Best sound card & Headphones for Battlefield BC2

Stonedofmoo · 2 Feb 2011 at 07:54

Morning all

I notice Battlefield BC2 supports Dolby 5.1 (Or so it claims!)
I assume you need a proper 5.1 sound card to hear this. Can anyone recommend one and a suitable headset to pair with it. Needs to be a headset with mic?

It's been a long time since I looked into sound hardware so I'm out of touch. Has EAX disappeared now?

PhoenixSP · 2 Feb 2011 at 11:04

Quite a few people have the Asus Xonar D1 7.1 ,http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-004-AS
currently on overclockers for £55.99 and seems to support all the the processing you want. EAX is still used in a number of recent games
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_games_that_support_EAX (remove if not allowed)

Global_Inferno · 2 Feb 2011 at 11:15

Careful, EAX isn't implemented in Battlefield Bad Company 2, they use their own in-house sound engine, so a card with EAX support isn't important if that's the main game you play.

If you want to have 5.1/7.1 yet use a headset, you'll need to have some form of surround sound emulation like Dolby Headphone or CMSS-3D, most X-Fi cards support CMSS-3D and a lot of Xonar cards support Dolby Headphone. Most people on here seem to agree that the Xonar cards produce a better quality listening experience.

Take a look at my blog below (in my sig) for more information on Dolby Headphone, etc. As for sound cards, I'd probably recommend a Asus Xonar DG, or a D1 7.1 if your headset doesn't have a high impedance level.

Stonedofmoo · 2 Feb 2011 at 11:34

Looking through the reviews they started appear as early as 2007 or 2008 for the Asus cards. Has soundcard innovation died a death now then?

These cards seem pretty old in terms of PC tech.

Stonedofmoo · 2 Feb 2011 at 11:37

Thanks for the link Global Inferno. I'll have a read in my lunch break. Out of interest is it better to use a sound card with Dolby Headphones, or '5.1' headphones?

I'm trying to decide if I need say a Asus D1 card with normal headset and use the cards capabilities to provide BF BC's DD5.1 sound, or the same card with 5.1 headphones.

Uriel · 2 Feb 2011 at 12:01

Dolby headphone over decent stereo headphones wipes the floor with 5.1 headphones.

Multiple driver surround headphones were overtaken by better tech in the 1970s. Unfortunately they've found a second wave in enthusiastic gamers that haven't heard / don't know better.

kain666 · 2 Feb 2011 at 12:09

check that your mobo supports it before getting a card.

Global_Inferno · 2 Feb 2011 at 13:45

Uriel said:
Dolby headphone over decent stereo headphones wipes the floor with 5.1 headphones.

^^ Listen to this advice, I couldn't agree more!

As I said however, my blog does go over most of this in more detail and my reasoning behind my opinions, so when you get a min, take a peek.

PapaLazaru · 2 Feb 2011 at 15:28

Sorry to interject, but I have some stereo cans and a Xonar DG.

What are the best settings for use on BC2?

Heaphone settings in game, plus Dolby Headphone enabled on the sound card?

Stonedofmoo · 2 Feb 2011 at 15:31

I would guess enable Dolby 5.1 in the game and let the soundcard do the work processing it into Dolby Headphones?

PapaLazaru · 2 Feb 2011 at 16:18

Stonedofmoo said:
I would guess enable Dolby 5.1 in the game and let the soundcard do the work processing it into Dolby Headphones?

No seting for Dolby 5.1 in game though. It is all a bit vague. I take it Home Cinema or Hi-Fi setting?

Global_Inferno · 2 Feb 2011 at 16:59

PapaLazaru said:
No seting for Dolby 5.1 in game though. It is all a bit vague. I take it Home Cinema or Hi-Fi setting?

Take a look in the Goldring NS1000 thread, there's settings in there.

EDIT: Here http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18234975&page=2

Uriel · 2 Feb 2011 at 17:32

Most games just default to whatever number of speakers Windows is set up for.

Seems to be only OpenAL or FMOD games that I've seen a menu option for at all recently.

Stonedofmoo · 2 Feb 2011 at 18:00

That's weird, I see a 5.1 option in BF BC2 on mine, and I don't even have a 5.1 sound card. That's how I knew the option existed. It's on the same pulldown menu as the headphones, speakers etc iirc.

Global_Inferno · 2 Feb 2011 at 18:03

The options in BF BC2 have no bearing on speaker setup, they are for the different levels of background noise, equalizer settings, etc. "Hi-Fi" is the cleanest sound, while "War Tapes" is the most "immersive".

setter · 2 Feb 2011 at 18:32

I tend to use the war tapes setting in bc2 most now. Using a xonar DX with ns1000's.

Xonar dx settings for games.

DH1 in the headphone setting.

PapaLazaru · 2 Feb 2011 at 18:57

Setter, you appear to have more buttons to click under the volume wheel. I only have two. Why? :confused:

setter · 2 Feb 2011 at 19:00

I can only assume that theese are extra features that come with the xonar DX.

Uriel · 2 Feb 2011 at 19:01

You have a different Xonar Model.

PapaLazaru · 2 Feb 2011 at 19:07

Ah! Cheers for clearing that up chaps.

So, either War Tapes or Home Cinema in game, then use the Dolby Heaphone setting on the Xonar.

Sweet, will try it now.