Virtual Surround, Dolby Headphones, HTRF, Binaural recordings

lxXXxl

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With the rage that is currently Super X-Fi, it's easy to think simulated surround processing in headphones was non-existent until Creative came along...especially when reading most of the current reviews. :s8:

I do not profess to have in-depth knowledge of the relevant tech, but I have used (and burnt cash on) enough devices to know that the out-of-the-head headphones audio experience has been around for the last 20 years. At least.

So to help provide proper perspective, here's a round-up of virtual surround technologies for headphones, based on what can be found by Google truly....(with some of my own opinions on things. This is not a wiki page)



Dolby Headphone / Dolby Atmos for Headphones
126px-Dolby_Headphone_logo.svg.png

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Headphone

The overlord of headphone surround tech currently. Their technology is licensed on tonnes of devices (see link above for non-exhaustive list). But as far as I know, never on Creative products (Note: Dolby Digital is not Dolby Headphone). And I have been looking. Probably why Mr Sim said that he's been developing this tech for 20-ish years (which so happens to be around the time Dolby Headphone was commercially available)? He's been reluctant to license it from Dolby all this while. Kudos to him for finally finding some researcher to make one that he can patent.

Of course, other than Dolby and Creative, other companies are in this space. Although it can be confusing sometimes with the different marketing terms thrown around: Virtual surround, 3d audio, spatial audio, etc etc

And the origins and history of Dolby Headphone (developed by Lake Technology as Huron Simulation Tools from 93-96, started selling commercially in 97):
http://tmt-transactions.com/dolby-secures-lake-technology-for-a216m/

Also, from what I can hear, Dolby Headphone and Dolby Atmos for Headphones are 2 separate techs. The former takes in more general audio sources, while the latter is used to specifically support Dolby Atmos encoded tracks. But I do not know this for sure.



Creative Super X-Fi
Super_X-Fi_Logo-01_180x.png

https://www.sxfi.com/tech/
Latest challenger to the Dolby Headphone throne. Currently the only headphone amp that offers headphone virtual surround processing for Windows/Mac/Android/iOS/PS4/Switch, and personalized settings for users.

Creative also acknowledges that

Why isn't Super X-Fi technology similar to standard 3D headphone audio?
3D sound has been around for years, it is nothing new. But whether these have gained any traction is clear.

3D sound has traditionally needed specifically supported content to give a reasonable experience. Attempting to use 3D audio processing on content not specifically made for 3D, such as standard stereo or mono tracks, often results in the audio becoming muddy and lacking clarity. 3D audio companies have traditionally taken an approach of a generic one-size-fits-all approach, resulting in there being no single optimal way for everyone to enjoy 3D audio.

Super X-Fi is different. Super X-Fi delivers....
https://superxfi.com/support

...Except that the end result is the same, that everyone is trying to trick the listener into thinking that the audio is around them. Or speakers placed in front of them. Different terminology and methods, but everyone is after the same goal. And when the goal is the same, then we should judge all the tech in the same way.

Mic calibrated profile vs Ear shape image profile analysis by LiLAsN:
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/117007017-post3131.html



DTS Headphone X
logo.png

https://www.techradar.com/sg/reviews/audio-visual/av-accessories/dts-headphone-x-1213250/review
https://steelseries.com/blog/dts-headphone-x-2-60

TruSurround - SRS Labs (now absorbed into DTS)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SRS_Labs
Personally, I remember them for their TruSurround speakers / headphone surround tech in PowerDVD (still there). And that their headphone virtual surround effect always pales in comparison to Dolby Headphone (in Powerdvd).

Razer Surround
https://www.razer.com/sg-en/surround

THX Spatial Audio
https://www.razer.com/sg-en/thx-spatial-audio

Windows Sonic for Headphones
https://www.howtogeek.com/356481/how-windows-sonic-spatial-sound-works/

Sony Surround (Wireless headphones and in Xperia handphones)
https://www.sony.com/electronics/headband-headphones/mdr-ds6500
https://www.stuff.tv/my/features/sony-xperia-xz-premium-tips-and-tricks/sound-settings

Sharp Aquos AM3D Zirene
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/mod-zirene-sound-am3d-t3396698
http://goertek.eu/research-development/audio-dsp-algorithms/am3d-software-suite/

Yamaha Silent Cinema
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/yamaha-silent-cinema-headphone-support.583075/

Realiser A16
http://www.smyth-research.com/
Probably the company referred to by Creative that has a '$3000 product'.

nx from waves.com
https://www.waves.com/nx

Audeze Mobius
https://www.audeze.com/products/mobius-series/mobius-headphone

Spatial Sound Card (Free)
https://spatialsoundcard.com/

HeSuVi (Free, highly recommended if you're interested to try the various virtual surround implementations)
https://sourceforge.net/projects/hesuvi/
1


Equalizer APO (Free)
https://sourceforge.net/projects/equalizerapo/

Out of Your Head (Free to try, US$149 for full version), which simulates existing speakers
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/out-of-your-head-new-virtual-surround-simulator.689299/
https://fongaudio.com/

The marketing jargon is so familiar, even down to saying that it's not / different from virtual surround... =:p

Out Of Your Head is advanced audio software that replicates the experience of listening to high-end speakers using only headphones. The listener can listen to audio with the sound of different speakers and home theater systems with the affordability, privacy, and portability of just headphones. The sound is no longer inside your head, like conventional headphones—it comes from “out of your head,” as it does when you are listening to speakers and home theater systems.

Out Of Your Head is a breakthrough in audio processing software for headphones. It allows the listener to experience their music or movie as if they were actually sitting in the room with the speakers that were measured—but without having to actually be there. Think of it as audio “virtual reality.” If you close your eyes while listening to Out Of Your Head, you can “hear” the exact location of each of the 8 speakers in the room around you. You can even hear the sound reflecting off the walls. You can hear the difference between different models and brand of speakers.

Unlike traditional or existing “virtual surround-sound” processing and hardware that is currently available, Out Of Your Head does not simulate or create a virtual sound environment. Existing technologies do work to some extent in getting the sound sources out of your head, but they are far from accurate. Out Of Your Head plays back the sound exactly as you would hear it if you were actually sitting in the room with the speakers.


Defunct technologies:
Aureal A3D (sued to bankruptcy and bought by Creative)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A3D

Sensaura (bought by Creative)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensaura
https://techreport.com/news/5955/creative-buys-sensaura

QSound
http://www.qsound.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QSound



My personal experience to get this headphone surround experience affordably has been via the PowerDVD software at ~S$100 (Dolby Headphone & TruSurround, Windows / MacOS only) and/or the Logitech audio adapter at ~S$35 (Dolby Headphone & DTS Headphone X, Windows / MacOS only), which I also mentioned here:
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/headphones-earphones-portable-media-devices-314/cheapest-dolby-headphone-dts-headphone-adapter-logitech-5586357.html

My experience with SXFi was limited to the testing at Creative HQ, both with my own in-ears and the Emu Teak. Against the Dolby Headphone and the Sony Xperia headphone surround, it did not significantly gave me a closer experience to real life speaker systems. But it does have a better amp for the higher impedance headphones and can support a lot more devices.



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HTRF - Head-related transfer function
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-related_transfer_function
Essentially the algorithm(s) that process the audio to simulate the surround effect, and give people that out of the head effect. Dolby bought theirs from Lake Technology (or so wiki says), Creative rolled their own, and maybe sprinkled some machine learning on top to account for the ear shapes.



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It is also important to distinguish the above post-processing technologies from Binaural Recording technology:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binaural_recording

Explanation and examples of Binaural recordings:

3dio-new-york-759x500.png

Surrounded by sound: how 3D audio hacks your brain
https://www.theverge.com/2015/2/12/8021733/3d-audio-3dio-binaural-immersive-vr-sound-times-square-new-york

Binaural Recording of a Musical Performance (feat. Peter and Kerry)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itLxXeyM2aM

"Fly me to the moon" Cover- binaural recording
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_ctx2y6KMg

Virtual Barber Shop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDTlvagjJA



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Additional virtual surround information from Head-Fi forum:

The Nameless Guide To PC Gaming Audio (with binaural headphone surround sound)
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-nameless-guide-to-pc-gaming-audio-with-binaural-headphone-surround-sound.593050/

A Comparison of different Virtual Surround Sound on the same Audio Track
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/a-comparison-of-different-virtual-surround-sound-on-the-same-audio-track.704775/



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Conclusion? By all means go forth and conquer the world if you can Creative. Let's hope in the coming days you can focus on improving the tech and actually be better than what Dolby has to offer, and convince the people who knows better.
 
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LiLAsN

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My personal experience to get this headphone surround experience affordably has been via PowerDVD at ~S$100 (Dolby Headphone & TruSurround) and/or the Logitech audio adapter at ~S$35 (Dolby Headphone & DTS Headphone X), which I also mentioned here:
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/headphones-earphones-portable-media-devices-314/cheapest-dolby-headphone-dts-headphone-adapter-logitech-5586357.html



This cheap Logitech audio adapter has both Dolby Headphone and DTS Headphone X? That is amazing. :eek:

Btw, is the output limited to 16bit or 24bit?
 
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lxXXxl

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Thanks for the additions!



This cheap Logitech audio adapter has both Dolby Headphone and DTS Headphone X? That is amazing. :eek:

Btw, is the output limited to 16bit or 24bit?

Hmm...I can play 24bit / 96hz audio, but no idea if any resampling is done in the dongle. Note that this is positioned as part of the Logitech G430 gaming setup though. The amp section is adequate for normal headphones / in-ears, but probably not going to cut it for high impedance ones.

Maybe next time there'll be a 3-way: Dolby / DTS / Creative
 
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lxXXxl

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TS: you may want to test boom from playstore, and compare to to sxfi.

Ok tried it! But their 3d surround didn't give the out-of-head effect. It sounded like the sound changed after turning it on, sure, but I wouldn't say it gave a convincing simulation of speakers. The audio was still blasting in my ears.

And their non-3d surround mode was way worse in amplitude than other android music players. Maybe they intentionally designed it that way so that people get awed by the change when 3d surround is turned on. Some fishy business going on.... :s22:
 
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lxXXxl

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added origins of Dolby Headphone document link and additional audio techs (Aureal, Sensaura, QSound, nx, Audeze Mobius)
 

lxXXxl

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Does the Dolby atmos in Samsung phones achieve same effect as SXFI amp.

Have not used Samsung phones recently, but based on this review's description:

https://www.androidcentral.com/how-and-when-use-dolby-atmos-galaxy-s9

When you're wearing headphones, you'll also notice more of a spacial sound — i.e., you hear a little echo and width that makes it sound like you're listening to speakers in a large room, rather than having headphones directly on your ears. If you...

It would seem that they have incorporated Dolby Atmos for Headphones into the phone. But I would still suggest to try out the SXFi amp so you can make your own conclusions.
 

lxXXxl

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Also, based on what I can hear, Dolby Headphone and Dolby Atmos for Headphones are 2 separate techs. They do not sound similar. The former takes in more general audio sources, while the latter is used to specifically support Dolby Atmos encoded tracks. But I do not know this for sure.

And wiki says Dolby Atmos for Headphones replaces Dolby Headphone, but I'm skeptical that's true. Interested to know if anyone can clarify.
 
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