Onboard sound Vs Sound Card using Headphones (sound positioning)

ShiWarrior · 4 Sep 2015 at 16:07

I have upgraded my system, recently

and I made sure my computer was working before I installed my Asus Xonar sound card
but before I did I plugged in my headphones onto the on board audio

With on board audio, the sound quality is ok, but the positioning was brilliant

I could hear exactly where the enemy was

but when I switched over to my Asus, the quality is much much better, but I am not getting the same positioning, its "roughly" where they are coming from, but not as accurate

I've set it up like this :

is it possible to get better positioning ?

Thanks for your help

rids57 · 4 Sep 2015 at 17:37

select the GAME button

ShiWarrior · 4 Sep 2015 at 17:43

doh, I thought I had that on..

I'll give that a go, thanks

Andi-C · 4 Sep 2015 at 18:50

If you don't like that or it doesn't work to your liking try some EQ tweaks, by this I mean lift the mids & treble up a bit !

ShiWarrior · 4 Sep 2015 at 20:27

game mode didn't make much of a difference

but as I said, on board audio u can tell where enemies are, but plug in sound card, you cant

ill look at EQ thanks

Rroff · 4 Sep 2015 at 20:30

Another option is to disable all Xonar enhancements and try Razer Surround (if its still a free download) - I find the Asus Dolby options good for creating an immersive soundscape for single player gaming, etc. but never found it quite as good as I'd like for pin point precise positioning in fast paced FPS games, etc. where I prefer CMSS-3D (Some onboard sound hardware uses a HRTF system for positioning that is similar to CMSS-3D).

ShiWarrior · 4 Sep 2015 at 20:32

ah yes, CMSS-3D is my on board chip I think

I'll have to give that a go !! thanks

Rroff · 4 Sep 2015 at 20:36

Looks like the board uses http://www.nahimic.com/# which from a quick glance seems similar to the tech used in Razer Surround.

ShiWarrior · 4 Sep 2015 at 20:39

Rroff said:
Looks like the board uses http://www.nahimic.com/# which from a quick glance seems similar to the tech used in Razer Surround.

Oh right, thanks for the info

ShiWarrior · 4 Sep 2015 at 20:49

well, ive tried it
not sure if I like it, or its not set up correctly

now sounds aren't played on time , they are late (its like having lag)

rids57 · 4 Sep 2015 at 21:30

What game are you using it with? If the game has a headphone option then use that and set the card to 2 channel and hit the HF button.

ShiWarrior · 5 Sep 2015 at 15:48

im only playing Quake Live at the moment, so I tried that, but on-board sound was fine with it

rids57 · 5 Sep 2015 at 15:57

Have you tried selecting the GX button? It can be a bit crashy but you may be lucky.

ShiWarrior · 5 Sep 2015 at 17:50

rids57 said:
Have you tried selecting the GX button? It can be a bit crashy but you may be lucky.

ill try that now, with and without the razor program

ShiWarrior · 5 Sep 2015 at 17:55

tested

GX helps when I use the razor program

if I don't use the razor program its no better