What SIM allows 5.1?

[Cote Dazur]

I usually drive with headphones but recently I set a 5.1 system around my rig.
What SIM allows 5.1? If a car is behind your car can you hear it behind you? If you drive a rear engine car is the sound of the engine comes from behind you?
So far my testing is not conclusive and I find that the sound is more informative with stereo earphones.

 

[GEO147]

Can you tell me what the differences or benefits are with using DD Live to using 2 channel stereo but upmixing this to 4.0 or 5.1 or 7.1 via Dolby Prologic II. It only requires an analog stereo signal to generate a surround mix. I dont think either will be much different or superior sounding or will they?

DD Live is similar, other than it can use a single digital cable of the encoded real-time multichannel audio and it may place some effects to specific channels for the Dolby Digital format. The question is how many games really used it or used it well.

I remember way back Nvidia was one of the first to have Dolby Realtime Audio encoding (N-Force) on some motherboards which used a chip like the original Xbox console.

Dolby ProLogic II
Dolby Digital Live
Dolby Digital Plus

Headphones Windows 10 Dolby Atmos

I honestly don't know the answer to that but just know that DDL was a requirement to get proper surround on the fly. This was way back when I was into first person shooters and footsteps etc were important to hear. How important it is in sim racing I have no idea. But I would suspect the more expensive Logitech 5.1 systems use it?

 

[Alex Townsend]

Up mixing to create a surround sound effect would not be as accurate as sounds being produced for certain channels and then output through those channels afaik.
I.e. when I drive out of the pits in ACC and I'm a little close the right hand side, I hear the right speakers higher reverb due to being closer.
If I'm playing Resident Evil 6 or Halo Reach then I can definitely hear the direction things are coming from and it does help. In sim racing it's more just about the immersion factor.

 

[Cote Dazur]

I honestly don't know the answer to that but just know that DDL was a requirement to get proper surround on the fly. This was way back when I was into first person shooters and footsteps etc were important to hear. How important it is in sim racing I have no idea. But I would suspect the more expensive Logitech 5.1 systems use it?

DDL is needed only for digital (SPDIF) connections, as uncompressed 5.1 audio can not fit over a SPDIF connection (ie, the signal must be encoed in either DD or DTS formats). Hence, SPDIF can only get 2.0 audio unless DDL/DTS-C is used. If you use analog (or HDMI), then this tech means nothing whatsoever (unless for some reason you want all audio converted to a DD stream...)

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Finally something sane in this discussion.

 

[GEO147]

So its as simple as plugging in 5.1 speakers to your onboard sound card via analog wiring and selecting 5.1 in game and your good to go?

 

[Emery]

So its as simple as plugging in 5.1 speakers to your onboard sound card via analog wiring and selecting 5.1 in game and your good to go?

Yes, provided you have powered speakers. The next step up is using a 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 AV Receiver and outputting to unpowered speakers (aka home theater or old-fashioned audiophile speakers).

 

[Cote Dazur]

So just to go back to the question of this thread, which is not how to connect 5.1, that should be easy enough.

If a car is behind your car can you hear it behind you? If you drive a rear engine car is the sound of the engine comes from behind you?
So far my testing is not conclusive and I find that the sound is more informative with stereo earphones.

 

[Mr Latte]

Nothings easy here....

The game audio engineer, will implement the sound effect of an approaching car also within the stereo mix, most likely as a wide/outer stereo placement so that it will probably work/output as "surround sound" with older formats like Pro Logic II. This is why I question if anyone has really put some effort into comparing options in the immersion each surround format can provide?

Darn PC audio is a real mess but we have seen a shift to "Headset Gaming" becoming more popular than 5.1

Engine sound may be placed to multiple speakers, depending on how they wanted to create it.
Look at some videos on the fmod website on how game audio is made.

 

[Alex Townsend]

If you park at the side of the road or sat in the pits in ACC you can hear the cars approaching in the rear left, ll speaker, on a clockwise circuit with track on the left, then as it gets closer, you hear the sound shifting to the front left speaker as it goes past and then into the centre as its moved in front of you.
As to the engine sound, most sims appear to have it all coming from the front speakers, which is odd...

 

[GEO147]

Nothings easy here....

The game audio engineer, will implement the sound effect of an approaching car also within the stereo mix, most likely as a wide/outer stereo placement so that it will probably work/output as "surround sound" with older formats like Pro Logic II. This is why I question if anyone has really put some effort into comparing options in the immersion each surround format can provide?

Darn PC audio is a real mess but we have seen a shift to "Headset Gaming" becoming more popular than 5.1

Engine sound may be placed to multiple speakers, depending on how they wanted to create it.
Look at some videos on the fmod website on how game audio is made.

I agree. Nothing is simple when it comes to PC audio. The people making smart comments think they know something but in reality don't know at all. If it was as simple as just setting up 5.1 this thread wouldn't exist.

 

[Emery]

If a car is behind your car can you hear it behind you? If you drive a rear engine car is the sound of the engine comes from behind you?

As I and others said earlier, it depends on the game. Here's the full rundown of what I have noted.

- AC you can hear opponent approach from behind. When driving a rear-engine car, the engine noise only comes from front speakers (Porsche RS60 tested).
- ACC you can hear opponent approach from behind provided cockpit audio is not drowning out your opponent. Rear tires are heard separate from front tires, but I'm not entirely convinced a rear-engine car has engine noise coming from behind.
- AMS you can hear opponent approach from behind provided cockpit audio is not drowning out your opponent. When driving a rear-engine car, the engine noise is behind you.
- PCARS 2 you can hear opponent approach from behind provided cockpit audio is not drowning out your opponent. When driving a rear-engine car, the engine noise is behind you.
- RaceRoom you do not hear opponents approach from behind. When driving a rear-engine car, sound appears to be coming from all channels, weighted to the center front speaker, except for backfires which come from the rear speakers. Suspension and tire noises are surround sound.
- rF2 will do neither of those since it outputs only stereo regardless of whether you tell it you have surround sound.
- Wreckfest you can hear opponent approach from behind and when driving rear-engine cars, the engine noise is behind you.

 

[Alex Townsend]

I suppose the question here is, with graphics being pushed so much, has sound, especially for 5.1 surround sound setups, been considered as a 'nice to have but not essential' lately?
Sound is just as important as visuals for immersion and audio cues do help when pushing the car into heavy breaking areas and powering out of corners.
Let's all hope that S397 fixes rF2 5.1 and that AMS2 comes with it as default.

 

[Cote Dazur]

Sound is a very a important component to proper immersion. With decent headphones, most SIM do a decent job with a least some of the content. ACC, to me is the most immersive sound wise, but with only one type of cars, it might have made it easier to Kunos to tackle that aspect.

 

[Cote Dazur]

In practice, due to the small circle for our speakers around the racing rig, quadraphonic (4.1 or 4.0) provides the best channel separation

I find that in VR, 5.1, with central in front of me pedals, is working very well. as opposed to 4.1 which leave a void in front between f-left and f-right.

after some testing, those are my findings.

- AC you can hear opponent approach from the side when the approach from behind, but if they are behind there is no sound. When driving a rear-engine car, the engine noise comes from around you. The immersion is excellent in closed cockpit cars and street cars, still good in open wheeler but not as immersive.
- ACC cockpit audio is somehow muted, you cannot really hear your opponents. Rear tires are heard separate from front tires, It is hard to tell where the engine is.
- PCARS 2 I cannot hear where opponents are clearly, just that their is opponent somewhere on the track. When driving a rear-engine car, the engine noise is behind you.

Overall, I like the 5.1 in AC, different but as much as Earphones. in ACC or PCars2, for me, earphones are much better in every way to 5.1

It would be nice to have more opinions and experience.

 

[Mr Latte]

I find that in VR, 5.1, with central in front of me pedals, is working very well. as opposed to 4.1 which leave a void in front between f-left and f-right.

after some testing, those are my findings.

- AC you can hear opponent approach from the side when the approach from behind, but if they are behind there is no sound. When driving a rear-engine car, the engine noise comes from around you. The immersion is excellent in closed cockpit cars and street cars, still good in open wheeler but not as immersive.
- ACC cockpit audio is somehow muted, you cannot really hear your opponents. Rear tires are heard separate from front tires, It is hard to tell where the engine is.
- PCARS 2 I cannot hear where opponents are clearly, just that their is opponent somewhere on the track. When driving a rear-engine car, the engine noise is behind you.

Overall, I like the 5.1 in AC, different but as much as Earphones. in ACC or PCars2, for me, earphones are much better in every way to 5.1

It would be nice to have more opinions and experience.

ACC has a bit of an odd mix level in some of its effects. I found the need to place the opponent cars volume to max and greatly reduce other effects. The tyres sounds are fine but what gets me is that sound effect they have for stones is annoying and more like rain on a tin roof.

Wasn't blown away with surround sound in most racing sims with 5.1 at all.
I have an idea for speakers to just use dual stereo for front and rear stereo without even having surround.
Maybe, not decided...

I too have found that headphones can be more involving or enjoyable, especially with using the tactile.
Would recommend people also try using DTS X via Microsoft Store with headphones as its quite good.

I don't have a Dolby Atmos or DTS X speaker configuration for sim room but interested if anyone has?

Info: Here

These are my Sonys - a blutooth pair - a 9.1 surround pair and a rather fabulous pair of Z7 (Gen1) headphones with their luxury build, superb comfort and 70mm drivers.

 

[Kieran527]

I’ve only just installed my 5.1 system for the PC and I’ve noticed immediately that I have little to no output from the rear speakers.
The amp is run off the motherboard 5.1 output, not a dedicated sound card.

Because the sims aren’t outputting 5.1, is this the reason I’m getting no sound from the rear speakers? I haven’t tried the speakers with anything else yet ie video

 

[Cote Dazur]

Because the sims aren’t outputting 5.1, is this the reason I’m getting no sound from the rear speakers?

I am connected like you, using my MOBO 3.5mm connectors, the SIM I drive all have 5.1 and I have good sound from all 6 speakers Including the rear speakers. When you test them in the speaker configurator, do they work?

 

[Kieran527]

I am connected like you, using my MOBO 3.5mm connectors, the SIM I drive all have 5.1 and I have good sound from all 6 speakers Including the rear speakers. When you test them in the speaker configurator, do they work?

It’s the same thing, the rears are quiet again.
Must be something to do with the sound set up in Windows, I’ll investigate further tomorrow.

 

[Moxley6969]

I’ve only just installed my 5.1 system for the PC and I’ve noticed immediately that I have little to no output from the rear speakers.
The amp is run off the motherboard 5.1 output, not a dedicated sound card.

Because the sims aren’t outputting 5.1, is this the reason I’m getting no sound from the rear speakers? I haven’t tried the speakers with anything else yet ie video

Can we assume you did the basics as far as setting up the amp in the Windows Sound app with the "Configure speakers" option. a 5.1 amp wont magically tell windows its 5.1, you need to tell it what you want.

 

[Kieran527]

Can we assume you did the basics as far as setting up the amp in the Windows Sound app with the "Configure speakers" option. a 5.1 amp wont magically tell windows its 5.1, you need to tell it what you want.

View attachment 341539

Yes, that has all been set up, and when I perform the test the speakers make noise and are of equal volume to the others.

But as soon as I play a game or video, the rear speakers make little to no noise, is there something else I need to configure?