headphones for films

[staticV3]

I can only buy AirPod Pro 2nd generation without APPLE TV?

No. The surround sound tech is built into the Apple TV.

 

[musica]

I have difficulty wearing AirPod (infantile cerebral palsy)

this is also the problem

 

[staticV3]

@musica
I found some devices that may give you good virtual surround sound and lip sync without having to buy an Apple TV.
They're all DAC+Headphone Amp units with Toslink/Coax in and virtual surround processing built-in.

However, further research is required to make sure that they will actually work with your LG OLED to turn surround sound into virtual surround sound.

Here's the list:

• Sound Blaster X-Fi HD: older "SBX Pro Studio" Virtual Surround Sound tech, unsure if it supports >2.0 input via Toslink
• Sound Blaster X4: not sure if 7.1 input is supported via Toslink, or only via USB. Not sure what surround sound formats can be decoded.
• Sound Blaster GC7: not sure if 7.1 input is supported via Toslink, or only via USB. Not sure what surround sound formats apart from Dolby Digital can be decoded.
• Sound BlasterX G6: can accept Dolby Digital and 5.1/7.1 via Toslink and turn it into Virtual 7.1 . Doesn't support "Super X-Fi" though. Does that matter?
• Sound BlasterX G5: no Dolby Digital, no Super X-Fi, but 5.1/7.1 in via Toslink -> Virtual 5.1/7.1 out to headphones is supported. What formats can be decoded?
• SteelSeries GameDAC: can do Surround in via Toslink -> DTS Headphone:X v2.0 out. No info on supported formats.
• ASTRO MixAmp Pro TR: supports Dolby in via Toslink ->Dolby Audio sound processing out to headphones. No further details given.
  

 

[musica]

it is the dacs that give the suroound not the headphones?

 

[staticV3]

it is the dacs that give the suroound not the headphones?

For proper surround with stereo headphones or IEMs, HRTF processing is required. That's what the Apple TV and the devices in the list above are doing.

 

[musica]

@musica
I found some devices that may give you good virtual surround sound and lip sync without having to buy an Apple TV.
They're all DAC+Headphone Amp units with Toslink/Coax in and virtual surround processing built-in.

However, further research is required to make sure that they will actually work with your LG OLED to turn surround sound into virtual surround sound.

Here's the list:

• Sound Blaster X-Fi HD: older "SBX Pro Studio" Virtual Surround Sound tech, unsure if it supports >2.0 input via Toslink
• Sound Blaster X4: not sure if 7.1 input is supported via Toslink, or only via USB. Not sure what surround sound formats can be decoded.
• Sound Blaster GC7: not sure if 7.1 input is supported via Toslink, or only via USB. Not sure what surround sound formats apart from Dolby Digital can be decoded.
• Sound BlasterX G6: can accept Dolby Digital and 5.1/7.1 via Toslink and turn it into Virtual 7.1 . Doesn't support "Super X-Fi" though. Does that matter?
• Sound BlasterX G5: no Dolby Digital, no Super X-Fi, but 5.1/7.1 in via Toslink -> Virtual 5.1/7.1 out to headphones is supported. What formats can be decoded?
• SteelSeries GameDAC: can do Surround in via Toslink -> DTS Headphone:X v2.0 out. No info on supported formats.
• ASTRO MixAmp Pro TR: supports Dolby in via Toslink ->Dolby Audio sound processing out to headphones. No further details given.

with these devices any stereo headphone becomes suroound?

 

[staticV3]

with these devices any stereo headphone becomes suroound?

Ideally, yes. But as I said, further research is required to make sure that your TV will output surround sound in a format that the devices in the list can decode and process into virtual surround sound.

And even then, the quality of the HRTF processing will be different between devices.
Apple has put a lot of money into researching virtual surround sound and what's built into the devices in the list may not be as good. On the other hand, with them you can use whatever headphone you like, and there is no proprietary ecosystem.

To give you an idea of what HRTF surround sound sounds like, here are some examples with the effect baked into the audio.
That means that you don't need special equipment to experience the effect. You do need to use headphones or IEMs though.

Example 1 (scroll down to The Real Thing)
Example 2
Example 3
Example 4

 

[musica]

@musica
I found some devices that may give you good virtual surround sound and lip sync without having to buy an Apple TV.
They're all DAC+Headphone Amp units with Toslink/Coax in and virtual surround processing built-in.

However, further research is required to make sure that they will actually work with your LG OLED to turn surround sound into virtual surround sound.

Here's the list:

• Sound Blaster X-Fi HD: older "SBX Pro Studio" Virtual Surround Sound tech, unsure if it supports >2.0 input via Toslink
• Sound Blaster X4: not sure if 7.1 input is supported via Toslink, or only via USB. Not sure what surround sound formats can be decoded.
• Sound Blaster GC7: not sure if 7.1 input is supported via Toslink, or only via USB. Not sure what surround sound formats apart from Dolby Digital can be decoded.
• Sound BlasterX G6: can accept Dolby Digital and 5.1/7.1 via Toslink and turn it into Virtual 7.1 . Doesn't support "Super X-Fi" though. Does that matter?
• Sound BlasterX G5: no Dolby Digital, no Super X-Fi, but 5.1/7.1 in via Toslink -> Virtual 5.1/7.1 out to headphones is supported. What formats can be decoded?
• SteelSeries GameDAC: can do Surround in via Toslink -> DTS Headphone:X v2.0 out. No info on supported formats.
• ASTRO MixAmp Pro TR: supports Dolby in via Toslink ->Dolby Audio sound processing out to headphones. No further details given.

can these devices be connected to the tv without using a pc?

 

[staticV3]

can these devices be connected to the tv without using a pc?

Yes. They all have Toslink input and can function without a USB connection.

 

[musica]

AUDIO TV
Adaptive Sound Control
yes
Virtual Up-mix
5.1.2 canali
Al Acustic Tuning
yes
Supporto Speaker WiSA
No
Mono/Stereo
Stereo
Decoder Dolby Digital
yes
Ultra Surround
yes- 5.1
Dolby Atmos
yes
Sistema Diffusori
2.2ch
Potenza Audio
40w
Sound Sync
yes
Audio Speaker TV+ Cuffie
yes
Bluetooth (Cuffie, Speaker)
yes
Uscita audio simultanea
yes
eARC (Porta HDMI supportata)
yes
ARC
yes
Bluetooth Surround Ready
yes

 

[musica]

LG Tone Free FP9​

 

[musica]

then good stereophonic sound is also good for films on headphones?

 

[Jimbob54]

then good stereophonic sound is also good for films on headphones?

Well I guess that depends how well it's mixed down to stereo.

 

[melvinjames]

FWIW the AirPods finally arrived and I spent a good amount of time with them yesterday listening to Apple Music and watching some Prime and Apple TV+ content. Pairing with each of my 3 Apple devices (iPad, MacBook, ATV 4K) was a breeze. I found them to be very comfortable, after a bit they just “disappeared”. Sound quality is as hoped and Spatial Audio is impressive to say the least.

As mentioned earlier in this thread, apartment living is in my near-future and these will be used mainly for watching video. So, I’m off to a good start and happy I took a chance on these.

@musica - good luck with your search. I hope you find your perfect fit.

 

[musica]

@musica
I found some devices that may give you good virtual surround sound and lip sync without having to buy an Apple TV.
They're all DAC+Headphone Amp units with Toslink/Coax in and virtual surround processing built-in.

However, further research is required to make sure that they will actually work with your LG OLED to turn surround sound into virtual surround sound.

Here's the list:

• Sound Blaster X-Fi HD: older "SBX Pro Studio" Virtual Surround Sound tech, unsure if it supports >2.0 input via Toslink
• Sound Blaster X4: not sure if 7.1 input is supported via Toslink, or only via USB. Not sure what surround sound formats can be decoded.
• Sound Blaster GC7: not sure if 7.1 input is supported via Toslink, or only via USB. Not sure what surround sound formats apart from Dolby Digital can be decoded.
• Sound BlasterX G6: can accept Dolby Digital and 5.1/7.1 via Toslink and turn it into Virtual 7.1 . Doesn't support "Super X-Fi" though. Does that matter?
• Sound BlasterX G5: no Dolby Digital, no Super X-Fi, but 5.1/7.1 in via Toslink -> Virtual 5.1/7.1 out to headphones is supported. What formats can be decoded?
• SteelSeries GameDAC: can do Surround in via Toslink -> DTS Headphone:X v2.0 out. No info on supported formats.
• ASTRO MixAmp Pro TR: supports Dolby in via Toslink ->Dolby Audio sound processing out to headphones. No further details given.

I bought the Sound Blaster GC7, it arrived, how can I test it to see if its virtual 7 1 is good?

 

[staticV3]

I bought the Sound Blaster GC7, it arrived, how can I test it to see if its virtual 7 1 is good?

Plug it into your TV using Toslink and set it to Console mode.
Open the Netflix/Amazon Prime/whatever App on your TV and start playing a movie that has surround sound. If it's in the Dolby Digital Format, then the Dolby LED on the front of the GC7 should light up.
If it doesn't light up, then open the Audio settings of your LG OLED and check the output format. You may have to change it.

You can also try pressing the GC7's SXFI button until it lights up green. (On=Green, Off=Red).
SXFI will add reverb to try to mimic how a traditional home theater setup sounds.

Then just plug in your headphones and start listening.

Optionally, you can download the SXFI App onto your phone or tablet, connect to the GC7 via Bluetooth, then use the App to customize SXFI to the shape of your ears. Afterwards the App will upload your profile to the GC7.

Edit: I just saw that there's also a Surround button on the EFX Control Panel on top of the GC7. That may turn On/Off the Virtual Surround (though the user manual doesn't say anything about it for some reason).

Edit2: I found this website where you can download Dolby Digital sound demos: https://www.demolandia.net/cinema/dolby-demo-trailers-hd/
Putting those on a USB thumbdrive and playing them on your TV might be a more effective way to set everything up than with a movie.

 

[musica]

the dolby led never comes on

 

[staticV3]

the dolby led never comes on

On my LG E7, I have these two settings that must be set up properly so that the correct audio format is output:

 

[musica]

On my LG E7, I have these two settings that must be set up properly so that the correct audio format is output:
View attachment 316661 View attachment 316660

now works, but what happens when the dolby led is on?

 

[staticV3]

now works, but what happens when the dolby led is on?

then the GC7 is successfully receiving Dolby Digital Surround Sound from your TV and decoding it.

You can then play around with the GC7's "SURR" and "SXFI" buttons to find the setting that gives you the most realistic surround sound with headphones.