7.1 and 5.1 help

[philippeb90]

hello guys and thanks for taking some time to help me out here.

I will keep it very short and simple.

I play CS:GO a lot and figured i needed a new headset and there is one i have been looking out for a little.
Hyperx Cloud 2.

But, what im a little confused about is, the cloud 2 offers 7.1 (wich you cant use in CS) so i was wondering if a 7.1 Headset can use 5.1 ? or do i have to find a specefic 5.1 headset ?
Besides, can all headset run 5.1 since its software driven ?

 

[ssddx]

the hyper x cloud and hyper x cloud 2 are essentially the same thing with the 2 just having a souncard built in. they are both stereo headphones (2.0) that use virtual surround sound to emulate 5.1/7.1. this is the same as most so-called surround headsets use (only very few actually use multiple drivers).

while i do not own the hxc2, you should be able to use it in 5.1 mode as well since its all virtual surround anyways.

yes, you can convert any 2.0 headphone into virtual surround sound with one of 3 things:
-virtual surround sound software included as part of your motherboards soundcard drivers (if applicable. some come with DH or SBX)
-free razer surround sound software (though out of all options its the least favored)
-buying a soundcard which offers dolby headphone or sbx (cmss3d) which would give you the option as well (DH and SBX are the most favored)

 

[philippeb90]

the hyper x cloud and hyper x cloud 2 are essentially the same thing with the 2 just having a souncard built in. they are both stereo headphones (2.0) that use virtual surround sound to emulate 5.1/7.1. this is the same as most so-called surround headsets use (only very few actually use multiple drivers).

while i do not own the hxc2, you should be able to use it in 5.1 mode as well since its all virtual surround anyways.

yes, you can convert any 2.0 headphone into virtual surround sound with one of 3 things:
-virtual surround sound software included as part of your motherboards soundcard drivers (if applicable. some come with DH or SBX)
-free razer surround sound software (though out of all options its the least favored)
-buying a soundcard which offers dolby headphone or sbx (cmss3d) which would give you the option as well (DH and SBX are the most favored)

Ok, then i might add some more questions.

1. how do i know if a headset is 2.0 ? is that just stereo thats called 2.0 ?
2. CS:Go supports 5.1, does it mean it provides the software or do i have to use one of the 3 options and then activate 5.1 ?
3. the 3 options you provide me, i assume thats excluded the 4th option of buying a headset with soundcard built in ?

Sorry for being (well, dont know the english word for it) hard to understand and requireing extra explanation, but i would like to be sure of what i am doing and not assume too much.

Thanks

 

[ssddx]

2.0 = stereo. same thing.

no, that just means the game supports outputting 5.1 audio to speakers. the software you're talking about (virtual surround) takes that 5.1 signal and converts it to 2.0 to fake surround. basically what it does is change the pitch and tone depending on where the sound is coming from to emulate what true surround would sound like to your ears.

the options listed above were to convert a 2.0 headset or headphones. (there is no need to convert a headset with a soundcard built in that has 5.1 already)

 

[philippeb90]

2.0 = stereo. same thing.

no, that just means the game supports outputting 5.1 audio to speakers. the software you're talking about (virtual surround) takes that 5.1 signal and converts it to 2.0 to fake surround. basically what it does is change the pitch and tone depending on where the sound is coming from to emulate what true surround would sound like to your ears.

the options listed above were to convert a 2.0 headset or headphones. (there is no need to convert a headset with a soundcard built in that has 5.1 already)

i thank you for your time.
If you could please answer my last question, then i would be very pleased.

If i buy Hyperx cloud 2 with 7.1 software built in, will i be able to use it in, let's call it backward compatible mode for 5.1 ?
or should i stick with the HyperX cloud without 7.1 ?

 

[ssddx]

cant say for sure, but it should be.

you might even prefer 2.0 over 5.1/7.1. not everyone likes virtual surround sound since it muddys up sound a bit.

you could always just get the hxc1 and xonar dg/dgx soundcard instead for similar cost