First question:
I have an Asus Xonar D2X sound card, Logitech Z5500 Speakers and a Sennheiser PC360 headset. I currently have my speakers hooked up to my sound card with the analog cables. When I use my headphones I plug them into the side of the volume control unit of my speakers. Would I get better sound quality through my headphones if I plugged them directly into the sound card or doesn't this makea difference?VoidQuake
The front-plug on your case is, assuming it was hooked up properly, simply going to pass-through the audio processed by your card. Similarly, the plug on the side of your speakers is not processing the headphone signal. In summary: It shouldn't matter.
Second Question:
When I'm gaming I use Dolby Headphone for surround sound, but it doesn't really feel all that surround-ish to me. I have the feeling that I'm getting much better directional sounds on my Xbox with the Astro Mixamp. Shouldn't my sound card be able to do exactly the same? (I have it set on 8 channels > Dolby Headphone and 7.1 virtual speaker shifter enabled) Maybe its just me and my ears are going to hell!Thanks in advance!VoidQuake
This depends on your headphones. To "truly" reproduce 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound your headphones need to have discrete drivers for each channel. In a 7.1 setup this means four speakers in each ear (since the center channel is matrixed), three left for rear, side, and front, and three right for the same. You'll have a fourth driver on both sides for your subwoofer channel.Dolby Headphone does not necessarily reproduce 5.1 or 7.1 discrete channels. From their own site, "Delivers realistic 5.1-channel sound from any set of headphones...Dolby Headphone accurately creates the sensationof up to five loudspeakers in a room using powerful digital signal processing (DSP) technology." The Dolby Headphone Turtle Beach PX5, for example, only has two speakers, two 50mm drivers. Same with the Astro A40's: two 40mm drivers.
Dolby Headphones is just a manner of processing audio to simulate surround sound, not to accurately reproduce the effect. Discrete headphones are rare, expensive, and not necessarily any better than their 2-channel counterparts. The Tritton AX Pros are one of the only "real" surround sound headphones of which I am aware (and I've been looking).
Surround sound is really meant to be experienced in an open room, not attached to your head. I hope this helps. You can read more marketing doctrine from Dolby at their web site, if you'd like.
Good luck,
Boz
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