So I never managed to find a proper guide to setting up CMSS-3D when I got my Forte. Whether it's useful or sounds good isn't important in this thread (you can discuss that somewhere else), I'll just help people set up their sound card properly. I originally tried this to find the best setting for my own use, but no reason not to share what I found.
CMSS-3D allows users to get virtual surround out of either headphones with only 2 drivers or surround sound speakers with a stereo source. It's most commonly used for gaming with headphones since most games support 5.1 surround natively anyway and because the sound quality of music is lowered with CMSS-3D (practically making it useless for 5.1). I've tested with 5.1 speakers too though.
For those of you that don't know exactly what it does, this video is very good and can be used with any headphone/sound card combination:
There are a couple of factors when setting up your sound:
Your sound card.
Windows.
Your game.
Your game is obviously the source of the sound. It's send from the game to Windows and then to the sound card. Each of these have options for how many speakers you use and thus all affect how the sound is heard.
I'll be testing with all possible combinations and I'll then conclude which combinations are the best at the end.
Testing is done with an Auzentech Forte 7.1 sound card, Logitech Z906 5.1 speakers and Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 stereo headphones. I use Call Of Duty 4 because I love the game and because I can minimize it and still hear the sound.
Before starting I want to mention something about Windows sound. Windows' speaker setting is usually overridden by the sound card's setting, but since Windows doesn't have a headphone option (only stereo speakers, which isn't the same), it can be set to any option even when setting the sound card to headphones. Also, some of the results are obvious, but nonetheless still included to be thorough.
On to testing!
5.1 speakers:
Test 1: Sound card set to 5.1, Windows set to 5.1, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D disabled:
Perfect surround sound, good sound quality.
Test 2: Sound card set to 5.1, Windows set to 5.1, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D enabled:
Perfect surround sound, good sound quality. Same as test 1. CMSS-3D doesn't change the sound at all since the source is 5.1 and the real 5.1 has the best possible sound quality. With 5.1 speakers, CMSS-3D only changes a stereo source (music or maybe a movie).
Test 3: Sound card set to 5.1, Windows set to 5.1, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D disabled:
Just normal stereo, good sound quality.
Test 4: Sound card set to 5.1, Windows set to 5.1, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D enabled:
Sound is output to the rear speakers, but it's just the same sound as the front speakers, so no real surround (or even virtual, it's just additional noise). Anything in front of you is heard from the rear speakers as well.
Test 5: Sound card set to stereo, Windows set to stereo, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D disabled:
Just normal stereo, good sound quality. Same as test 3.
Test 6: Sound card set to stereo, Windows set to stereo, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D enabled:
Seemingly no difference with CMSS-3D compared to test 5 (doesn't output to rear speakers, since the sound card is set up as stereo).
Test 7: Sound card set to stereo, Windows set to stereo, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D disabled:
Just normal stereo, good sound quality. Same as test 3 and 5.
Test 8: Sound card set to stereo, Windows set to stereo, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D enabled:
Seemingly no difference with CMSS-3D compared to test 7 (doesn't output to rear speakers, since the sound card is set up as stereo). Same as test 6.
Headphones:
Test 1: Sound card set to 5.1, Windows set to 5.1, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D disabled:
Good sound quality, but almost no sound from behind the character since the sound is being output to the rear speakers (which the headphones don't have).
Test 2: Sound card set to 5.1, Windows set to 5.1, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D enabled:
Good sound quality, no difference with CMSS-3D compared to test 1 (there are no rear speakers connected and even if there was, CMSS-3D wouldn't be in effect since the source is 5.1).
Test 3: Sound card set to 5.1, Windows set to 5.1, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D disabled:
Good sound quality and plenty of sound from behind since the sound is only stereo and being output to the front speakers.
Test 4: Sound card set to 5.1, Windows set to 5.1, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D enabled:
No difference with CMSS-3D (there are no rear speakers connected which is where the virtual surround sound is being output).
Test 5: Sound card set to headphones, Windows set to 5.1, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D disabled:
Good sound quality and plenty of sound from behind. Sound card is downmixing the 5.1 source to stereo.
Test 6: Sound card set to headphones, Windows set to 5.1, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D enabled:
CMSS-3D is in effect and works well, providing better, although distorted, directional sound than test 5.
Test 7: Sound card set to headphones, Windows set to 5.1, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D disabled:
Good sound quality and plenty of sound from behind. Same as test 5.
Test 8: Sound card set to headphones, Windows set to 5.1, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D enabled:
CMSS-3D is in effect and works well, providing better, although distorted, directional sound than test 7. Same as test 6.
Test 9: Sound card set to headphones, Windows set to stereo, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D disabled:
Sound quality and volume is for some reason lower than when Windows is set to 5.1. Bad directional sound.
Test 10: Sound card set to headphones, Windows set to stereo, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D enabled:
CMSS-3D works, but further distorts the already bad sound. Positioning improves over non-CMSS, but it's still much worse than when Windows was set to 5.1.
Test 11: Sound card set to headphones, Windows set to stereo, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D disabled:
Good sound quality and plenty of sound from behind. Same as test 5 and 7.
Test 12: Sound card set to headphones, Windows set to stereo, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D enabled:
CMSS-3D is in effect and works well, providing better, although distorted, directional sound than no CMSS-3D. Same as test 6 and 8.
Conclusion:
For 5.1 surround, the best option is, no surprise here, to set sound card and games to 5.1 surround (Windows' setting will be changed by the sound card). For 5.1 speakers, CMSS-3D has no effect when using a 5.1 source (practically any FPS game) and even when it's used with a stereo source, it pretty much only sends front speaker sound to the rear speakers. Suffice to say, it's not very impressive.
NOTE: I don't own a "ZOMG true 5.1 gaming headset", so I can't say for sure, but if it uses analog connection (3x 3.5 mm jack plugs), it should probably use the same settings as 5.1 speakers.
For headphone, you have more options, but the first step is to set your sound card to headphones. Setting it to 5.1 speakers won't work with CMSS-3D (if you don't like CMSS-3D, it will work fine as long as the game is set to stereo though). You can then either a) set Windows to 5.1 and your game to whatever or b) set Windows to stereo and your game to stereo. These will give the same sound and both will work with CMSS-3D.
CMSS-3D allows users to get virtual surround out of either headphones with only 2 drivers or surround sound speakers with a stereo source. It's most commonly used for gaming with headphones since most games support 5.1 surround natively anyway and because the sound quality of music is lowered with CMSS-3D (practically making it useless for 5.1). I've tested with 5.1 speakers too though.
For those of you that don't know exactly what it does, this video is very good and can be used with any headphone/sound card combination:
There are a couple of factors when setting up your sound:
Your sound card.
Windows.
Your game.
Your game is obviously the source of the sound. It's send from the game to Windows and then to the sound card. Each of these have options for how many speakers you use and thus all affect how the sound is heard.
I'll be testing with all possible combinations and I'll then conclude which combinations are the best at the end.
Testing is done with an Auzentech Forte 7.1 sound card, Logitech Z906 5.1 speakers and Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 stereo headphones. I use Call Of Duty 4 because I love the game and because I can minimize it and still hear the sound.
Before starting I want to mention something about Windows sound. Windows' speaker setting is usually overridden by the sound card's setting, but since Windows doesn't have a headphone option (only stereo speakers, which isn't the same), it can be set to any option even when setting the sound card to headphones. Also, some of the results are obvious, but nonetheless still included to be thorough.
On to testing!
5.1 speakers:
Test 1: Sound card set to 5.1, Windows set to 5.1, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D disabled:
Perfect surround sound, good sound quality.
Test 2: Sound card set to 5.1, Windows set to 5.1, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D enabled:
Perfect surround sound, good sound quality. Same as test 1. CMSS-3D doesn't change the sound at all since the source is 5.1 and the real 5.1 has the best possible sound quality. With 5.1 speakers, CMSS-3D only changes a stereo source (music or maybe a movie).
Test 3: Sound card set to 5.1, Windows set to 5.1, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D disabled:
Just normal stereo, good sound quality.
Test 4: Sound card set to 5.1, Windows set to 5.1, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D enabled:
Sound is output to the rear speakers, but it's just the same sound as the front speakers, so no real surround (or even virtual, it's just additional noise). Anything in front of you is heard from the rear speakers as well.
Test 5: Sound card set to stereo, Windows set to stereo, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D disabled:
Just normal stereo, good sound quality. Same as test 3.
Test 6: Sound card set to stereo, Windows set to stereo, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D enabled:
Seemingly no difference with CMSS-3D compared to test 5 (doesn't output to rear speakers, since the sound card is set up as stereo).
Test 7: Sound card set to stereo, Windows set to stereo, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D disabled:
Just normal stereo, good sound quality. Same as test 3 and 5.
Test 8: Sound card set to stereo, Windows set to stereo, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D enabled:
Seemingly no difference with CMSS-3D compared to test 7 (doesn't output to rear speakers, since the sound card is set up as stereo). Same as test 6.
Headphones:
Test 1: Sound card set to 5.1, Windows set to 5.1, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D disabled:
Good sound quality, but almost no sound from behind the character since the sound is being output to the rear speakers (which the headphones don't have).
Test 2: Sound card set to 5.1, Windows set to 5.1, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D enabled:
Good sound quality, no difference with CMSS-3D compared to test 1 (there are no rear speakers connected and even if there was, CMSS-3D wouldn't be in effect since the source is 5.1).
Test 3: Sound card set to 5.1, Windows set to 5.1, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D disabled:
Good sound quality and plenty of sound from behind since the sound is only stereo and being output to the front speakers.
Test 4: Sound card set to 5.1, Windows set to 5.1, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D enabled:
No difference with CMSS-3D (there are no rear speakers connected which is where the virtual surround sound is being output).
Test 5: Sound card set to headphones, Windows set to 5.1, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D disabled:
Good sound quality and plenty of sound from behind. Sound card is downmixing the 5.1 source to stereo.
Test 6: Sound card set to headphones, Windows set to 5.1, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D enabled:
CMSS-3D is in effect and works well, providing better, although distorted, directional sound than test 5.
Test 7: Sound card set to headphones, Windows set to 5.1, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D disabled:
Good sound quality and plenty of sound from behind. Same as test 5.
Test 8: Sound card set to headphones, Windows set to 5.1, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D enabled:
CMSS-3D is in effect and works well, providing better, although distorted, directional sound than test 7. Same as test 6.
Test 9: Sound card set to headphones, Windows set to stereo, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D disabled:
Sound quality and volume is for some reason lower than when Windows is set to 5.1. Bad directional sound.
Test 10: Sound card set to headphones, Windows set to stereo, game set to 5.1, CMSS-3D enabled:
CMSS-3D works, but further distorts the already bad sound. Positioning improves over non-CMSS, but it's still much worse than when Windows was set to 5.1.
Test 11: Sound card set to headphones, Windows set to stereo, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D disabled:
Good sound quality and plenty of sound from behind. Same as test 5 and 7.
Test 12: Sound card set to headphones, Windows set to stereo, game set to stereo, CMSS-3D enabled:
CMSS-3D is in effect and works well, providing better, although distorted, directional sound than no CMSS-3D. Same as test 6 and 8.
Conclusion:
For 5.1 surround, the best option is, no surprise here, to set sound card and games to 5.1 surround (Windows' setting will be changed by the sound card). For 5.1 speakers, CMSS-3D has no effect when using a 5.1 source (practically any FPS game) and even when it's used with a stereo source, it pretty much only sends front speaker sound to the rear speakers. Suffice to say, it's not very impressive.
NOTE: I don't own a "ZOMG true 5.1 gaming headset", so I can't say for sure, but if it uses analog connection (3x 3.5 mm jack plugs), it should probably use the same settings as 5.1 speakers.
For headphone, you have more options, but the first step is to set your sound card to headphones. Setting it to 5.1 speakers won't work with CMSS-3D (if you don't like CMSS-3D, it will work fine as long as the game is set to stereo though). You can then either a) set Windows to 5.1 and your game to whatever or b) set Windows to stereo and your game to stereo. These will give the same sound and both will work with CMSS-3D.
