoviesandgames.Voicevolumecontrolisextremelyusefulinsituationswhereimportantdialoguesinmovies/videogamecutscenesarebeingoverpoweredbyloudsoundeffectsand/orbackgroundmusic. ThisfunctionalityisnotavailableintheappDTSsoundunbound.ItmaybeavailableforheadphoneswithnativeDTS:Xsupport(Idon’tknowsinceIdonothaveany) Icanunderstandthatthearticleisabitconfusingasunder“THINGSWELIKE”itfirstmentionsthatitworkswithanyheadphonesandbelowthatthementiontobeabletoadjustvoicecontrol. Thevoicecontrolfunctionisnotavailableformeonxbox/windowswithanyofmyheadphones,thedohavepredefinedprofilesforallmyheadphonesbutnovoicecontrol. Reply “Whencomparedtoitsnumberonecompetitor(Dolby),DTSisabletocompressaudiometadatatoa4:1ratiowhileDolbycompressesitata10to12:1ratio.” AndthefollowingcommentthatDTSisbetterbecauseit’sbigger… Thereare2waystocompressdata,lossyandlossless.Audiometadatashouldbelossless.Smallerisbetter.Andtherearewaystodolossycompressionthatgiveyouanequivalent(tohumanears)outputforasmallerdatafile. Unlessthetwoschemesareusingexactlythesamemethodsyoucan’tdirectlycomparedataratestoknowifoneis“better”. 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