CMSS on x-fi (regarding music and gaming)

devilkazuya · 9 May 2006 at 11:20

when i am listening to music through my headphones, is it best to disable cmss-3d on the x-fi panel for best sound?

i play quake4 multiplayer using headphones, and enable openal in the game sound menu. Again, does cmss have any benefit here? and what about EAX, is that best on or off here. (going for accuracy of sound and positioning here)

Phil99 · 9 May 2006 at 11:31

You'll want CMSS on for gaming with headphones, though it comes down to personal preference in the end. Try all the different mode and choose the settings you think sound best.

devilkazuya · 9 May 2006 at 11:34

so for music through headphones i should turn it off yeah? to get the mosty high fidelity play back?

When watching dvds i am guessing the upmixing to surround sound using cmss is useful?

Phil99 · 9 May 2006 at 12:01

devilkazuya said:
so for music through headphones i should turn it off yeah? to get the mosty high fidelity play back?

When watching dvds i am guessing the upmixing to surround sound using cmss is useful?

When using headphones CMSS is probably better as it makes it sound like surround sound even just with stereo headphones. For a full 5.1/6.1/7.1 setup you'll want it disabled for movies/games as they can do their own surround.

For music use what sounds best to you. CMSS disabled is probably the most "pure" way of listening, but if it sounds best to you with CMSS enabled, go with what you prefer. Pointless going with something because "in theory" it's superior but the alternative sounds better to you!