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3D Audio on Headphones - anyone else rarely hear the "3D"?

DryvBy

Member
I have multiple headsets, the Arctic Nova Pro 7 is my primary set and I just did this 3D audio profile creator from Sony. I have no idea if I did it right but outside of a 360 around my hears, I never hear 3D audio above or below me. It always comes out as right beside me.

I've tried multiple games too. Spider-Man was supposed to sound amazing and it just sounded like a busy city with sounds coming directly beside me.

Anyone else suffer from broken ears?
 
The only game that really made me sense it was Returnal. Ironically, the old PlayStation Gold headset on the PS4 had more believable surround and sound placement. I was playing Apex Legends and Warzone back when PS5 released, and the headphone sound localization on PS5 was a huge step down from the Gold on PS4.
 
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kunonabi

Member
I tend to have pretty poor audio spatial awareness but I bought these headphones from radio shack and listening to 3d audio on them was amazing.
 
The only game that really made me sense it was Returnal. Ironically, the old PlayStation Gold headset on the PS4 had more believable surround and sound placement. I was playing Apex Legends and Warzone back when PS5 released, and the headphone sound localization on PS5 was a huge step down from the Gold on PS4.
Returnal is a sound design marvel. Shit sounds amazing and I believed was mixed as a showcase for the tech sort of.

I've since had 3D Audio turned off and when I do direct comparisons, it often sounds overly compressed and a bit more muffled imo.
 

Arioco

Member
I can't hear the 3D audio when I use my Pulse 3D on my PS5 either. Unfortunately it doesn't sound that different from stereo to me.
 
I have multiple headsets, the Arctic Nova Pro 7 is my primary set and I just did this 3D audio profile creator from Sony. I have no idea if I did it right but outside of a 360 around my hears, I never hear 3D audio above or below me. It always comes out as right beside me.

I've tried multiple games too. Spider-Man was supposed to sound amazing and it just sounded like a busy city with sounds coming directly beside me.

Anyone else suffer from broken ears?
You don’t hear stuff above you in the sound test sometimes for the 3d audio?
 

Bitstream

Member
The 3d audio is most apparent for me in RE8 VR. Take a magazine clip out and throw it in any direction. Close your eyes and reallllly try and focus on the sound. Now, take out another magazine clip and throw it in another direction with your eyes closed. If there is a 3d profile that matches you, you'll very clearly hear that the empty magazine clip landed in the direction that it did in relation to where you are. Additionally the reverb of the clip landing on the floor in various rooms will give you spatial information like how large the room you are is, and how close to the wall the clip landed.
 

aclar00

Member
I have multiple headsets, the Arctic Nova Pro 7 is my primary set and I just did this 3D audio profile creator from Sony. I have no idea if I did it right but outside of a 360 around my hears, I never hear 3D audio above or below me. It always comes out as right beside me.

I've tried multiple games too. Spider-Man was supposed to sound amazing and it just sounded like a busy city with sounds coming directly beside me.

Anyone else suffer from broken ears?

I dont like playing games with headsets, but years ago i remember being impress by the below YouTube video. Give it a try and let us know what you think.

It has a good 3d profile. If you cant hear the positioning then it may be you.

 

DryvBy

Member
I dont like playing games with headsets, but years ago i remember being impress by the below YouTube video. Give it a try and let us know what you think.

It has a good 3d profile. If you cant hear the positioning then it may be you.


I have heard this and another one that sounded like a door opening and people coming in. Freaked me out. The sound is unbelievable and when people in tech circles talk about 3D audio, they're claiming all 3D audio sounds this amazing. I have the complete opposite reaction.
 
I tend to have pretty poor audio spatial awareness but I bought these headphones from radio shack and listening to 3d audio on them was amazing.
Thought radio shack was bankrupt. As they closed all there stores in my city. The 7th Largest city in the US.

I see they still have online shopping on their website. So that's good.

I used to go in radio shack all the time before we did any online shopping.

As for 3D audio... I never heard the difference. Thought it was a marketing buzzword like 8k on the box.
 
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hinch7

Member
Closed headphones and gaming headsets generally have a small sound stage which may reduce reproduction or effect of spatial audio and directional audio.

Open back headphones are maybe something to look into as they generally have much larger sound stages. And larger drivers may amplify that effect.
 
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PSYGN

Member
The 3d audio is most apparent for me in RE8 VR. Take a magazine clip out and throw it in any direction. Close your eyes and reallllly try and focus on the sound. Now, take out another magazine clip and throw it in another direction with your eyes closed. If there is a 3d profile that matches you, you'll very clearly hear that the empty magazine clip landed in the direction that it did in relation to where you are. Additionally the reverb of the clip landing on the floor in various rooms will give you spatial information like how large the room you are is, and how close to the wall the clip landed.
That's interesting. Do they have to fine-tune it to work with 3d audio?

I remember testing it with Apex but had to turn it off because it made the sounds kinda muffled and distant.
 

nowhat

Member
Returnal is a sound design marvel. Shit sounds amazing and I believed was mixed as a showcase for the tech sort of.
Yeah, Forza Horizon 5 may be a great game and all (should pick that up on Steam Deck now that I think of it, but I digress), but Returnal losing best audio design to it in The Game Advertisements was a travesty. Many initially thought bringing Housemarque's traditional bullet hell to third person wouldn't work, because you can't see what's coming from behind you. Well, that's true. But you can hear it, which is just incredible.
 

Hoddi

Member
I get the feeling that the new calibration tool isn't working very well. I had little issue with the original tool (that allowed you to set the height of the source) but this new one just feels like it's in stereo.

There's no such thing as 3D sound in a pair of headphones. It's just a marketing term.
Give this one a listen. It was already quite convincing 25 years ago.

 

midnightAI

Member
There's no such thing as 3D sound in a pair of headphones. It's just a marketing term.
Ok then, binaural audio, is that better?

Oh, and I'm using Pulse headset and the 'binaural audio' works great for me. They are adding more sound profiles I believe for the new update, everyone saying no 3D audio have gone through the set up process and turned on 3D audio I presume?
 

The Cockatrice

Gold Member
Most games are not designed for 3D audio even if they "support it". Its just an afterthought. Actually most games have poor non-3d audio quality. Crazy that big AAA games just ignore one of the most important aspects but then again, kids these days with the attention span of a dog only care about colors on the screen so yeah. I remember when I first tried AC Valhalla every single voice sounded muffled, no matter what I tried. Audiophiles are rare these days.
 

Trilobit

Member
I have multiple headsets, the Arctic Nova Pro 7 is my primary set and I just did this 3D audio profile creator from Sony. I have no idea if I did it right but outside of a 360 around my hears, I never hear 3D audio above or below me. It always comes out as right beside me.

I've tried multiple games too. Spider-Man was supposed to sound amazing and it just sounded like a busy city with sounds coming directly beside me.

Anyone else suffer from broken ears?

I have it always on and sometimes I've switched it off and maybe the stereo felt too 2-channely, but I don't know if that's my imagination. It has never wowed me like this almost 20 year old virtual barbershop thingy:

 

DonF

Member
i had a dss2 turtle beach on my x360 and later used it on the ps4 and sounded great, cant use it now since it uses the optical out from the console and ps5 doesnt have that.

so i got the pulse headsets and the sound is so flat. I feel like the tempest engine is a huge marketing lie.
 
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Closed headphones and gaming headsets generally have a small sound stage which may reduce reproduction or effect of spatial audio and directional audio.

Open back headphones are maybe something to look into as they generally have much larger sound stages. And larger drivers may amplify that effect.
You can tell who games in their closed bedroom by the their recommendations for open backed headsets.

I agree open backed is vastly superior. I tried them for gaming once. Just can’t do it. I could hear the rain outside. Neighbour’s air conditioner. Every clink and sound coming from the kitchen.

Need closed back for anything except solo gaming on your bedroom.
 

hinch7

Member
You can tell who games in their closed bedroom by the their recommendations for open backed headsets.

I agree open backed is vastly superior. I tried them for gaming once. Just can’t do it. I could hear the rain outside. Neighbour’s air conditioner. Every clink and sound coming from the kitchen.

Need closed back for anything except solo gaming on your bedroom.
Disagree about openbacks. I use then everywhere but public places; for obvious reasons. I prefer some ambient noise and its more comfortable than having some cups blocking your ears and making my head+ears hot. Also for spatial awareness if anything.

Just depends on what people prefer, more isolation (and potentially more bass) or better sound quality and comfort.
 
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calistan

Member
I have heard this and another one that sounded like a door opening and people coming in. Freaked me out. The sound is unbelievable and when people in tech circles talk about 3D audio, they're claiming all 3D audio sounds this amazing. I have the complete opposite reaction.
I find that if I stop concentrating on what I'm hearing, I forget about the 3D effect. Like, that barber shop video sounded great at first, then I got bored and it's just stereo with a very wide separation.

Also, the 3D effect being 'fixed' to your ears and not moving when you turn your head breaks it for me. I remember reading something about Apple headphones adjusting the audio according to your head position, but I've never tried those.
 

recursive

Member
i had a dss2 turtle beach on my x360 and later used it on the ps4 and sounded great, cant use it now since it uses the optical out from the console and ps5 doesnt have that.

so i got the pulse headsets and the sound is so flat. I feel like the tempest engine is a huge marketing lie.
You can use something like this to connect your dss.

Azduou 4K HDMI 2.0 Audio Extractor HDMI Adapter for PlayStation 5. Highly Compatible with Astro Gaming Headset and Base Station. Supports 18Gpbs Bandwidth, HDCP2.2, Dolby Digital/DTS Passthrough CEC https://a.co/d/4OgQFxt
 
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Flabagast

Member
I have the Audeze Maxwell and I agree, 3D audio (on PS5) is quite deceptive and sound mostly like well implemented stereo.

Particularly their new calibration tool from the last OS update sounds 100% horizontal, there is no verticality at all
 
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Laptop1991

Member
I had a Turtle beach Aureal 3d card in the late 90's in my PC, it worked well with speakers,and sounded good at the time, i can't speak for headphones, i rarely use them and not for gaming, but i do suffer from broken ears due to all the loud Hard Rock and Heavy Metal over the years lol
 

MarkMe2525

Gold Member
I find that if I stop concentrating on what I'm hearing, I forget about the 3D effect. Like, that barber shop video sounded great at first, then I got bored and it's just stereo with a very wide separation.

Also, the 3D effect being 'fixed' to your ears and not moving when you turn your head breaks it for me. I remember reading something about Apple headphones adjusting the audio according to your head position, but I've never tried those.
The Quest does this as well, spacial audio that incorporates ones head position. It does this even when you have a screen up watching YouTube. If you turn to look at something in your room, the spatial audio makes it seem like the browser window is a physical object producing sound in your environment. It's a neat trick.

Edit: In social experiences, it really seems like people are around you. I was watching a movie in a theater environment, when someone hopped into the seat behind me. I forgot they were there, and when he spoke, I legit thought someone was on my room behind me. It made me jump.
 
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Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
I find the Dolby Atmos spatial audio using airpod pros to be very good and convincing. It also helps that it tracks your movement and rotation, so subtle movements of your head really help sell the “3D” audio.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
The PS headset was trash. Worst $100 ive ever spent on a Sony product. Their last gen pS headset was way better.

The PSVR 3d audio was absolutely fantastic. Apparently the black vr box had an audio chip and that was legit fucking amazing. whatever chip they put in the ps5 is simply not as powerful. Returnal was the only game that came close but it still didnt manage that spatial audio PSVR1 was delivering.
 
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calistan

Member
The Quest does this as well, spacial audio that incorporates ones head position. It does this even when you have a screen up watching YouTube. If you turn to look at something in your room, the spatial audio makes it seem like the browser window is a physical object producing sound in your environment. It's a neat trick.

Edit: In social experiences, it really seems like people are around you. I was watching a movie in a theater environment, when someone hopped into the seat behind me. I forgot they were there, and when he spoke, I legit thought someone was on my room behind me. It made me jump.
I remember that sort of thing when the VR game Echo Arena launched a few years ago. You'd join a lobby and float around in space, and after a few minutes there would be a load of Scandinavian robot dudes attached to you, dry-humping your legs and giggling in your ears. The directional audio was equal parts impressive and disturbing.

The audio in VR wouldn't work very well if it didn't move to reflect your head position.
 

MarkMe2525

Gold Member
I remember that sort of thing when the VR game Echo Arena launched a few years ago. You'd join a lobby and float around in space, and after a few minutes there would be a load of Scandinavian robot dudes attached to you, dry-humping your legs and giggling in your ears. The directional audio was equal parts impressive and disturbing.

The audio in VR wouldn't work very well if it didn't move to reflect your head position.
God I miss Echo, dry humping and all. I'm signed up for early access for it's "spiritual successor" Orion Drift, but haven't received an invite as of yet.
 

DonF

Member
You can use something like this to connect your dss.

Azduou 4K HDMI 2.0 Audio Extractor HDMI Adapter for PlayStation 5. Highly Compatible with Astro Gaming Headset and Base Station. Supports 18Gpbs Bandwidth, HDCP2.2, Dolby Digital/DTS Passthrough CEC https://a.co/d/4OgQFxt
oh i know, i just want simple. my tv setup is already a cable mess. what im saying, related to op, is that my setup and positional audio was way better on x360 and ps4 than its on ps5, even with the dedicated pulse 3d headset.
 

TheStam

Member
I have Beoplay Portal (PS/PC) with Dolby Atmos. Sound is pretty good but I don't really notice the surround effect. Sometimes I miss my old wired open back Sennheiser HD598's. Spatial sound and sound stage is a lot better with just a good set of open-back headphones in Stereo.
 

REDRZA MWS

Member
Headphones are mainly enhanced stereo. Left and right ear cups. I know they put an “array” of smaller leakers in and while I love gaming with arctis nova pro , nothing replaces a real home audio system .
 
Depends on the game. In VR it can be stunning and terrifying. Something like Switchback, the rollercoaster/horror shooter, 3D audio is handled incredibly well and keeps you on edge.
 

nick776

Member
I have multiple headsets, the Arctic Nova Pro 7 is my primary set and I just did this 3D audio profile creator from Sony. I have no idea if I did it right but outside of a 360 around my hears, I never hear 3D audio above or below me. It always comes out as right beside me.

I've tried multiple games too. Spider-Man was supposed to sound amazing and it just sounded like a busy city with sounds coming directly beside me.

Anyone else suffer from broken ears?
I posted about this same issue last week with the profile creator. I cannot tell where the sounds are coming from beyond left and right.
 

Heimdall_Xtreme

Jim Ryan Fanclub's #1 Member
I have multiple headsets, the Arctic Nova Pro 7 is my primary set and I just did this 3D audio profile creator from Sony. I have no idea if I did it right but outside of a 360 around my hears, I never hear 3D audio above or below me. It always comes out as right beside me.

I've tried multiple games too. Spider-Man was supposed to sound amazing and it just sounded like a busy city with sounds coming directly beside me.

Anyone else suffer from broken ears?
We have the same audio system. The truth is I see the PS5 pulse Headset as a cheap product.
 
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MiguelItUp

Member
I know I've had experiences where the 3D audio sounded better than other times, but honestly I can't even remember when that was at this point, lol. So much of it just sounds average to me, or almost no different than the standard stereo or something.
 
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