Windows Sonic / Dolby Atmos headphone for Xbox

I'm too cheap for Atmos (its on my list) but using the Insect demo with Windows Sonic has me blown away. Don't know about the differences but I definitely recommend turning it on. I'm pretty sure its a thing developers have to code for so if its not built in I believe you'll just get 7.1 or maybe just Stereo (someone please correct me on this).

Just make sure you download the Dolby Atmos app on Xbox and enable it for headphones. It will help you pick correct settings on your Xbox at the system level as well

Windows Sonic simply doesn't work in most games that I tried.

Atmos worked pretty well in Overwatch, where it's included with the game, but it sounded veiled. There's tons of videos on youtube that let you demo the various popular HRTF technologies out there:

I have really come to love Dolby Atmos while using headohones. I recently made my way through Wolfenstein: The New Order and found the audio experience to be superb.

I'm fairly certain that there is a trial period before requiring a payment.

Karish said:

Bumping. Some people saying game has to support for these features to be useful but others imply it works with all games. I need more advice!

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They're confused.

The Dolby Atmos For Headphones that you can buy and enable by downloading the Dolby Access app, works for everything. And it works pretty dang well for it being virtualization. It really improves positional awareness compared to just regular stereo from headphones. This gives you positional surround from 360 degrees (front back left right etc).

However, there are also a few games (like 2 or 3 games so far) that have built in Dolby Atmos. Think of these games as having true Atmos, instead of the stereo > surround virtualization that I mentioned before. These games have the full Dolby Atmos HRTF positional surround that not only includes 360 around you but also positional surround above and below you. It has height channels.

Think of it as one being a circle around your sides, while the other is a sphere all around you including above/below.

For these games that have Dolby Atmos built in (I think it's only like Overwatch, Gears and something else I forget) its recommended that you disable Dolby Atmos For Headphones (paid version) and any other audio enhancements you may have, and use the built in Dolby Atmos setting in the game for the best effect.

Karish said:

That last part you just said threw me. Those Atmos games have Atmos built in that you can access on normal headphones without enabling Atmos via the dashboard?

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Correct, they have Atmos built in. As in the games are designed with it in mind and so have the truer version of Atmos (height channels for one). But games that have Atmos built in are very far and few between, 3 currently I think so far. For these games, you want to enable Atmos from the game settings and disable Atmos/Sonic from the dashboard and/or any other processing option if your headphones come with it.

For all other games and movies, if you want surround sound virtualization for your headphones you can get the paid version to convert stereo to surround with your headphones.

Windows Sonic does the same thing as Dolby Atmos For Headphones but is free. It converts your audio from stereo to surround for your headphones via virtualization. But imo, it doesn't sound as good. It sounds more processed and weird. Maybe you'll like it though, try it out.

Karish said:

That last part you just said threw me. Those Atmos games have Atmos built in that you can access on normal headphones without enabling Atmos via the dashboard?

Also - what about windows sonic. Is that good? Should I just do that and forget about the rest?

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On PC anyways, you enable it ingame (I use it in Overwatch) because it's built in and made for it. Whereas the outside option (dashboard for you) is for virtualizing/simulating it for stuff that doesn't support it.

Edit: took me too long to get back to typing this lol.

Playing CoD right now and switching between Sonic and Dolby. I dunno Dolby Atmos sounds more tinny than Sonic but maybe that's just me. What do you guys think? I feel that Windows Sonic has more bass.

Turning on Atmos during Assassins Creed Origins really messes with the sounds. There was no positioning nor distance and dialogue sounded like the actor was simply in middle of an empty room screaming through a mic.

I had to disable it to get some semblance of surround sound and a sense of ambiance.

Noon question, do you then have to have a dolby atmos amp, which you then plug your headphones into?

For Windows sonic, where do you need to plug your headphones to experience it?

g23 said:

Playing CoD right now and switching between Sonic and Dolby. I dunno Dolby sounds more tinny than Atmos but maybe that's just me. What do you guys think? I feel that sonic has more bass.

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I think Sonic over exaggerates the effect personally. While it gives you better positional sound than stereo, it warps the audio and messes with it too much so certain things sound louder and/or closer than they really are.

At least that was my experience when I was testing it a while back. Dunno if they updated it since.

Karish said:

Dolby sounds more tinny? Did you mean Sonic? Bc Dolby and Atmos are the same

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Sorry fixed.

aka Bueno said:

I think Sonic over exaggerates the effect personally. While it gives you better positional sound than stereo, it warps the audio and messes with it too much so certain things sound louder and/or closer than they really are.

At least that was my experience when I was testing it a while back. Dunno if they updated it since.

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Oh I see. Hmm yeah it's hard to tell. But certainly both these options (Atmos and Sonic) are better options than the default uncompressed stereo right? I'm also just wondering if it's worth shelling out the $15 bucks for Dolby Atmos when Sonic is free.

Trying to figure out which I like better. Atmos sounds Tinny at times which bothers me

Do you have to have the headphones plugged into the XB1 controller for this? Or will it work if going through a receiver?

Weird how Atmos sounds tinny for you guys, for me it's Sonic that sounds more processed and artificial.

Anywho, if you have Atmos and Netflix UHD account, try playing the movie Okja. It has an Atmos audio track that it defaults to if you have Atmos enabled in the dashboard. It sounded pretty cool.

There's like 2 or 3 other Atmos enabled Netflix movies, but Okja has much more of an impact in Atmos. The Wheelman, also supports Atmos but I don't think that movie is recorded/mixed very well to begin with. It sounds muddy or very subdued regardless of track.

Somewhatgroovy said:

Turning on Atmos during Assassins Creed Origins really messes with the sounds. There was no positioning nor distance and dialogue sounded like the actor was simply in middle of an empty room screaming through a mic.

I had to disable it to get some semblance of surround sound and a sense of ambiance.

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How are you your running your headphones?

I have mine plugged directly into the controller and Atmos for Assassins Creed sounds great.

bsigg said:

How are you your running your headphones?

I have mine plugged directly into the controller and Atmos for Assassins Creed sounds great.

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Same. Gives me a loud booming sound in center with position of sound never changing if, say, I rotate the camera or have my character look away.

I wonder if some of these sound issues everyone is having are due to their specific speaker setup and settings.

I have just recently dipped my pinky toe into the setting pool to get more from my paltry 5.1 setup. I'm sure I have to be missing the full affect of the Atmos sound since I don't have enough like 7.2 or whatever is optimal.

Plus I wonder if the fact that my 5 speakers are all in the ceiling and down firing affects me much. Need to go on some AV forums and do some more research.

Also I lost my audyssey auto configure mic. Hopefully I can buy it separately cuz I feel like I'm missing out.

I have the Denon avr x3300w btw with 5 Klipsch surround speakers and a Klipsch sub. It came with a package in the house we built so I'm pretty much stuck with what I have.

Hoping I don't have to do too much to make it work really well.

Just got my x and I'm using the hyper cloud x 2 with it. I see this Dolby Atmos app on the store. Is it worth it? You buy a license one time right?

Will my headphones work well with it, and does it have an effect on every game? PUBG for example? Or does a game need to be coded for it?

Pay one time for the license, then it'll work with supported games.

The trouble, of course, is that nobody has posted a full, comprehensive list of supported games. Dolby has a "complete" list of 8, which is missing some obvious additions such as Forza Motorsport 7.

I posted a long story about testing Atmos headphones with a compatible music album on Xbox One S over at Ars a while back, which has some tips about headphone use. The biggie is to make sure to DISABLE any baked-in virtual surround effects on headphones before flipping the Atmos switch on your Xbox settings panel.

samred said:

Pay one time for the license, then it'll work with supported games.

The trouble, of course, is that nobody has posted a full, comprehensive list of supported games. Dolby has a "complete" list of 8, which is missing some obvious additions such as Forza Motorsport 7.

I posted a long story about testing Atmos headphones with a compatible music album on Xbox One S over at Ars a while back, which has some tips about headphone use. The biggie is to make sure to DISABLE any baked-in virtual surround effects on headphones before flipping the Atmos switch on your Xbox settings panel.

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Ah ok, so it doesn't apply the effect to every game, like a virtual surround deal would. Good to know. I'll probably hold off on getting it then.

Is there a definitive list of games for this?
The Forza 7 comment earlier in thread plus current special offer has me interested

Granholme said:

Is there a definitive list of games for this?
The Forza 7 comment earlier in thread plus current special offer has me interested

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Doly Atmos headphone works for every game on PC so I'm not sure why it would only have an effect on certain games on Xbox One.

Shadow said:

On PC anyways, you enable it ingame (I use it in Overwatch) because it's built in and made for it. Whereas the outside option (dashboard for you) is for virtualizing/simulating it for stuff that doesn't support it.

Edit: took me too long to get back to typing this lol.

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Lol it's all virtualization. You're using headphones for a surround sound effect. Doesn't matter if a game has an in-game setting for it. Whether enabled in-game or on the dashboard, it's the same effect.

Everspace did not play well with Windows Sonic, I didn't realize there was even spoken dialog in that game until I purchased the Atmos for headphones license.

I use RIG 800 LX, the Atmos feature has really impressed, especially where it's directly supports by Netflix and specific games.

It's obviously not like an actual 7.1 setup, but for a pair of headphones. Insane value and quality.

Not to hijack the thread, but does anyone else have an issue if they choose Atmos as the main out, eventually sound on the XBox just stops working completely? I can go into Settings > Audio Output Settings, change it to Dolby Digital and everything is back to normal, but I would love to just keep it on Atmos as when it works, it works great.

And to reiterate, it is not Atmos content itself. That works stellar especially when it is directly supported. It is anything else. All sound completely stops working if I have Atmos enabled. It is as if my receiver loses the audio signal completely.

I am using the same HDMI cable as with everything else. My receiver no doubt supports Atmos and on my dedicated UHD BluRay player there are zero issues. It just appears to be an issue with the One.

With the above said, I still love Atmos. I have it enabled for my headphones. And again when a game supports it like AC Origins, I feel it is by far the best audio option out there. Sounds amazing.

Hoping a firmware update or something fixes my particular issue. Perhaps it is on the One X side. Perhaps it is on my receivers side.

aka Bueno said:

Correct, they have Atmos built in. As in the games are designed with it in mind and so have the truer version of Atmos (height channels for one). But games that have Atmos built in are very far and few between, 3 currently I think so far. For these games, you want to enable Atmos from the game settings and disable Atmos/Sonic from the dashboard and/or any other processing option if your headphones come with it.

For all other games and movies, if you want surround sound virtualization for your headphones you can get the paid version to convert stereo to surround with your headphones.

Windows Sonic does the same thing as Dolby Atmos For Headphones but is free. It converts your audio from stereo to surround for your headphones via virtualization. But imo, it doesn't sound as good. It sounds more processed and weird. Maybe you'll like it though, try it out.

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Far as I know this isn't true on console. You enable Dolby atoms across the system but it will simulate it unless games natively support it.

Where games do there is no game option to select, the system level setting will dictate if you select surround sound in those games.

Just bumping this as I've just discovered Sonic and Atmos and will give them a try tonight.

Can someone clarify what sound output I should set the likes of RDR2 to? Stereo or surround? I've read they'll only work if stereo is enabled as the software will make the conversions, but also read it will only work if the game outputs in surround as otherwise the software won't know what sounds to send to whatever direction.

DagsJT said:

Just bumping this as I've just discovered Sonic and Atmos and will give them a try tonight.

Can someone clarify what sound output I should set the likes of RDR2 to? Stereo or surround? I've read they'll only work if stereo is enabled as the software will make the conversions, but also read it will only work if the game outputs in surround as otherwise the software won't know what sounds to send to whatever direction.

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I'm curious what I should set here too. Just got the Plantronics 800lx

DagsJT said:

Just bumping this as I've just discovered Sonic and Atmos and will give them a try tonight.

Can someone clarify what sound output I should set the likes of RDR2 to? Stereo or surround? I've read they'll only work if stereo is enabled as the software will make the conversions, but also read it will only work if the game outputs in surround as otherwise the software won't know what sounds to send to whatever direction.

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Surround

The Atmos for headphones takes a surround signal and processes it in such a way that standard stereo headphones can "hear" surround.

If the source is not set to surround, Atmos for headphones will not process the sound.

Subbed. Thanks for all of the info, guys.

Bumping this.

I just got a nice set of stereo headphones. Sonic or Atmos for RE2? And what in game settings should I use?

JeffG said:

Surround

The Atmos for headphones takes a surround signal and processes it in such a way that standard stereo headphones can "hear" surround.

If the source is not set to surround, Atmos for headphones will not process the sound.

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It is very confusing. Even more so with a game like Resident Evil 2 which has options for headphones, surround and atmos.

MaximusPayne said:

Bumping this.

I just got a nice set of stereo headphones. Sonic or Atmos for RE2? And what in game settings should I use?

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Set it to Sonic since I don't see actual support for Atmos for RE2. No idea about the settings.

bsigg said:

Set it to Sonic since I don't see actual support for Atmos for RE2. No idea about the settings.

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You don't need to see atmos support in a game. It is software that operates at a system level.

Atmos is the real deal I use it on Xbox and PC when available, RE2 is pretty incredible with it.

holygeesus said:

You don't need to see atmos support in a game. It is software that operates at a system level.

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There is an option for Atmos in RE2 on PC at least.

bsigg said:

Set it to Sonic since I don't see actual support for Atmos for RE2. No idea about the settings.

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RE2 Remake supports Atmos, it's in the Audio Settings for the Xbox One X version.

[redacted] said:

There is an option for Atmos in RE2 on PC at least.

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Yup. My point was, a game doesn't need atmos support for it to work

https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2017/11/13/xbox-one-x-windows-sonic-dolby-atmos-feature/

ny traditional surround sound content is automatically upscaled with Windows Sonic or Dolby Atmos to provide an enhanced audio experience – making that content more immersive than before. Games that natively support Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos offer the highest level of audio immersion and location accuracy, including Gears of War 4, Super Lucky's Tale, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Assassin's Creed Origins.

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Jessie.Bristol said:

RE2 Remake supports Atmos, it's in the Audio Settings for the Xbox One X version.

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Ahh I didn't know that!

holygeesus said:

It is very confusing. Even more so with a game like Resident Evil 2 which has options for headphones, surround and atmos.

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It's simple.
Headphones = Build in virtualization for surround sound. Use this with headphones and disable any other sound processing outside the game.
Surround = If you have 5.1 / 7.1 speakers setup. If you want use this with headphones activate Windows Sonic.
Atmos = If you have Dolby Atmos speakers setup. If you want use this with headphones activate Dolby Atmos for headphones.

I'm glad you posted this because I have a nice pair of stereo headphones that I use windows sonic with, and had no idea which setting to use in game. Windows Sonic made it sound like I should keep the audio in stereo mode instead of selecting surround in game. But I see I should use surround option in game when I have sonic activated.

So for all games I should choose the surround settings?