7.1.4 soundcard for PC (Atmos)

[Simon Bruun]

Hi guys

 

I'm new here in the forum. But not new to Linus tech tips, you guys have been my number 1 go to for reviews for a while now - Thanks for all you input.

 

So lately I've been wandering if I should upgrade my sound setup for my PC. 

 

I've heard of 7.1.4 speakers systems for Home Theater setups (Atoms, I think it called, or at least Dolby variant of it). 

I've seen a few videos explaining Atmos, and the "objective sound". That the sound imitates objects  flying around the rooms ATMOSphere around you. Rather then a predefined sound stream for each speaker. 

 

Then I though this would be a perfect match for the gaming world, where objects paths aren't predefined relative to the listener beforehand, as the player is moving around in the virtual environment. Contrary to movies where the producers actually know where the objects are, and going, relative the listener.

Hope you can follow my idea

 

So I started to look for some reviews on 7.1.4 sound cards for PCs, but I haven't found a single one yet. 

Am I searching the wrong places, or has this technology not hit the PC consumer market yet ?

 

Or is there some obvious point I just missed, that makes Gaming and Objective sound incompatible ?  

 

Thanks

 

 

[spwath]

You don't need a sound card for it. It transmits the sound via HDMI to you home theater receiver.

[Joe_MacDougall]

9 minutes ago, spwath said:

You don't need a sound card for it. It transmits the sound via HDMI to you home theater receiver.

Pretty much this. Welcome to the form by the way.

[r3d0c]

Atmos is a very expensive gimmick, don't fall for it

http://www.audioholics.com/audio-technologies/5-reasons-dolby-atmos-is-doa

[johnt]

42 minutes ago, rhn94 said:

Atmos is a very expensive gimmick, don't fall for it

http://www.audioholics.com/audio-technologies/5-reasons-dolby-atmos-is-doa

This is over 2 years old. Things have changed, and so has Gene's opinion of Atmos/DTSX. It's also been adopted by many theaters. Passing the feature down the chain to consumers is the only path forward. But when Microsoft (for Windows), Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc. start supporting it is a different question.

 

If you want to discuss dead features on arrival, I recommend turning your focus to HDR  The most wildly confusing technology on the market

[r3d0c]

How is HDR DOA, it's just new, youtube supports it

[johnt]

2 minutes ago, rhn94 said:

How is HDR DOA, it's just new, youtube supports it

Have you ever seen it? It's useless

[Simon Bruun]

Thanks for the quick responses guys.

 

I haven't tried an ATMOS Theater yet, but I remember my brother watched "Gravity" in ATMOS and was very excited about it. So I guess I'm biased in that way.

 

From your responses, I get the feeling that I should forget the ATMOS / PC / Gaming, at least for a while. 

 

Maybe I'll go for 7.1 to replace my 5.1 system. Something just tells me that the ceiling speakers could be an awesome experience in gaming.

[Clovis559]

I have a 5.1.2 Atmos setup for my PC.

 

If you heavily play Battlefield 1, Overwatch, Battlefront, you will possibly want Atmos. If you use a system like mine for Overwatch, you will want the overwatch for headphones turned off. Overwatch does support a non funky Atmos, it's implementation is just not clear till you fiddle with it. Atmos is gimmicky, but it's super cool at the same time, when that time does happen.

 

Battlefront I found to be the best. A Tie flying over, sounds are so distinct. It's incredibly enjoyable. In Battlefield 1, it's less noticeable. When scripted planes fly overhead in Argonne Forest, it is so damn cool. When a plane in general flys over, it's so damn cool. When someone is on the second floor, it is somewhat kinda cool. When it's not one of those things, it's so damn expensively nothing. None of that will really give you any advantage except possibly the person on the second floor.

 

The sound reflects off of my ceiling just fine.

If you don't play one of those games, what are you doing with your money. 7.1 all day long. If you value your money, 7.1 all day long. If you make the mistake of going to a nice surround, you will never go back. Then you will have to spend more money on a cardoid microphone so it won't pick up your speakers that much.

 

As for the sound card, I have mine disabled in bios. The reciever does all the processing, the scarlett powers my mic... You won't need one. The Dell USB Speaker that is on the desk for comms also is it's own soundcard. My PC does no internal sound processing. It just passes the buck by HDMI or USB...

 

I haven't got to experience it in movies outside of the theatre because I've only seen it come on 4k discs, and I don't have a 4k tv nor a 4k bluray player.

[modeonoff]

Now in 2019, is it better to get a receiver that supports Atmos and DTS X rather than an "Atmos soundbar"?

[Derkoli]

On 12/15/2016 at 11:07 PM, rhn94 said:

Atmos is a very expensive gimmick, don't fall for it

http://www.audioholics.com/audio-technologies/5-reasons-dolby-atmos-is-doa

Atmos is most certainly not a gimmick.

[Derkoli]

On 12/16/2016 at 10:27 AM, Simon Bruun said:

Thanks for the quick responses guys.

 

I haven't tried an ATMOS Theater yet, but I remember my brother watched "Gravity" in ATMOS and was very excited about it. So I guess I'm biased in that way.

 

From your responses, I get the feeling that I should forget the ATMOS / PC / Gaming, at least for a while. 

 

Maybe I'll go for 7.1 to replace my 5.1 system. Something just tells me that the ceiling speakers could be an awesome experience in gaming.

I use 13.2.5 rn for my bedroom/pc setup/home theater, having the height channels is really awesome in some games.

[Lucian Andries]

On 2/14/2019 at 12:40 PM, Derkoli said:

I use 13.2.5 rn for my bedroom/pc setup/home theater, having the height channels is really awesome in some games.

13.2.5??????????????? When did that setup get out??

[Lucian Andries]

On 1/18/2017 at 11:33 PM, Clovis559 said:

I have a 5.1.2 Atmos setup for my PC.

 

If you heavily play Battlefield 1, Overwatch, Battlefront, you will possibly want Atmos. If you use a system like mine for Overwatch, you will want the overwatch for headphones turned off. Overwatch does support a non funky Atmos, it's implementation is just not clear till you fiddle with it. Atmos is gimmicky, but it's super cool at the same time, when that time does happen.

 

Battlefront I found to be the best. A Tie flying over, sounds are so distinct. It's incredibly enjoyable. In Battlefield 1, it's less noticeable. When scripted planes fly overhead in Argonne Forest, it is so damn cool. When a plane in general flys over, it's so damn cool. When someone is on the second floor, it is somewhat kinda cool. When it's not one of those things, it's so damn expensively nothing. None of that will really give you any advantage except possibly the person on the second floor.

 

The sound reflects off of my ceiling just fine.

If you don't play one of those games, what are you doing with your money. 7.1 all day long. If you value your money, 7.1 all day long. If you make the mistake of going to a nice surround, you will never go back. Then you will have to spend more money on a cardoid microphone so it won't pick up your speakers that much.

 

As for the sound card, I have mine disabled in bios. The reciever does all the processing, the scarlett powers my mic... You won't need one. The Dell USB Speaker that is on the desk for comms also is it's own soundcard. My PC does no internal sound processing. It just passes the buck by HDMI or USB...

 

I haven't got to experience it in movies outside of the theatre because I've only seen it come on 4k discs, and I don't have a 4k tv nor a 4k bluray player.

Hey!

 

So how do you output sound, through graphics card? If so, what are you using?

Are you using a AV Receiver?

 

Also, are you using the Windows Dolby Atmos cr-app? Is it working for you? Or you just keep the output to 5.1 and that's it?

 

Thanks!

[Derkoli]

17 hours ago, Lucian Andries said:

13.2.5??????????????? When did that setup get out??

With a denon x8500h.. the central height speaker is mono and just a mix of the front L/R height channels.. then the rest is a 9.1 with just a Y splitter for the subwoofers and rca splitters to a few monacor SA-50 and Sa-100 amps and a couple tube amps.. its such a mess but sounds hella good

[Derkoli]

1 minute ago, Derkoli said:

With a denon x8500h.. the central height speaker is mono and just a mix of the front L/R height channels.. then the rest is a 9.1 with just a Y splitter for the subwoofers and rca splitters to a few monacor SA-50 and Sa-100 amps and a couple tube amps.. its such a mess but sounds hella good

 

17 hours ago, Lucian Andries said:

13.2.5??????????????? When did that setup get out??

Also just got another tube amp and two floorstanders (Polk audio T50's), so its 15.2.5 now lol

[Lucian Andries]

14 minutes ago, Derkoli said:

 

Also just got another tube amp and two floorstanders (Polk audio T50's), so its 15.2.5 now lol

Yeah, I don't need speakers just for the big number. And tube amps are too complicated for me, I'm not a musician.

I'm into home entertainment, movies and gaming exclusively. So AVRs are all I need.

[Derkoli]

1 hour ago, Lucian Andries said:

Yeah, I don't need speakers just for the big number. And tube amps are too complicated for me, I'm not a musician.

I'm into home entertainment, movies and gaming exclusively. So AVRs are all I need.

It was a pain when i moved my setup.. i just feel like 7.1 and 9.1 has like gaps in the immersion almost. idk. ill keep going until im happy

[Brian Sepolen]

On 2/25/2019 at 3:53 PM, Derkoli said:

It was a pain when i moved my setup.. i just feel like 7.1 and 9.1 has like gaps in the immersion almost. idk. ill keep going until im happy

 

On 2/25/2019 at 2:20 PM, Derkoli said:

With a denon x8500h.. the central height speaker is mono and just a mix of the front L/R height channels.. then the rest is a 9.1 with just a Y splitter for the subwoofers and rca splitters to a few monacor SA-50 and Sa-100 amps and a couple tube amps.. its such a mess but sounds hella good

I'm not sure that's how the numbering thing works. I mean, if I have a stereo signal, (2.0,) I don't think I can call it 8.0 just because I split the sound into 4 speakers on the left and 4 speakers on the right. Not even if I strategically place them around the room.

 

But, anyway, is it still the best way to use HDMI pass-through to an Atmos receiver?

[Derkoli]

6 hours ago, Brian Sepolen said:

 

I'm not sure that's how the numbering thing works. I mean, if I have a stereo signal, (2.0,) I don't think I can call it 8.0 just because I split the sound into 4 speakers on the left and 4 speakers on the right. Not even if I strategically place them around the room.

 

But, anyway, is it still the best way to use HDMI pass-through to an Atmos receiver?

with the numbering thing its the first number such as 9. means the amount of speakers around you at your ear level, then the number after the 9. means the amount of subwoofers, so 9.2 would mean 9 surrounds and 2 subwoofers, then the number after 9.2 means height channels, such as 9.2.4 would be 9 surrounds, 2 subwoofers, 4 overhead channels, and yes its still best to use hdmi pass-through to an Atmos receiver.

[GamerAndds]

On 2/25/2019 at 4:20 PM, Derkoli said:

With a denon x8500h.. the central height speaker is mono and just a mix of the front L/R height channels.. then the rest is a 9.1 with just a Y splitter for the subwoofers and rca splitters to a few monacor SA-50 and Sa-100 amps and a couple tube amps.. its such a mess but sounds hella good

Can I come over... Lol. That sounds amazing. Lemme ask you, how are you liking that receiver- worth it?

[Derkoli]

12 hours ago, GamerAndds said:

Can I come over... Lol. That sounds amazing. Lemme ask you, how are you liking that receiver- worth it?

It really is amazing, and i love the receiver. Could be a touch more precise in some situations but i have two totally seperate amps on a totally different ground loop to power my "audiophile" setup. the x8500 has lots of punch and dynamics but can get caught up on itself sometimes. Lots of great software aswell, and the calibration mic is pretty damn accurate when calibrating, also of course you can adjust the volume/loudness of each channel individually.

[JimSocks]

I run 7.2.4 (though I sometimes just call it 11.2...) in my theatre room and I have to vouch:  Atmos is definitely NOT a gimmick- it's amazing.  I have the four height speakers actually installed in the ceiling, but from what I have read it sounds just as awesome coming from the "bounce-type" speakers that reflect the sound to make it SEEM like the speaker is above you.  The immersion can just be so intense in movies that support it.

 

As for the numbers-thing mentioned above, I have each of the speakers specifically tied to their very own channel, so they all output different sound tailored to their channel.  It's not a bunch of speakers hooked up to the same L and R stereo outs ;)

 

I found this thread because I, too am in search of a sound card that handles atmos, as my theatre runs off a fancy Denon reciever that is nowhere near where my computer lives, but I still want my atmos in the computer room!

[Derkoli]

20 hours ago, JimSocks said:

I run 7.2.4 (though I sometimes just call it 11.2...) in my theatre room and I have to vouch:  Atmos is definitely NOT a gimmick- it's amazing.  I have the four height speakers actually installed in the ceiling, but from what I have read it sounds just as awesome coming from the "bounce-type" speakers that reflect the sound to make it SEEM like the speaker is above you.  The immersion can just be so intense in movies that support it.

 

As for the numbers-thing mentioned above, I have each of the speakers specifically tied to their very own channel, so they all output different sound tailored to their channel.  It's not a bunch of speakers hooked up to the same L and R stereo outs

 

I found this thread because I, too am in search of a sound card that handles atmos, as my theatre runs off a fancy Denon reciever that is nowhere near where my computer lives, but I still want my atmos in the computer room!

I used to run 15.2.5 lol. Just moved over to a high end stereo system, loved atmos though. Unfortunatley there just isnt a soundcard for 7.2.4 as usb cant handle the bandwidth and imagine all the RCA's needed, no one will have a receiver that can take all those inputs, most just have 7.1 in via rca and nothing more.

[Lucian Andries]

I fixed my issue, and now I have 5.1.2 working. And with both Atmos and DTS:X.

I was just an idiot and placed the Atmos speakers up, and I didn't hear any effect... I now places them at the correct height, 1 meter from the floor.

 

Yeah, I'd like to have at least 7.1.2 or 7.1.4, but by room is very cramped, and I don't have where to put them. I'm living in a cardboard box...