How to Enable Dts Headphone X Windows 10

DTS Headphone X 2.0: Everyone with an Xbox or PC should try this out

• Thread starter Oopy Doopy
• Start date Mar 3, 2020

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• #1

Just to kick things off for those that don't want to spend money, the full license after the 14 day trial for DTS is $20. Windows Sonic is free, and Dolby Atmos is $15.

DTS Headphone X 2.0 is a spatial audio solution similar to Dolby Atmos for headphones or Windows Sonic, and like those other solutions, it works with any pair of headphones and with all games that support Windows Spatial Sound (proper 3D audio) or have 5.1/7.1 surround sound (applies that HRTF to a normal surround mix). If you've tried spatial audio before and weren't a fan, why use this newer one over those other options? Well, it doesn't make games sound overly "tinny" (windows sonic) or like the bass is blown out or just otherwise funky (dolby atmos for headphones). Seriously, it's near stereo clarity/quality, but with outstanding positional benefits. It's solid enough that I'm really thinking about spending $20 on the license when my trial runs out (lasts 14 days), which I absolutely did not expect.

These are the supported games for Windows Spatial Sound (This is a PC list, though there's a lot of crossover with Xbox, and for the life of me I can't find a well maintained list so there may be more games):

• Gears 5
• Borderlands 3
• Call of Duty Modern Warfare
• Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War
• Forza Horizon 4
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider
• Assassin's Creed Origins
• For Honor
• Final Fantasy XV
• Resident Evil 2
• Metro Exodus
• The Division 2
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps
• Super Lucky's Tale
• Cyberpunk 2077

So I activated both the dolby atmos and dts headphone trials (windows sonic is free), put on my Sennheiser HD 650s, and loaded up Modern Warfare and hopped in a bot game to test them out. At least in modern warfare, you can hot swap the options for a pretty easy comparison. All 3 options provide noticeable spatial benefits over plain stereo, but they all color the sound a particular way. Windows Sonic offers a noticeable benefit to positional awareness, but the hit to audio quality is immediately apparent. Tons of audio sounds sibilant ridden/distorted, and I'd only recommend using this if all you want is a competitive advantage. Dolby Atmos was an improvement, but depending on object depth, audio could distort in strange ways. It particularly struggles with objects right on the player, and the processing for occluded objects is heavy handed. It also takes on a bass heavy tone, which I wasn't a fan of. Overall atmos could be beneficial for competition purposes, but I wouldn't pay for it ($15). I found that dts sounded the most "flat" in an EQ sense, with minimal distortion with objects at all distances. Objects up close sounded up close and didn't distort, and occluded objects were processed in a pleasing way that also made their occlusion obvious. DTS was the easy winner in my testing. I also loaded up FFXV for a quick comparison to make sure it wasn't just a one-off in COD, and DTS was still easily superior and would be my preferred way to hear that game.

If anybody has tested all 3 of these options already or is going to do so now, I'd love to hear about your experience with it. DTS's option made this feel less like a gimmick and more like the future for me, personally.

Below is a test video. Put on your best over-ear headphones and listen in stereo mode (this is important).

And here's a quick and dirty Stereo vs DTS comparison I recorded in Cyberpunk 2077. Again, listen with over-ear headphones and plain stereo.

Great instructions kindly provided by Pargon

So I figured out how to turn on or off the 5.1/7.1 virtual surround aspect of spatial audio. It's controlled by the "disable all enhancements" checkbox in the properties for your audio device. Using AC Odyssey as a test, checking that box makes the game output plain stereo to my headphones, and unchecking the box gives me the 7.1 surround mix. True spatial audio works with either setting.

So to be clear, checking this box will make it so that ONLY games that use the spatial audio api (games in the list above for example) will work. If you keep the box unchecked, it will also work for 5.1/7.1 surround sources.

Last edited: Dec 26, 2020

• #2

Huh, I'll for sure look into this as I'm mostly playing with my headphones.

• #3

Does it also convert any 5.1 or 7.1 to home theater surround dts:x?

• #4

I don't think the app is available for Xbox is it?

• #5

How do you use DTS on Xbox? I don't see an app.

• #6

I don't think the app is available for Xbox is it?

How do you use DTS on Xbox? I don't see an app.

On PC the app is called DTS Sound Unbound. I haven't personally used it on Xbox, but I've seen articles referring to it as a feature on Xbox and Windows. It's entirely possible it's not out on Xbox yet, I can't find concrete info on it.

• #7

On PC the app is called DTS Sound Unbound. I haven't personally used it on Xbox, but I've seen articles referring to it as a feature on Xbox and Windows. It's entirely possible it's not out on Xbox yet, I can't find concrete info on it.

I saw that app on the Microsoft Store on PC but didn't see it on Xbox. I'll keep an eye out for it, nonetheless. By the way, would this work with Dolby Atmos soundbars and whatnot, or is it really only intended for use with headphones?

• #8

I'm using Cloud X's for a while they've been fantastic as well, they're stereo too but have very good directional surround when playing Siege and PUBG and such. Do you think it will do anything to enhance the already surround?

• #9

I saw that app on the Microsoft Store on PC but didn't see it on Xbox. I'll keep an eye out for it, nonetheless. By the way, would this work with Dolby Atmos soundbars and whatnot, or is it really only intended for use with headphones?

It's for headphones specifically. It wouldn't sound right if it were through normal speakers. Regular Dolby Atmos and DTS:X work differently in general. The headphone variants are HRTF algorithms and are pretty dependent on the assumption that the speakers are right on your ears.

• #10

Someone knows when it will come also to Xbox?
Is it also 1 buy for all Windows devices (Xbox included) like Atmos for Headphones?

• #11

I used Windows Sonic and was pretty satisfied. I was okay with sacrificing a bit of sound quality over the added spatial awareness that really works and is great. Gonna try out DTS now!

EDIT: Just saw you have to pay for it. Nope, I'm out.

• #12

Does it also convert any 5.1 or 7.1 to home theater surround dts:x?

Assuming you used the words you used correctly, I wouldn't see the point in that. Converting 5.1 or 7.1 into that format for a DTS:X setup would play out exactly the same as normal, wouldn't it? If you meant to ask about converting 5.1 or 7.1 for virtual surround headphones, I think it does do that, though I haven't tested it personally.

• #13

From the DTS Sound Unboud official FAQs:

Is DTS Sound Unbound available on the Xbox?​

DTS Sound Unbound will be available as an update to Xbox coming later this year.​

Source: https://dts.com/sound-unbound/faq

They are probably launching this directly on XSX, or with newer Dashboard OS?

• #14

From my time with it, it has the best representation of virtual surround sound without destroying the audio quality. The way they also simulate height effects is a great addition that feels pretty realistic. I bought the Soundblaster G6 last year. It's a great amp, but its SBX surround was very bad for me. So I turned off SBX and used DTS Headphone with the amp and I have not been disappointed.

• #15

I have the app trial for XBOX ONE and was Very Impressed.

Will be looking for this once it hits consoles as well.

Oopy Doopy - this also affects non-supported games as well right?

• #16

I did the trial and it sounded very good. It also supports specific eq tunings for different headphones. I used it with my AKG 702 and it worked great.

I am curious to see if the HRTF algorithm will be reversed engineered and added to Hesuvi.

• #17

I found that dts sounded the most "flat" in an EQ sense

I think so, too, when I select the "balanced" profile for my headphones. There's a "spacious" option which sounds heavily distorted and doesn't increase the spatial awareness proportional to the decreasing sound quality. "Balanced" already gives great spatial awareness. From a first quick test it definitely sounds superior to Windows Sonic and Atmos.

I settled with Windows Sonic the past few months because it's free and with my new mainboard and audio drivers HeSuVi with the Equalizer APO I was previously using to get free of charge Dolby Atmos was too much tinkering.

• #18

I just have the Xbox stereo headphones - should I buy the $15 old solution? I do like playing FPS multiplayer and i could really use any sound queues etc. Often i don't hear footsteps at all, let alone being able to position them reliably.

Any Xbox people use it on a regular basis?

• #19

Eh, I'll give it a try when there's a game on the list that I care about. Wanna be able to maximize that free trial.

• #20

Eh, I'll give it a try when there's a game on the list that I care about. Wanna be able to maximize that free trial.

This is my problem too. I need more game support before I bother with anything (like getting a real pair of headphones for my pc again), and on Xbox I already have a 5.1.2 setup for atmos for the few supported games I play
But I am definitely interested in seeing spatial headphone adoption become more widespread. Definitely an improvement over the fake "7.1 mode" on my void pro, which stays in stereo mode

• #21

I have the app trial for XBOX ONE and was Very Impressed.

Will be looking for this once it hits consoles as well.

Oopy Doopy - this also affects non-supported games as well right?

If it works like Dolby Atmos for Headphones it will convert any 5.1 or 7.1 surround into DTS. The games listed as supported has actual native implementation, but the majority of games will run at 5.1 surround.

• #22

Dolby Atmos for Headphones really shines for games made for it, like Overwatch and Division 2. It makes every "5.1 Gamer Headset" look like a joke when used with proper decent stereo cans.

• #23

Thanks for posting this. I've been meaning to try it for a while now, and from my limited testing so far I like it quite a lot.
One of the biggest improvements it has over Sonic or Atmos is that it has headphone presets. This can make things sound a lot better if your headphones are on the list.
Curiously, they have a lot of Bose headphones, from older models up to the latest NC700s, but neither of the QC35 models. I mostly use QC20s for gaming though -which are on the list- as I prefer those when I don't need Bluetooth.
If your headphones are on the list (they claim to have 500+ supported models) that alone seems to make it a clear victor over Sonic or Atmos. They mostly seem to be more mainstream options though - none of the high-end Sennheisers or Sony headphones I checked for are listed, for example.

The main downside is that, as with Sonic and Atmos, its virtual surround capabilities are potentially limited in games that don't have Spatial Sound support.
Most games auto-detect channel support rather than providing options, and many detect it as a 2.0 output device rather than 5.1 or 7.1
That being said, it seems to be working in most of the games I've tried so far. It looks like things have improved significantly from what they used to be.

I do wish that Microsoft included an indicator for Spatial Sound being active inside the Game Bar though. The only way (other than listening) to confirm that it's working is to click on the sound icon on the Windows Taskbar. While it worked in most games that I tried so far, I don't think it's working in Dishonored 2 for example.

There's a "spacious" option which sounds heavily distorted and doesn't increase the spatial awareness proportional to the decreasing sound quality.

To me, the "spacious" option sounds like the old Dolby Headphone processing which adds a lot of reverb and makes things sound unnatural. Dolby Headphone always sounded like everything was happening inside a completely empty 20x20ft room.

• #24

Curiously, they have a lot of Bose headphones, from older models up to the latest NC700s, but neither of the QC35 models. I mostly use QC20s for gaming though -which are on the list- as I prefer those when I don't need Bluetooth.
If your headphones are on the list (they claim to have 500+ supported models) that alone seems to make it a clear victor over Sonic or Atmos. They mostly seem to be more mainstream options though - none of the high-end Sennheisers or Sony headphones I checked for are listed, for example.

Where can I find the list?

• #25

Where can I find the list?

I think you have to search in the app.

• #26

Thanks for posting this. I've been meaning to try it for a while now, and from my limited testing so far I like it quite a lot.
One of the biggest improvements it has over Sonic or Atmos is that it has headphone presets. This can make things sound a lot better if your headphones are on the list.
Curiously, they have a lot of Bose headphones, from older models up to the latest NC700s, but neither of the QC35 models. I mostly use QC20s for gaming though -which are on the list- as I prefer those when I don't need Bluetooth.
If your headphones are on the list (they claim to have 500+ supported models) that alone seems to make it a clear victor over Sonic or Atmos. They mostly seem to be more mainstream options though - none of the high-end Sennheisers or Sony headphones I checked for are listed, for example.

The main downside is that, as with Sonic and Atmos, its virtual surround capabilities are potentially limited in games that don't have Spatial Sound support.
Most games auto-detect channel support rather than providing options, and many detect it as a 2.0 output device rather than 5.1 or 7.1
That being said, it seems to be working in most of the games I've tried so far. It looks like things have improved significantly from what they used to be.

I do wish that Microsoft included an indicator for Spatial Sound being active inside the Game Bar though. The only way (other than listening) to confirm that it's working is to click on the sound icon on the Windows Taskbar. While it worked in most games that I tried so far, I don't think it's working in Dishonored 2 for example.

To me, the "spacious" option sounds like the old Dolby Headphone processing which adds a lot of reverb and makes things sound unnatural. Dolby Headphone always sounded like everything was happening inside a completely empty 20x20ft room.

I agree with the empty room on headphone processing. To be honest I used to like that aspect of it when playing halo 3 on live for some reason

• #27

Assuming you used the words you used correctly, I wouldn't see the point in that. Converting 5.1 or 7.1 into that format for a DTS:X setup would play out exactly the same as normal, wouldn't it? If you meant to ask about converting 5.1 or 7.1 for virtual surround headphones, I think it does do that, though I haven't tested it personally.

Sorry, I should be more clear. Good thing about atmos home theatre is it will output standard 5.1 and 7. 1 for non spatial sound without having the user going back to sound setting to reconfig their speaker setting. Does DTS does the same.

• #28

I have tried this for a while and I'm pretty impressed, placebo effect maybe but sounds crisper than Dolby Atmos? Honestly don't know, but what I know is that sounds better to me, and it's cheaper too, so once the trial period expires I'm jumping in.

If it only works with spatial sound compatible games I have no issue with switching between it and SBX Virtual Surround.

• #29

If it only works with spatial sound compatible games I have no issue with switching between it and SBX Virtual Surround.

It does virtual surround, but that may not work in all games due to how Microsoft implements it.
As I said above though, that does seem to work in far more game than it used to though, so it does seem to be improving.

• #30

I did the trial a while back and it sounded like shit to me. It doesn't really improve the spatial sound to me either, its about the same for much worse sound quality. Its on devs themselves to make their games properly utilize 2 channel headphone audio.

• #31

Sorry, I should be more clear. Good thing about atmos home theatre is it will output standard 5.1 and 7. 1 for non spatial sound without having the user going back to sound setting to reconfig their speaker setting. Does DTS does the same.

If there's a stereo signal, it just outputs regular unprocessed stereo. So it's a set it and forget it solution, turning it on won't screw up music for instance.

I did the trial a while back and it sounded like shit to me. It doesn't really improve the spatial sound to me either, its about the same for much worse sound quality. Its on devs themselves to make their games properly utilize 2 channel headphone audio.

For regular virtual surround, I agree, but this is fundamentally different and in fact is the developers making proper in-game stereo. For a quick breakdown of how it works:

Microsoft makes libraries that developers can utilize to make object-based sound. This means that the sound is developed such that the objects are simulated in real world space and given appropriate metadata. Now, we don't have setups with unlimited speakers in a full sphere around us, so that's where Windows Sonic, Dolby Atmos, and DTS: X (and the headphone variants) come in. They need to interpret this data and use algorithms to adequately present that information on your setup. So for headphones, in theory, since we have 2 ears stereo is all you absolutely need to achieve this, so they process the audio based on the assumption that you have speakers right on your ears using actual data that the developers created.

So you aren't wrong, it is on the developers to create this, and some developers do create this without using Microsoft's system (counter strike has their own HRTF solution for instance, many games have built in dolby atmos options that don't cost anything like Overwatch). What is wrong is the assumption that this is just another virtual surround solution, because I agree, virtual 5.1/7.1 in stereo headphones is a gimmick and there's no reason to believe that a normal 5.1/7.1 mix will be better than a normal stereo mix for headphones.

• #32

Eh, no thanks, unless DTS X doesn't compress sound like Atmos does, which I doubt.

High resolution, clean, unaltered stereo sound makes a night and day difference. And the positional audio is processed by the game engine anyway, by the way. Most games that take sound seriously in any way do this. Just make sure you set the audio settings to stereo or headphones so the game knows it has to do the processing.

• #33

If there's a stereo signal, it just outputs regular unprocessed stereo. So it's a set it and forget it solution, turning it on won't screw up music for instance.

For regular virtual surround, I agree, but this is fundamentally different and in fact is the developers making proper in-game stereo. For a quick breakdown of how it works:

So if I'm watching a youtube video it won't make it sound like I'm in a giant room for no reason? I tried out Windows Sonic and it had that effect. Honestly wasn't even sure if Sonic was working when I tried it since it doesn't surface the info to you anywhere I could find

• #34

Eh, no thanks, unless DTS X doesn't compress sound like Atmos does, which I doubt.

High resolution, clean, unaltered stereo sound makes a night and day difference. And the positional audio is processed by the game engine anyway, by the way. Most games that take sound seriously in any way do this. Just make sure you set the audio settings to stereo or headphones so the game knows it has to do the processing.

In my experience DTS sounds far closer to stereo quality. And yeah sure you can say that games don't need it if you set it to the stereo/headphones mode, but in actual tests it's significantly better to use any of these options if you want positional clarity. There's a reason CS:GO implemented an HRTF mode and made it the default. This is no different functionally, it just places the responsibility of interpreting the metadata on third parties (meaning backwards compatibility with supported games if/when better options come along).

So if I'm watching a youtube video it won't make it sound like I'm in a giant room for no reason? I tried out Windows Sonic and it had that effect. Honestly wasn't even sure if Sonic was working when I tried it since it doesn't surface the info to you anywhere I could find

Correct, though I didn't have that problem with Windows Sonic recently at all. Maybe old versions of microsoft's spacial sound implementation had this problem?

• #35

So if I'm watching a youtube video it won't make it sound like I'm in a giant room for no reason? I tried out Windows Sonic and it had that effect.

All Spatial Sound processors only activate when sent a 5.1, 7.1, or object-based audio source.
They pass through stereo audio untouched, and have done since the beginning.
Maybe there was a bug which caused it to be activated when YouTube was playing though? If you click the speaker icon on the taskbar, it will tell you if it's currently active:

High resolution, clean, unaltered stereo sound makes a night and day difference. And the positional audio is processed by the game engine anyway, by the way. Most games that take sound seriously in any way do this. Just make sure you set the audio settings to stereo or headphones so the game knows it has to do the processing.

Most games do a terrible job with positional audio for headphones.
If you pan the camera past an audio emitter and it does a hard cut from one ear to the other instead of panning smoothly, you know they didn't do a good audio implementation. In most games that only do basic panning like this, you won't even be able to tell if a sound is directly in front or behind you, because both will sound the same.
Virtual surround processing tends to do a much better job - and does it consistently rather than the experience changing based on the game. You just have to find the processing that you prefer, whether that's Dolby Headphone, Atmos for Headphones, Windows Sonic, DTS Headphone:X, SBX Surround, THX TruStudio Pro, CMSS-3D, or one of the many, many other solutions out there.

It's far better that games are back to using object-based audio now, passing 3D audio data to an external processor of your choosing, than having the game be the only option for virtual surround (if they even try) or having to take an already-mixed 5.1/7.1 source and translate that to virtual surround for headphones.
PC games from the late-'90s up to ~2008 could use 3D audio via DirectSound3D if you bought an X-Fi sound card (2005) with its CMSS-3D feature because the 3D audio data was present in the games, but prior to that there wasn't anything which was able to represent height in virtual surround with it.
It's the same reason you can play these old games in a 7.1 speaker setup rather than being limited to only stereo sound, as you would probably have been otherwise. In theory, those games could also work with modern speaker formats like Atmos/DTS:X if a driver was written to translate DirectSound3D calls to that.

Carlius

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account

• #36

ya, buying that atmos on the store was money well fucking spent. huge difference. absolutely love it.

• #37

I tried DTS for headphones on 4 games today and so far I prefer it compare to Dolby Atmos, which I've been using for a year now. I like the flat EQ and the less booming bass better. That's first thing I notice right away was that the volume is lower than Atmos - not necessarily a bad thing. Atmos has this "loudness" that I find it uncomfortable after a while.

• #38

I also tested it, and yes, it sounded even better than Atmos for Headphones.
Can't wait for it to come also on Xbox, hopefully before XSX launch.

• #39

For those with issues with Atmos headphones on Xbox and PC. Do you know you can go into the Dolby Access app and change the EQ settings to make it more balanced rather than bass heavy?

• #40

I played around with some of these a while back, not so much DTS though and I mainly tried it in Forza Horizon 4 and some videos.

I didn't like Windows Sonic, it somehow reduced low frequencies of the center channel. Atmos was quite nice for a fuller sound stage and when my trial expired I kind of missed it. It's neat that these only activate when you run supported content, rather than having virtual surround comstantly running on the desktop.

Curiously enough, I wasn't impressed at all by Overwatch's built-in Atmos Headphones, and it certainly doesn't help me a lot when it comes to locating enemies based on sound.

For accurate spatial positioning I don't think I've personally experienced anything that comes close to Creative's very old CMMS 3D / EAX.

• #41

For those with issues with Atmos headphones on Xbox and PC. Do you know you can go into the Dolby Access app and change the EQ settings to make it more balanced rather than bass heavy?

yeah, this was only added recently and is not very well documented. Being able to change the settings to your taste is great

• #42

yeah, this was only added recently and is not very well documented. Being able to change the settings to your taste is great

I've had the app for ages and never noticed it until yesterday. I'm glad you tell me it's a recent addition, because otherwise that would make me a complete idiot for not noticing it before!

• #43

If FFXIV ever gets it, sure.

• #44

It appears the new Ori game supports Spatial Audio, and again, the DTS Headphone option sounds amazing!

• #45

Anyone have any experience using this in conjunction with the Cloud Revolver S? I have a pair and have them set to 7.1 in the windows settings and am unsure if the proper setup is to also enable DTSX or just leave it as is with the VSS button enabled on the headset.

• #46

Bought it from this thread, nice to see my Sennheiser Momentum 2.0's on the list! Gotta say, Warzone sounded insane and I was able to win a me vs. 3 relying on sound and positioning. Can't wait to try a bunch of other games, I applied it to my Vive as well and it definitely enhances the experience. The only thing I can sort of hear is when any sounds abruptly stop or I pause the game there's a tiny...TINY bit of processing I can hear at the trail end of sounds. It basically sounds like a spring reverb, I don't mind it though as all the pros definitely outweigh that lil con.

• #47

Anyone have any experience using this in conjunction with the Cloud Revolver S? I have a pair and have them set to 7.1 in the windows settings and am unsure if the proper setup is to also enable DTSX or just leave it as is with the VSS button enabled on the headset.

You would use this instead of another virtual surround solution, not in addition to it.
Enabling a Spatial Sound processor should already configure the sound device to stereo automatically, but you have to be sure to disable any virtual surround options on the headset/control box too.

• #48

You would use this instead of another virtual surround solution, not in addition to it.
Enabling a Spatial Sound processor should already configure the sound device to stereo automatically, but you have to be sure to disable any virtual surround options on the headset/control box too.

Gotcha, nice.

• #50

Am I dumb? I can't figure out how/where to download this. I don't see any download links on the official site (https://dts.com/headphonex).

It's on the Microsoft Store.

How to Enable Dts Headphone X Windows 10

Source: https://www.resetera.com/threads/dts-headphone-x-2-0-everyone-with-an-xbox-or-pc-should-try-this-out.173048/

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