Soundblaster Z and Windows 10 - defaults to 5.1

[elrasho]

I have a Soundblaster Z sound card and use it only for my Logitech headset. This is plugged into the headphone jack of the sound card and in the soundblaster control panel I've set the speaker settings to Headphone.

However in Windows 10 Sound Control for the device it always defaults to 5.1 everytime I turn the PC on. It's annoying as I have to keep changing it back t stereo on boot up.

Any help would be grateful appreciated

 

[pastymuncher]

That's a strange one. I have a Soundblaster Z and Windows 10 build 2004 and it remains set to stereo for me but I don't use a headset. Did you go through the complete configuration or set it to stereo and hit the X to exit?

 

[Uriel]

Do you have the soundblaster control panel installed? There are some controls for speakers in there and they can override the windows sound settings.

 

[elrasho]

That's a strange one. I have a Soundblaster Z and Windows 10 build 2004 and it remains set to stereo for me but I don't use a headset. Did you go through the complete configuration or set it to stereo and hit the X to exit?

Yes deffo going through the wizard as once I've done it stays as Stereo until the next reboot

Do you have the soundblaster control panel installed? There are some controls for speakers in there and they can override the windows sound settings.

Yes I have it installed and it's set to Headphones in there; maybe I should change that to 2 speakers? But wont that affect the sound quality through my headset?

 

[EsaT]

That's exactly how it should be, if you want any decent immersion in typical games.
That Windows sound settings defines output channel configuration of games etc and you need surround sound as source for binaural sound simulation.
If you want to listen something without processing (like binaural recording) disable SBX Pro Studio in control panel.

 

[Uriel]

On my soundblaster Z, plugging the headphones into the front panel (and I think the dedicated headphone port on the card but it's a while since I've used it) will automatically switch it to headphone mode and mute your speakers.

However, these cards are set up to virtualise surround over headphones if SBX Pro-studio surround is turned on. So windows can be set to 5.1 and the card attempts to simulate that over headphones, rather than simply going for left and right stereo.

I don't use it though. It's not that I don't like SBX Pro-studio surround - but Dolby Atmos headphone via the Dolby Access app on Microsoft store gives much more realistic directional sound, at least as far as my ears are concerned.

 

[elrasho]

If I leave it to 5.1 in Windows and play SiegeI can't tell directions of footsteps and shots etc.. When it's at Stereo it's much better. I have SB Pro Studio on in both cases.

I might try dolby atmos for Windows 10, can you get a refund if I don't like it?

EDIT: Tried changing to Speakers in the Creative Control Panel and I don't get any sound.. so switched back to Hadphones. But then I noticed Windows went back ti 5.1 :/

Must be a driver issue between the sound card and Windows 10 1903.... I'm thinking of updating to build 2004

 

[elrasho]

On my soundblaster Z, plugging the headphones into the front panel (and I think the dedicated headphone port on the card but it's a while since I've used it) will automatically switch it to headphone mode and mute your speakers.

However, these cards are set up to virtualise surround over headphones if SBX Pro-studio surround is turned on. So windows can be set to 5.1 and the card attempts to simulate that over headphones, rather than simply going for left and right stereo.

I don't use it though. It's not that I don't like SBX Pro-studio surround - but Dolby Atmos headphone via the Dolby Access app on Microsoft store gives much more realistic directional sound, at least as far as my ears are concerned.

Just tried Dolby Atmos and although it gives a better spacial sond I felt it too "thin". Like the sounds aren't punchy and feel far away. SBX-Pro does a better job in games imo.

 

[Uriel]

Just tried Dolby Atmos and although it gives a better spacial sond I felt it too "thin". Like the sounds aren't punchy and feel far away. SBX-Pro does a better job in games imo.

All these HTRF things are quite individual. Our ear shapes etc are quite unique to us and we experience them differently from one another. For me the Dolby Atmos and Dolby Headphone functions are the only ones I've tried that place the soundstage audio image convincingly in front of me for front and centre channels. Most options I've tried work quite well for rear channels.

The advantage of Atmos over Dolby Headphone is that for material that supports it, it's 3D spatial audio rather than 5.1 or 7.1 (hence includes vetethical spatial cues). For material that properly supports it I find it works brilliantly.

My advice on these surround visualisation options is try them and see what works for you.

The best option would be something like a Smyth Realiser A16 buy I don't have that kind of cash to play with!

 

[EsaT]

If I leave it to 5.1 in Windows and play SiegeI can't tell directions of footsteps and shots etc.. When it's at Stereo it's much better. I have SB Pro Studio on in both cases.

What in game sound settings are you using, if game has those?

If using "external" HRTF, game must be set up to produce 5.1 sound.
And any further processing only messes up binaural cues, if game has HRTF.
So in case of in game headphone mode, external processing (that SBX Pro Studio) has to be disabled.

 

[elrasho]

What does HTRF mean?

 

[Uriel]

Head Related Transfer Function. It relates to models of how we percieve directional audio. HRTFs for stereo headphones simulate directional sound over headphones. Instead of being like a speaker strapped to each ear it's supposed to sound more like the way we actually perceive sound. HRTFs are indivicual, almost like our fingerprints. With generic ones like Dolby headphone we might get lucky and find we have a decent match. We might not.

5.1 and 7.1 can both be simulated. However that's essentially 2D audio. The audio is represented on a flat plane. Back in the early 2000s Creative (via their Aureal purchase) could simulate 3d sound using stereo, quadrophonic speakers or headphones in any DirectSound3D game, using something called an elevation filter. Then came Windows Vista and we regressed. A lot. And the vast majority of games went back to 2d surround at best.

Better now are the few games that support 3D audio. In those cases you don't want 5.1 or 7.1 speakers to be simulated. Instead the game (in conjuction with something like Dolby Atmos or DTS X) directly simulates the sound sources directly in 3d space utilising HRTF algorithms and headphones to give a binaural simulation. If you have an atmos or DTX-X combatible speaker system they will use that if you're plugged in via HDMI.

When simulating 5.1, Dolby Atmos headphone sounds very much like Dolby Headphone. It comes into its own with genuinely 3d material. Atmos soundtracks in Netflix work (first episode of Daredevil's good for overhead thunder) via the Netflix app, as do atmos games (list here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uAklgDNC_LBOYSBbIzBeso6I4laForovIWiTYx6Ss8k/edit).

Edit: You can try Windows Sonic, which is free, or DTS Headphone X (Via Windows Store). I'm not 100% sure whether soundcore 3D on the Soundblaster Z handles 3D audio properly or not. It will certainly cope with 5.1 simulation. CMSS-3D on the older creative X-Fis certainly did - but it had options to enable or disable Macro-FX (simulates close directional sound) and elevation filter. Those are absent on the Soundblaster Z control panel.

 

[elrasho]

Head Related Transfer Function. It relates to models of how we percieve directional audio. HRTFs for stereo headphones simulate directional sound over headphones. Instead of being like a speaker strapped to each ear it's supposed to sound more like the way we actually perceive sound. HRTFs are indivicual, almost like our fingerprints. With generic ones like Dolby headphone we might get lucky and find we have a decent match. We might not.

5.1 and 7.1 can both be simulated. However that's essentially 2D audio. The audio is represented on a flat plane. Back in the early 2000s Creative (via their Aureal purchase) could simulate 3d sound using stereo, quadrophonic speakers or headphones in any DirectSound3D game, using something called an elevation filter. Then came Windows Vista and we regressed. A lot. And the vast majority of games went back to 2d surround at best.

Better now are the few games that support 3D audio. In those cases you don't want 5.1 or 7.1 speakers to be simulated. Instead the game (in conjuction with something like Dolby Atmos or DTS X) directly simulates the sound sources directly in 3d space utilising HRTF algorithms and headphones to give a binaural simulation. If you have an atmos or DTX-X combatible speaker system they will use that if you're plugged in via HDMI.

When simulating 5.1, Dolby Atmos headphone sounds very much like Dolby Headphone. It comes into its own with genuinely 3d material. Atmos soundtracks in Netflix work (first episode of Daredevil's good for overhead thunder) via the Netflix app, as do atmos games (list here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uAklgDNC_LBOYSBbIzBeso6I4laForovIWiTYx6Ss8k/edit).

Edit: You can try Windows Sonic, which is free, or DTS Headphone X (Via Windows Store). I'm not 100% sure whether soundcore 3D on the Soundblaster Z handles 3D audio properly or not. It will certainly cope with 5.1 simulation. CMSS-3D on the older creative X-Fis certainly did - but it had options to enable or disable Macro-FX (simulates close directional sound) and elevation filter. Those are absent on the Soundblaster Z control panel.

Thank you!

Im looking into writing a startup script that will change my Speaker settings to Stero + none full range

 

[elrasho]

Done some messing around and its the SBX Pro Studio that's causing the issue. There are no later drivers than the ones I have installed so I guess I'm stuck with this annoying bug

 

[arknor]

yea mine does the same but only for headsets which I don't use.

 

[EsaT]

Done some messing around and its the SBX Pro Studio that's causing the issue. There are no later drivers than the ones I have installed so I guess I'm stuck with this annoying bug

That's no bug, but intended function:
SBX Pro Surround setting enables HRTF when output mode is headphones and without 5.1 as input HRTF can't do anything usefull.

 

[elrasho]

That's no bug, but intended function:
SBX Pro Surround setting enables HRTF when output mode is headphones and without 5.1 as input HRTF can't do anything usefull.

So are you saying Windwos 10 Sound should be set to 5.1 when using SBX Pro?.. if so it sounds worse than when Windows 10 Sound is set to stereo

 

[EsaT]

So are you saying Windwos 10 Sound should be set to 5.1 when using SBX Pro?.. if so it sounds worse than when Windows 10 Sound is set to stereo

If you want get binaural sound from games/movies, you have to set Windows playback configuration to 5.1.
Otherwise games/video player output only stereo, which lacks most spatial information.

If you want to listen stereo source unprocessed with headphones, don't enable SBX Pro Surround.

 

[elrasho]

If you want get binaural sound from games/movies, you have to set Windows playback configuration to 5.1.
Otherwise games/video player output only stereo, which lacks most spatial information.

If you want to listen stereo source unprocessed with headphones, don't enable SBX Pro Surround.

The accuracy of sound when windows is set at 5.1 is much worse in Rainbow Six Siege; I can't tell if a players footsteps are below or above me! When I turn it to stereo its much better.

Yes when I listen to music I turn off SBX Pro

 

[J.D]

I know, thread revival but I just ran into this problem with my x570 (my x470 was fine). Seems there is a solution for the time being in SBZ Switcher (3rd party).

Get it from https://sourceforge.net/projects/sbzswitcher/

I've not tried it yet but seems to work for some people and I'll mess around with it later or tomorrow as having to set to Stereo every boot might start get annoying.