We take great pride at ASTRO to deliver you with the very best audio experience possible. To do this we employ high-end materials and the latest technology, which includes Dolby 7.1.
But if you’re not an audio engineer, this important detail may have very little meaning to you other than sounding impressive.
So today we wanted to give you a little behind the scenes explanation of how your ASTRO headset delivers that amazing Dolby sound that helps improve your game and takes your experience to a whole new level.
To first understand Dolby 7.1, you have to first understand the basics of 5.1 surround sound. Now if you’re sitting in the center of a typical surround sound home theater system you’ll have five speakers surrounding you. These speakers are utilized to give you the illusion that the action happening on your screen is happening all around you. While this can be incredibly immersive when watching a film, it can also give you an advantage when playing a game by revealing the location of your opponents based on the direction the sound of their gunshots or footsteps are coming from. Just like in real life, your hearing can be one of your greatest allies. It’s pretty simple once you know that. Five speakers, that’s the 5 in 5.1 surround sound.
The .1 in this equation is the subwoofer. Giving you all those low bass tones that seem to make the floor vibrate. Think back to Jurassic Park. The subwoofer will be what makes your own water glass vibrate at home when the T-Rex is about to make his appearance.
So knowing that, you’ve probably deduced that 7.1 is really just adding two more directional speakers into the mix.
But the idea of us fitting 7 speakers and a subwoofer into one headset is a little hard to imagine. Unless they were really, really tiny speakers.
This is where the wonders of software and audio engineering come into play, where we create the feeling of surround sound with two speakers. This is called psychoacoustics, the science of sound perception.
How does this work?
Your MixAmp™ Pro and MixAmp™ Tx use an optical input which is generally carrying 5.1 surround sound. Within the MixAmp™, the 5.1 is first up-mixed up into a 7.1 signal using Dolby Pro Logic IIx, then converted into Dolby Headphone v2, or DH2. While your hardware is technically 2.1, it creates a virtual 7.1 experience. Through psychoacoustics, this process allows you to enjoy the full surround sound experience through the comfort and mobility of an ASTRO headset.
Now when you’re shopping ASTRO headsets, you have a better understanding of the importance of Dolby 7.1, and how it can improve your game. Go forth and share your knowledge with your fellow ASTRO Family members.
Class dismissed!
Get your own Dolby Powered Headset:
A50 Wireless Headset (Halo Edition)
A50 Wireless Headset (Xbox One Edition)
A50 Wireless Headset (ASTRO Edition)
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