Audio Codecs and API

Do you really believe this? Because if you do, then this conversation is entirely over. Your assumption here is entirely incorrect; if the game is not written for direct EAX support, then the output from your Xfi is just as positionally accurate as my onboard audio when supporting the same number of channels.

End of discussion.

Yeah run away Mr. my-onboard-sound-can-do-128-hardware-accelerated-simultaneous-sounds...
 
Yeah run away Mr. my-onboard-sound-can-do-128-hardware-accelerated-simultaneous-sounds...

Until you can understand that audio positioning is directly controlled by the audio stack (in the absence of direct EAX support), your position is indeed the one in error.
 
Until you can understand that audio positioning is directly controlled by the audio stack (in the absence of direct EAX support), your position is indeed the one in error.

Still grasping after straws are we?
Didn't you leave?
Did you forget the name of your audio?
You still havn't delivered anything Mr. my-onboard-sound-can-do-128-hardware-accelerated-simultaneous-sounds.

(PS. The next best thing after I went X-Fi was to go from 5.1 to 7.1...I thought 5.1 gave god 3D sound...I was wrong)
 
Still grasping after straws are we?
Didn't you leave?
Did you forget the name of your audio?
You still havn't delivered anything Mr. my-onboard-sound-can-do-128-hardware-accelerated-simultaneous-sounds.

(PS. The next best thing after I went X-Fi was to go from 5.1 to 7.1...I thought 5.1 gave god 3D sound...I was wrong)

You can flame bait all you like, but you're not addressing the issue here. The difference in audio positioning, sample rate, total simultaneous audio voices and environmental effects between your XFi and anyone's onboard 5.1 audio in Crysis is zero.

It doesn't matter what my onboard audio is, anyone's onboard audio will be identical to your XFi in the example I just gave. EAX only provides those bullet-points when the game is specifically written to support EAX. And since Crysis isn't, I get the same features as you at the end of the day.
 
You can flame bait all you like, but you're not addressing the issue here. The difference in audio positioning, sample rate, total simultaneous audio voices and environmental effects between your XFi and anyone's onboard 5.1 audio in Crysis is zero.

It doesn't matter what my onboard audio is, anyone's onboard audio will be identical to your XFi in the example I just gave. EAX only provides those bullet-points when the game is specifically written to support EAX. And since Crysis isn't, I get the same features as you at the end of the day.

All these words, and still you can't post what audiochip you use? :rolleyes:

/sing
Beating around the bush, hope no one hear me...
 
All these words, and still you can't post what audiochip you use? :rolleyes:

/sing
Beating around the bush, hope no one hear me...

Why does it matter? I've entirely disproven your point. What else is there? I dont' even know what chip it is, it came with the board. I have no reason to go find out, because it's immaterial. The specific vendor who built my onboard audio chip has no bearing on your fallacious argument.
 
Why does it matter? I've entirely disproven your point. What else is there? I dont' even know what chip it is, it came with the board. I have no reason to go find out, because it's immaterial. The specific vendor who built my onboard audio chip has no bearing on your fallacious argument.

You might have your self convinced of that, but that you post all these words and still not haave psoted your audiochip sepaks volumes to me.

And when i get home after the 19th I will place my actions where my word is, as I will record Crysis running from my onboard and the running on my X-Fi and post it here.

Unlike you, I deliver and don't beat round the bush.
 
Crysis has no support for EAX. Thus, the output from Crysis on your XFi and any other soundcard will be identical in total number of voices, positioning, sample rate, and effects.

Period. That's it. It doesn't matter what the other sound card is, so long as Crysis supports it. This is exactly why EAX is not like AA and AF, because if every game could magically get EAX support from nothing else than just buying a card, it would be far more interesting. But it doesn't; the game must be specifically coded for it.

Crysis uses the FMOD audio engine, which does all sound mixing in software and outputs via the DSound (not DS3D, not OpenAL, not EAX) audio stack. That's the reality, and your continued obsession with "what's YOUR soundcard" shows nothing more than your inability to face these facts.
 
When I set my X-Fi in Game Mode and enable 5.1 output, by using CMSS-3D surround I can select the upmix mode for stereo sources and the front/rear bias.
 
When I set my X-Fi in Game Mode and enable 5.1 output, by using CMSS-3D surround I can select the upmix mode for stereo sources and the front/rear bias.

And that would be a case where an external audio card might provide benefit for those who found such a thing interesting. I don't know if my onboard audio provides that kind of solution, although I think I remember seeing it in the Vista audio panel applet...

Either way, I also have a button on my speaker control that allows me to do something like that, although I can't say if it's the same effect or not.

Nevertheless, that's still a function that could be applied regardless of application support. EAX is not such an example; applications that are not written for EAX will not get any of it's benefits or enhancements.

My argument is not with EAX's intended results, my argument is with the widespread and utter lack of application support for EAX -- or at least, more specifically, EAXHD (v4 and greater) which is what provides any audio processing above simple reverb and echo.
 
Crysis uses the FMOD audio engine, which does all sound mixing in software and outputs via the DSound (not DS3D, not OpenAL, not EAX) audio stack.

So what your saying is the sounds in crysis are not positioned in 3d space ?

ps: ateo compares eax to af on the basis that they both improve quality and on that basis only please understand this
 
So what your saying is the sounds in crysis are not positioned in 3d space ?
They absolutely are, Crysis places audio quite well in any 5.1 audio system. I'm saying that Crysis makes zero use of EAX to position items in 3D space; it is all computed by the (entirely software) FMOD engine that they licensed.

Keep in mind: you don't need EAX to have 3D positioning.

ps: ateo compares eax to af on the basis that they both improve quality and on that basis only please understand this
That's not where he started, and even so, it's not a true statement. Are we going to qualify that it's just like AA and AF in the 5% of games where it's supported? That's a more accurate statement, and also more accurately reflects why Microsoft likely didn't see a need to continue DS3D support -- because incredibly few people were using it, the grand majority of games (even brand new, big fancy games) are using their own audio engine to provide 3D sound to the masses who didn't spend $100 and more on an external audio card -- but who have direct access to a >= 5.1 audio card already.
 
They absolutely are, Crysis places audio quite well in any 5.1 audio system. I'm saying that Crysis makes zero use of EAX to position items in 3D space; it is all computed by the (entirely software) FMOD engine that they licensed.

and with cmss enabled the positioning will be enhanced more especially sounds that are in the vertical plane (something most sound cards arnt great at) especially with 2.1 speakers or headphones an xfi card will fake rear channels when downmixing most other cards wont

ps: you sure about fmod being entirely software ?
 
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with cmss enabled the positioning will be enhanced more especially sounds that are in the vertical plane (something most sound cards arnt great at) especially with 2.1 speakers or headphones an xfi card will fake rear channels when downmixing most other cards wont
But that's not EAX, and thus it's not part of the original discussion topic is it? Further, vertical-plane placement can only be done if the app provides that data via EAX, so vertical-plane adjustment has no basis in reality for games that are not specifically written for EAX.

The basics are simple: for "enhanced positioning" to occur, the game must know that capability exists and be written to support it. There's no magic wand that anyone can "wave" and suddenly your sound card knows up-from-down in an app that had no concept of it to begin with.

ps: you sure about fmod being entirely software ?

Notice the mention of "acceleration" - this is not EAX, this is acceleration (ie CPU offload) of voice playback. And again, this does not affect total simultaneous voice output, positioning, sample quality or provided effects.

The entire reason for FMOD's existance (and others like it) is to provide an equal sound quality experience for all users, regardless of sound hardware. That quality might indeed be less than what is possible with a true / full EAX implementation, but a true / full EAX implementation completely nullifies the ability to run on everyone's system.

Hardware acceleration can still be leveraged without EAX, just like certain features of CMSS. These are features that are game agnostic; they can legitemately be applied to any application whether or not that app was coded specifically for it. EAX is not the same; it only applies when applications are specifically written for it. The same goes for "positioning" samples within a vertical plane -- unless the game was specifically written to handle such a thing, no amount of external hardware can "make it up".
 
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Really, so EAX is just like AA and AF? You can apply it to any game that supports audio? Because that's not how I recall the situation.

I am not sure if that was originally Ateo's point. I dont want to speak for him but my point was not that either. :) My point was simple...I do think that the X-fi does make a a difference. Also it has to do with how good a speaker set up one has as well. I am definitely not technically savvy enough about EAX...if there is a game that EAX supports, and there's a checkbox in the game options menu that definitely gets enabled.

And yeah I have definitely dodged from the sound of a bullet as well lol. Its quite fun!
 
I'd just like to chime in and say that CMSS-3d in my experience is #&(&^# shit, only useful for perhaps making it a bit louder (from outputing to all your speakers), once you've heard descrete 5.1 or better I think emulated surround becomes entirely useless.
The only use I can see for cmss-3d is for headphone users to get (close to) surround useing headphones for games. I do that with my audigy 4, I set the windows control panal to 5.1 so games will output 5.1 and then I set the audigy control panal to headphones with CMss ticked so it downmixes it with the relevant surround cues, similar to dolby headphone.
 
I mainly wear headphones while using my computer thus I find CMSS-3D to be a great feature. When I've watched movies with discrete 5.1 sound through my 5.1 setup, CMSS-3D hasn't interfered. Or at least, I haven't noticed it.
 
Sorry to interrupt this flame war, but you can use EAX with FMOD (see Guild Wars). That is all from me!
 
I mainly wear headphones while using my computer thus I find CMSS-3D to be a great feature. When I've watched movies with discrete 5.1 sound through my 5.1 setup, CMSS-3D hasn't interfered. Or at least, I haven't noticed it.
If you're watching movies with headphones why not just use dolby headphone? It is far superior imo.
 
No, I don't agree. I have AC3filter set to output 3/2+SW (5.1) and it sounds great with CMSS-3D in Entertainment Mode. When I use Dolby Headphone in PowerDVD, the sound seems overly compressed.

It is also a hassle to have to disable CMSS-3D all the time. I'd much rather have it enabled all the time.
 
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