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How to connect HD800s headphones for my AppleTV 4K Dolby Atmos?

AmalfiMan

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I been searching through previous posts and couldn't find any info on how to best use my HD800s headphones, to listen to content from my apple device (ATV4K). I was hoping to take advantage of the Dolby Atmos now available on ATV4K to watch netflix, HBO.

--The ATV4K has only 1 HDMI port.
--The LG CX OLED TV only has a stereo port, no RCA ports.
--I do have a Topping EX5 Dac/Amp, connected to my PC

Any ideas, other than buying a AV Receiver?
 

mrbungle

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Last time I checked, Dolby Atmos for headphones outside the Music app was still exclusive to supported AirPods and Beats. Apart from that, Bluetooth via Topping Dx7 Pro is working perfectly for me with the ATV 4K.
 
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AmalfiMan

AmalfiMan

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Last time I checked, Dolby Atmos for headphones outside the Music app was still exclusive to supported AirPods and Beats. Apart from that, Bluetooth via Topping Dx7 Pro is working perfectly for me with the ATV 4K.
Ok thanks. My topping ex5 is their newest dac/amp and with BT 5.0. It sounds bad when BT to my iPhone 11. But I will give it a shot with the AppleTV.
I also will try the stereo jack on the TV.
 

NiagaraPete

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I been searching through previous posts and couldn't find any info on how to best use my HD800s headphones, to listen to content from my apple device (ATV4K). I was hoping to take advantage of the Dolby Atmos now available on ATV4K to watch netflix, HBO.

--The ATV4K has only 1 HDMI port.
--The LG CX OLED TV only has a stereo port, no RCA ports.
--I do have a Topping EX5 Dac/Amp, connected to my PC

Any ideas, other than buying a AV Receiver?
You need headphones that are Atmos compatible and your HD800’s are not.
 

mrbungle

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Ok thanks. My topping ex5 is their newest dac/amp and with BT 5.0. It sounds bad when BT to my iPhone 11. But I will give it a shot with the AppleTV.
I also will try the stereo jack on the TV.
Probably a license thing. Maybe in the future they make it possible to buy one from the App Store as they do for the Xbox. Not sure your LG comes with a Atmos headphone license, probably not. And probably not possible to buy one either.

BT shouldn’t sound bad.
 
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AmalfiMan

AmalfiMan

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****Update****
Got it to work. The EX5 BT did pair with the ATV, and sounds great. Because the HD800s is more comfortable and sounds more natural than the AirPod Max, it actually sounds better than the Max with Atmos.
 
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Snoopy

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Silly question - how does a wired HD800s work with airplay?
Roopieee XL and a rasberry pi 4 support airplay.

My MacBook does airplay.

But you won't get Dolby Atmos.


I use airplay from my apple tv4k to my Cambridge CXN V2.

And With roopieeXL to my rasberry pi4 that is connected to my headphone setup.
 

NiagaraPete

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Got it to work. The EX5 BT did pair with the ATV, and sounds great. Because the HD800s is more comfortable and sounds more natural than the AirPod Max, it actually sounds better than the Max with Atmos.
Isn't BT about 1/3rd the quality of a CD? Kind of a waste for HD800's.
 
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AmalfiMan

AmalfiMan

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Isn't BT about 1/3rd the quality of a CD? Kind of a waste for HD800's.
I tested it against the airpod max, which obviously uses dolby on ATV4K. The HD800s sounded better as in more natural. I didn’t miss any details and it was more comfortable for long periods of time.

However the max, did amplify loud scenes more and maybe more immersive. But with the Max, I need to take it off every 30 mins as its clamping. the sound is a tad more artificial.
 
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NiagaraPete

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I tested it against the airpod max, which obviously uses dolby on ATV4K. The HD800s sounded better as in more natural. I didn’t miss any details and it was more comfortable for long periods of time.

However the max, did amplify loud scenes more and maybe more immersive. But with the Max, I need to take it off every 30 mins as its clapping. the sound is a tad more artificial.
I get that the Airpod Max compared to the HD800's are crap Atmos or not. My point was if I owned HD800's I'd want to make sure that my source was the best it could be. Like they say "garbage in, garbage out".
 
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AmalfiMan

AmalfiMan

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I get that the Airpod Max compared to the HD800's are crap Atmos or not. My point was if I owned HD800's I'd want to make sure that my source was the best it could be. Like they say "garbage in, garbage out".
so it a high end receiver with dolby atmos would get the most out of the HD800s? Any recommendations? Not that I will get one but just curious.
 

NiagaraPete

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so it a high end receiver with dolby atmos would get the most out of the HD800s? Any recommendations? Not that I will get one but just curious.
No. HD800's are not Atmos compatible.
 

NiagaraPete

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so it a high end receiver with dolby atmos would get the most out of the HD800s? Any recommendations? Not that I will get one but just curious.
Here you go:

While you can get Dolby Atmos audio with any headphones using Dolby Atmos software, you can also improve the experience by selecting special multi-driver headphones. These multi-driver headphones effectively mimic what you get in a Home Theatre set up by placing audio drivers in the unit.

There is no way to get all 36 drivers in a headphone as you get in a movie Cinema that is Atmos-enabled. The Dolby Atmos cinema in Trafalgar Sq. as over 400 atmos speakers -try fitting that in a headphone!
 

mrbungle

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Isn't BT about 1/3rd the quality of a CD? Kind of a waste for HD800's.
Maybe 1/3 of the uncompressed bandwidth. It’s still over 250 kbps AAC. Given that most people can’t distinguish 192kbit MP3 vs red book, and that all streaming content is compressed anyways, it’s totally fine.
 

NiagaraPete

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Maybe 1/3 of the uncompressed bandwidth. It’s still over 250 kbps AAC. Given that most people can’t distinguish 192kbit MP3 vs red book, and that all streaming content is compressed anyways, it’s totally fine.
So you spend $1800 on headphones to listen to mp3's? Over kill I'd say. Unless $1600 for comfort justifies it.
 

Doodski

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So you spend $1800 on headphones to listen to mp3's? Over kill I'd say. Unless $1600 for comfort justifies it.
I did extensive comparison of MP3's to lossless songs of the same release and I could not hear a difference using headphones. I have one Pink Floyd Money lossless file that does sound better although it is 2666kbps.
 

NiagaraPete

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I did extensive comparison of MP3's to lossless songs of the same release and I could not hear a difference using headphones. I have one Pink Floyd Money lossless file that does sound better although it is 2666kbps.
For me it's fatigue. I last about 20 minutes.
 
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