DTS Headphone:X brings 11.1 channel surround sound to headsets

DTS is developing Headphone:X technology to bring surround sound directly to your headphones and will partner with Turtle Beach for the PC gaming realm.

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Audio tech developer DTS is developing Headphone:X, a new solution designed to simulate the surround sound experience directly through a pair of headphones. Beyond movies, TV, and music, DTS also plans to bring this tech to video games through an upcoming partnership with gaming headset manufacturer Turtle Beach.

Originally debuting at CES earlier this year, Headphone:X decodes audio from the product side to send 11.1 channel surround sound directly into personal audio devices. Speaking to Shacknews at E3, DTS manager Michael Farino indicated that Headphone:X could be implemented on smartphones, tablets, PC's, audio receivers, and even gaming consoles to create a simulated in-room surround sound experience.

I tried out Headphone:X through a standard set of $20 headphones and was able to get full-fledged surround sound while playing through a demo of Killzone 3. I was able to hear approaching vehicles and gunfire from different directions as I played through the on-rails section. Having played with surround sound setups in the past, I can say that Headphone:X capably simulated that experience.

The first media content to feature Headphone:X technology is the Man of Steel soundtrack, available now. As for gaming purposes, the DTS Headphone:X equipped headsets from Turtle Beach are set to launch later this year.

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Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?

From The Chatty
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    June 19, 2013 5:00 PM

    Ozzie Mejia posted a new article, DTS Headphone:X brings 11.1 channel surround sound to headsets.

    DTS is developing Headphone:X technology to bring surround sound directly to your headphones and will partner with Turtle Beach for the PC gaming realm.

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      June 19, 2013 5:29 PM

      GREAT...another expensive Turtle Beach headset that I have to buy. I already have TWO...what I'd give for a mic adapter so I could just use my existing Turtle Beach headset in simply 5.1 surround...

      Sony had the right idea with their Pulse Headset, an inexpensive solution made specifically for the console with a built-in mic and good surround sound. Let's hope they're flexible and allow the Pulse Headsets to work with PS4.

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      June 19, 2013 5:29 PM

      GOOD TIMING!!!! full RIG and peripheral overhaul for BF4 :D

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      June 19, 2013 6:15 PM

      11.1? What's next? After 5.1 doesn't it get a little redundant?

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        June 19, 2013 6:53 PM

        both 5.1 and 11.1 are insufficient to offer an experience fully mirroring the real-world. There are comparisons on youtube between DTS 5.1 and CMSS and in terms of positional accuracy CMSS far surpasses DTS 5.1.

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          June 19, 2013 7:13 PM

          honestly I thought 360.1 was good until I tried 361.1 and jesus I was blown away

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            June 20, 2013 7:50 AM

            needs more 4 pi steradian listening chambers.

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          June 19, 2013 9:22 PM

          Interesting thanks :)

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      June 19, 2013 6:57 PM

      Cool. I've been considering a receiver for my PC since I exclusively use headphones with them. With this I might wait around and see if they just eventually start offering these as a DPS setting on receivers.

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      June 19, 2013 7:21 PM

      How does this compare to a surround sound system with nice speakers? I'm currently sporting a Klipsch 4.1 system (12 years old), and am looking into a new system, probably klipsch, for pc gaming.

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        June 19, 2013 7:54 PM

        It doesn't surround sound headsets are snake oil really. They don't compare even to entry level system.

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          June 19, 2013 8:13 PM

          Thanks for the reply. Since I love the sound my Klipsch speakers have given me thus far, I'm planning on sticking with this brand, but moving to a better system (and to 5.1 while I'm at it). I'm wondering if I should look into the brand Energy, which is owned by Klipsch...I've heard they're potentially better sounding than the "regular" Klipsch brand, though that's subjective and based on people commenting in forums.

          All I know is that all audiophile forums consider Bose to be a crap brand that overprices things like Monster cables. Funny, because until about 2 weeks ago when I read this, I thought Bose was a higher quality brand. Glad I picked Klispch for my first set of nice speakers :)

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          June 19, 2013 9:27 PM

          It depends on the technology. Dolby Headphone is pretty legit if being powered by a good DSP processor found in any mid-range+ AVR.

          This shit built into the headphones themselves are all pretty crappy though because they are using a crappy amp in the headphones and usually a cheap processor that only does the very basic positional processing.

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      June 19, 2013 7:55 PM

      Isn't this the thing that's been in the page-takeover and banner ads on the Shack for the past 2 weeks?

      I mean, okay, you spoke to the guy at E3, but could we separate the Google ad campaign from the article a little bit more next time?

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      June 19, 2013 9:30 PM

      Not only do we have the advertisement for two weeks, now we get an article too?

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      June 19, 2013 9:40 PM

      this is making me think of q-sound on the sega cd.

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      June 20, 2013 6:19 AM

      i'll stick with my Astros.

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      June 21, 2013 3:44 AM

      im rather fond of my Xonar Essence and NON-Gaming headphones.

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