Virtual 7.1 surround in headphones - worth it or not?

Ya my soundcard is not bad, mainly used for recording (UR44) but no digital out on it. My mobo has optical out though, its just Im not going to be a fan of having to switch my soundcard in the settings all the time. I remember a reddit post not to long ago on how to make a hotkey/button for instant soundcard switch....hmmm

 

The Razer Surround software doesn't have any adware, not even the free version BTW. Am not saying your other points may not be valid, though!

 

You need a soundcard with the Dolby Digital Live feature to get proper native surround.

 

BTW for music listening I would always want the audio as unprocessed as possible, but was just wondering whether for R3E tvirtualised 7.1 audio would be of any benefit.

 

I used the 7.1 today and I have Dolby Digital Live in my X-Fi drivers -it sounded really good in R3E as previously I had only run the 5.1 setup - seemed to increase volume and effects somewhat. When I don't have the headphones hooked up I just pull the optical cable out of the Earforce box and plug it into my Dolby 5.1 amp for which I have 5 mini surround speakers + sub-woofer positioned around my racing rig.

Re the Razer software, adware was probs wrong description but I did notice it loaded fair bit of crap in the background and I always like to keep those things to a minimum to get the most out of my old i7-2600K cpu ! But if it works for you then go ahead and enjoy - the proof is always in the pudding

 

You haven't got anything to worry about with an i7 2600k. Still more than capable. Even my i5 2500k is plenty good enough.

 

Yeah it was a gem of a buy back in early 2011, still going strong oc'd to 4.8ghz on air and never had a problem from it. Probably go for a i7-6700K though later in the year depending how the VR runs - either Rift or Vive.

 

did someone got the Razer surround software to work? I am testing it now since a few days but I am not satisfied with the result. In raceroom I set the sound to 7.1. The normal stereo sound is much better in comparison. In the sound settings Razer is selected and set to default. The sound goes via HDMI to my TV. The razer sound demo is working finde. It is only the sound of the game that is somehow low, no bass

 

Can the Plantronic software be used with any headphone? like the razer software

 

Ya i spent a couple of weeks trying different methods and I have concluded that razer surround software is garbage lol, waste of money

 

Not nice i already asked Razer to get my money back. I will try it once more this evening. If it does not worki will return it. Good to know that it is possible

 

I started this thread about my experiences with R3E and 7.1 if you have time to read through it...R3E is amazing
https://forum.sector3studios.com/index.php?threads/asus-strix-7-1-surround-sound-headphones.3270/