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R9 290X TrueAudio VS Onboard Sound

Well so far the true audio is just a buzzword, it's not actually in anything for gaming as far as I'm aware.
So you'd just keep your sound card.
 
Hi there

The great thing about true audio - It has way more audio channels than even some dedicated £100 sound cards, so in short it is far superior to onboard sound or even some dedicated cards at giving games a much deeper atmosphere.

The bad thing about true audio - How the hell do we use it? :D
 
This interview between Maximum PC and AMDs TrueAudio Design Engineer Carl Wakeland seems to throw some light on it:

MPC: One of the problems with gaming today is a lot of gamers run USB headsets. The DSP’s are external to the PC – but with TrueAudio, you’re saying you’re getting to the audio before it even gets pushed out to the audio devices? How does this work if you have an existing sound card already such as an X-Fi, Xonar or advanced onboard audio already?

AMD: AMD TrueAudio comes into the audio chain at the application level, long before sound ever reaches the user’s audio chip or audio endpoint. Whether you have integrated audio on the motherboard, a discrete sound card, or a standalone USB headset, AMD TrueAudio is already part and parcel of the audio stream that’s being fed to these devices by the game’s audio engine. That’s the beauty of operating at the level of the audio library: it’s the first stop in the audio process! And because it’s the first stop, only AMD TrueAudio is fully aware of the game’s positional and environmental data. We are alone in our ability to provide audio data that fully reflects the game’s goings on.

MPC: So a person could keep their existing discrete X-Fi/Xonar/Recon for the superior DACs/ADC, and switch off their effects to use TrueAudio but then switch them back for games that use OpenAL or don’t support TrueAudio?

AMD: That’s 100 percent correct. We designed AMD TrueAudio in the manner that we did precisely because we know users have great audio hardware with high-quality OPAMPS that they don’t want or need to forfeit. Whatever audio device(s) a user has right now, that hardware is ready to go with AMD TrueAudio.

http://pixelrant.com/2013/10/08/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-amds-new-trueaudio-technology/
 
Okay the replies have confused me, or I was already confused and never realised it.

My understanding is TrueAudio is not a sound card, but in fact requires a sound card to work with as its merely a DSP.

edit: nm the above covers it. Its early only had one coffee what can i say.
 
ÜberTakter said:
Hey Overclockers

I am looking at the R9 290X and I like the sound (bad-um-tisch) of this TrueAudio thing, but I already own a Asus Xonar DG soundcard http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/soundcards/2010/10/26/asus-xonar-dg-review/1

So here is my question: Does anyone know how these will work together? If I bought a 290X would it make my soundcard pointless?
Click to expand...

Unless you are going to use waterblocks on your 290X the audio capabilities of your system are not going to matter.

Imagine trying to listen to a Hi Fi system while your mum is doing the hoovering and I think you will get the point.
 
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Kaapstad said:
Unless you are going to use waterblocks on your 290X the audio capabilities of your system are not going to matter.

Imagine trying to listen to a Hi Fi system while your mum is doing the hoovering and I think you will get the point.
Click to expand...
Well I use Sennheiser 558 headphones so I have to say I can't actually hear the fan on my current 280X.
 
ÜberTakter said:
This interview between Maximum PC and AMDs TrueAudio Design Engineer Carl Wakeland seems to throw some light on it:

MPC: One of the problems with gaming today is a lot of gamers run USB headsets. The DSP’s are external to the PC – but with TrueAudio, you’re saying you’re getting to the audio before it even gets pushed out to the audio devices? How does this work if you have an existing sound card already such as an X-Fi, Xonar or advanced onboard audio already?

AMD: AMD TrueAudio comes into the audio chain at the application level, long before sound ever reaches the user’s audio chip or audio endpoint. Whether you have integrated audio on the motherboard, a discrete sound card, or a standalone USB headset, AMD TrueAudio is already part and parcel of the audio stream that’s being fed to these devices by the game’s audio engine. That’s the beauty of operating at the level of the audio library: it’s the first stop in the audio process! And because it’s the first stop, only AMD TrueAudio is fully aware of the game’s positional and environmental data. We are alone in our ability to provide audio data that fully reflects the game’s goings on.

MPC: So a person could keep their existing discrete X-Fi/Xonar/Recon for the superior DACs/ADC, and switch off their effects to use TrueAudio but then switch them back for games that use OpenAL or don’t support TrueAudio?

AMD: That’s 100 percent correct. We designed AMD TrueAudio in the manner that we did precisely because we know users have great audio hardware with high-quality OPAMPS that they don’t want or need to forfeit. Whatever audio device(s) a user has right now, that hardware is ready to go with AMD TrueAudio.

http://pixelrant.com/2013/10/08/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-amds-new-trueaudio-technology/
Click to expand...

That's a some very nice information there, very helpful.

Got to love the ridiculous part about "only AMD TrueAudio is fully aware of the game’s positional and environmental data." So are they saying that before AMD decided to work with the companies that developed this system, no hardware was aware of the games positional and environmental data, yeah right, so a true 5.1 system cannot do positional audio because only AMD know the data :rolleyes:.

Other than that one stupid trumpet blowing line, it was a very good reply and good info.
 
ÜberTakter said:
Hey Overclockers

I am looking at the R9 290X and I like the sound (bad-um-tisch) of this TrueAudio thing, but I already own a Asus Xonar DG soundcard http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/soundcards/2010/10/26/asus-xonar-dg-review/1

So here is my question: Does anyone know how these will work together? If I bought a 290X would it make my soundcard pointless?
Click to expand...

TrueAudio does not replace the sound card. It's a sound processing and positioning engine that works inside the game to give hundreds of channels, precise 3D sound positioning in the 3D world, effects, etc.

This all gets processed with the game and then the sound is output to your current sound card or onboard sound chip. So you still need a sound card or equivalent. TrueAudio is not a sound card replacement, it's more of an in-game sound engine.
 
bru said:
That's a some very nice information there, very helpful.

Got to love the ridiculous part about "only AMD TrueAudio is fully aware of the game’s positional and environmental data." So are they saying that before AMD decided to work with the companies that developed this system, no hardware was aware of the games positional and environmental data, yeah right, so a true 5.1 system cannot do positional audio because only AMD know the data :rolleyes:.

Other than that one stupid trumpet blowing line, it was a very good reply and good info.
Click to expand...

A 5.1 sound system can only output the sound it gets from the game. The point of TrueAudio is that the sounds that come from the game are more complex, subtle, expansive and immersive, all whilst being done on the graphics card instead of the CPU.

There have been some audio demos posted on past TrueAudio threads here at OCUK, and they are very impressive. If you listen to them, you'll be amazed at what you can get out of a pair of headphones, let alone a proper surround sound system.
 
Interesting answers Steampunk. Do you think a good pair of Sennheiser 558s (or any high end stereo headphone setup) combined with a a R7/R8/R9 is good enough to make the most of this TrueAudio Feature? Or is a traditional 5.1 gaming headset the way forward here? As an audio enthusiast and someone with a separate soundcard i'm intrigued.
 
ÜberTakter said:
Interesting answers Steampunk. Do you think a good pair of Sennheiser 558s (or any high end stereo headphone setup) combined with a a R7/R8/R9 is good enough to make the most of this TrueAudio Feature? Or is a traditional 5.1 gaming headset the way forward here? As an audio enthusiast and someone with a separate soundcard i'm intrigued.
Click to expand...


I should think so. Have a listen to the AstoundSound demos:



This is a middleware sound engine that has intergrated TrueAudio and was talking a lot about it at the press day for the new cards.
 
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Steampunk said:
A 5.1 sound system can only output the sound it gets from the game. The point of TrueAudio is that the sounds that come from the game are more complex, subtle, expansive and immersive, all whilst being done on the graphics card instead of the CPU.

There have been some audio demos posted on past TrueAudio threads here at OCUK, and they are very impressive. If you listen to them, you'll be amazed at what you can get out of a pair of headphones, let alone a proper surround sound system.
Click to expand...

yes yes yes, but the point it that it isn't only AMD that have the data, the companies that invented this system had it long before AMD started to use it. Hell even the game developers have the data of where the positional audio is, for the guy to say only AMD have it is plainly ridiculous. But don't get me wrong I'm not saying its not a good system, I was just disagreeing with that one line.
 
bru said:
Got to love the ridiculous part about "only AMD TrueAudio is fully aware of the game’s positional and environmental data." So are they saying that before AMD decided to work with the companies that developed this system, no hardware was aware of the games positional and environmental data, yeah right, so a true 5.1 system cannot do positional audio because only AMD know the data :rolleyes:.

Other than that one stupid trumpet blowing line, it was a very good reply and good info.
Click to expand...

There is zero ridiculous about it.

If you knew what True Audio delivers, and perhaps what EAX was, you would know what he was explaining.

Basically MS removed EAX(googles your friend) from Vista onwards, why only MS knows, there has been attempt to emulate EAX but it's not even close.

Those that ever used a Creative XFi(or similar) with dedicated hardware chip will be excited at getting this feature back into titles, it is simply amazing in game, it's one of those things you need to hear properly in use.

True Audio and Thief is themain reasons I went from 7950 CrossFire to the 290X, just hoping support is taken up well, hoping it should as TA is also in the PS4.:)
 
bru said:
yes yes yes, but the point it that it isn't only AMD that have the data, the companies that invented this system had it long before AMD started to use it. Hell even the game developers have the data of where the positional audio is, for the guy to say only AMD have it is plainly ridiculous. But don't get me wrong I'm not saying its not a good system, I was just disagreeing with that one line.
Click to expand...

We haven't we seen it for the last few years. Creative killed Aureal3D, Microsoft killed an accelerated sound stack, and developers can't be asked to deal with it in limited software that takes CPU cycles away from the main game.

TrueAudio provides a powerful DSP that ties in very closely with the 3D engine running on the card, and doesn't take CPU cycles away from the game.
 
Ok obviously I have been misunderstood, I'm sure it is a fantastic system, very possibly better than other systems out there, I really don't know as I haven't heard it.
All I was saying is that it is stupid for the guy to say that ONLY AMD has that data. So just where do they get that data from then? the Game developer must know where they want the sounds to come from, so they have the data, the companies that actually developed this system (you do realise that it wasn't AMD) they would have had the data before AMD decided to use their system.

It was just a stupid trumpet blowing comment, just that, I meant no reference as to how good the system is.
 
I think you read too much into the guys actual words, if he simply said 'only Amd has the data', if you need that sentence translated-you need an AMD TA enabled gpu for the sound effects.

The rest you answered yourself, the devs implement the code much the same as devs implementing PhysX code=only Nvidia has the data, it's the same philosophy, just a different feature set, very basic stuff to comprehend tbph.
 
THe main issue is, the guy you're quoting did NOT say only AMD have the data....... apart from that.

To highlight a few more things, 5.1 doesn't do positional data, the game will say "this thing is somewhere on the left, or somewhere on the right, maybe a bit behind".

Standard audio data from a stadard audio package does NOT determine height or precise location of the sound, nor does it take into account the actual position of the sound, IE, is that sound's position in a cave, in a huge concert hall, in a echo inducing canyon, etc.

AMD isn't taking standard "data" from an average game. Games are going to utilise Trueaudio but trueaudio plugins being added to the tools the sound guys in a game engine work on so they can provide another output for MUCH more accurate audio with much more precise positional data, which is then sent to the trueaudio dsp to be processed.

IE enable true audio in a supporting game and instead of sending "the guy is on your left somewhere" to the soundcard to output however it chooses to, it sends a true audio output which will say something along the lines of, this sound is coming from x,y,z co-ordinates, that co-ordinate is inside a window on the third floor of a warehouse, with windows closed". the trueaudio chip processes the sound deciding the window changes the sound slightly and gives it precise positional change so when you hear it through speakers or headphones. It won't sound like it came from the left, it will sound like it came from PRECISELY where the game says the sound came from.

Yes ONLY AMD has the ability to deliver this data in it's entirety to be output. They don't claim to have come up with the algorithms, they said only they will have the ability to get this data to your ears, and that is 100% accurate. If you use the sound output that isn't trueaudio, it will NOT send the same data to your sound card, it will send significantly simplified(the same stuff games output now) to the speakers and none of the extra data, there is no manipulation of the sound from standard game audio nor your soundcard to output the sound with as accurate as possible sound. 5.1 speakers through a bog standard sound card does not get the same data that would come through trueaudio first, it's as simple as that.
 
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