PS5 Will Use the DualSense to Optimise 3D Audio Through TV Speakers

As someone who prefers to play games without a headset, this is fantastic news.

I'm very excited by this. Me and the wife prefer the social experience that playing on the sofa brings so putting headphones on kind of ruins that a bit. I do see the benefits of playing with a headset and 3D audio though so it'll be great to get that more as a shared experience.
I guess it might be the same as with the headphones though where it works for the person setting it up and being in the centre than it will for others in the room but hey at least we can both hear the sound and each other

Looking forward for the result.
TV brands making the same (Like LG where the mic int the remote is used to measure the sound from your viewing position).

Gaming with my Soundsystem will stay as my favourite way to play intensive games.

This should be very interesting!

Have somebody already received an invitation for the beta software?

I don’t know it’s just the way it’s been implemented so far but I’ve been a little underwhelmed with 3D audio on the pulse headset.
Either that or the default settings don’t really work with my enormous bonce.

The 3D audio is really interesting., but I have the ps5 headset and, trying it in games like MM, I just don’t really experience anything different compared to when I’m walking around in a PS4 game like Yakuza 6. Maybe I’m just not attuned to it yet, or maybe the games I’ve tried don’t have a great implementation. Still hoping to be wowed though.

@thefourfoldroot I'd say in MM you don't really notice it until you turn it off and compare results. It makes the changes in the stereo image when you rotate the camera seem much more natural IMO.

It really shines in games like Returnal though.

Makes the lack of Dolby Atmos even more baffling, especially with the adoption rate climbing and climbing.

@Bezzator I've got a pair of Creative 3D audio 'phones. They ask you to scan your ear to make a 3D profile. The 3D is okay, but I have problems locating higher or lower positioned sounds. Same with the PS5 3D audio. I figure it's my ears that are the problem! 😂

(As an example: Returnal has gates with switches that need to be shot to open them. The switches emit a beeping sound to help locate them. One of them is located high, but it sounded like the beep was coming from below. I spent far too long looking for it before looking up!)

Built-in TV speakers only or will it work with a Soundbar too? I really hope it does.

@BowTiesAreCool I hope that there will some kind of 3D audio for real sound systems coming as well in the future.
Sony seems to work with Dolby on some kind of a solution.
I don’t really care about the Atmos Logo because it’s mainly marketing.

Also, 3D Audio on a quality headset is absolutely outstanding. Mind-blowing even. Returnal is the best to use it so far - almost felt like I was in the Matrix and also convinced me that Returnal has the best sound design I've heard yet in a game.

Hopefully they've spoken to LG as the CX series has a couple of sound modes in the menu you can enable. i.e. I'm hoping putting the TV into OLED sound mode really boosts 3D audio through speakers.

Really curious to see how this is going to work with my surround sound.

@The_New_Butler in general - why not. It’s smart to tweak Stereo to let it sound a bit more natural (3D if you want to call it in that way).
It’s far from groundbreaking, true. If somebody really wants great object based and real surround sound you need a high class Surround System.
You simply won’t match this with tv stereo speaker or headphones. It’s the same with all this „Dolby Atmos“ labelled Soundbars which are marketed as 7.1.2 or something like that… I like the idea in general but it’s far away from real surround sound.

@Jake3103 I was on the fence about it and thought generally it sounded much like stereo, but there's a few games that really utilise it and those sound radically better. Returnal is probably the best as @JaysonWayne3121 said, it really adds to the game as then you can hear the direction that enemies are coming from and really adds to the atmosphere.

@mrtennis1990 I use a 'one ear' headset when playing online games. I like to hear the game audio through the TV and the voices through my ear. This will be interesting

I will just stick will my 7:2 Atmos set up.
Works fine with tv, movies, PS5 and Series x.
All sounds amazing including the PS5.
This 3D thing is just marketing and becoming a bit silly now.

@Reeneman My dad originally had the up-firing Atmos speakers on top of his front speakers. It was okay, but the problem is that there was occasional sound bleed from the Atmos speakers prior to hearing the overhead sound that bounced off the ceiling. It was a little underwhelming at times. Better than nothing, but not ideal.

I think the problem with these "Atmos enabled" speakers and sound bars is that there is a very specific sweet spot for them to work perfectly that I don't think most people can achieve - there is just too much in a normal room that distorts the sound wave bounce.

Anyways, I helped him replaced his up-firing speakers with 4 overhead speakers and it made a HUGE difference! His 7.2.4 system sounds incredible - especially when playing an Atmos-enabled game on Xbox!

I do think that Atmos for Headphones on Windows/Xbox works really well. Rise and Shadow of the Tomb Raider in Dolby Atmos is something to behold - even through headphones.

The 3D Audio in the PS5 is pretty good, too, but the only game I felt that used it well was Astro's Playroom. Returnal worked well for surround, but not so great with height. I keep wondering if it's my 3D Audio selection.

It is tough to distinguish which setting is the "correct" setting for me. I mean, I can definitely tell that the most extreme top or bottom 3D Audio profiles are too much in either direction, but the other few sound a little too similar - one might sound a touch muffled where the other sound more vibrant, but they both sound like they could be "ear level".

So which should I choose? The fact that the sounds change in clarity is what throws me off. Like one sounds like I am standing at a river bank, the other sounds like I am standing in it with my head slightly sub-merged. Is that the "ear level" they are talking about?

I don't have Sony's headphones, I use a pair of Plantronic RIG 400 headphones for both my Xbox and PS5.

@Reeneman
It’s ok having a Dolby atmos sound bar.
As long as it has all the upward firing speakers as well and dedicated rear surround and upward firing speakers. But they do cost a lot, but if you want it for real then it will cost.

Great, now add folders and themes into the update too!

@GamingFan4Lyf wow 4 overhead speakers are great! I also don’t like the upfirering speakers, like you said there might be one sweet spot and as well the height of the room and the material of the ceiling matters as well.

Regarding the setting of 3D audio that’s a good questions. Just try it out. I found the example sounds in the settings not that clear to make a clear decision here so I left it with the standard setting.
TBH I just tried it for a short time with Astro and Miles Morales. Usually I play with my sound system and only use headphones or the tv speakers for late night sessions. Granting my neighbours a bit sleep at Night haha

Will this work on soundbars’ connected to your Ps5?

@PossibLeigh have you tried playing with the 3D audio settings in the PS5 itself? I noticed quite a lot of improvement after changing them

@Reeneman Yeah, I meant for the 3D Audio setting question to be rhetorical, not specifically asking for advice. I mean, it's really a "me" thing anyways since it's specific to my ears.

I keep it on default myself, but the one tick lower also seems to work.

I guess I should take a game like Returnal and play using default profile and then switch the Audio profile to something else and see if there is a noticeable difference in the ability to determine height. I think Sony should have chosen a more steady tone rather than running water to pick your best 3D Audio profile.

The surround sound is perfect with headphones - but I can already get that with my home theater - it's the height I want to better experience on PS5.

That being said I flip-flop between headphones and surround sound depending on the game and the mood.

Like, on Xbox, if it's an Atmos game, I use Dolby Atmos for Headphones (I don't have overheads in my house) because it's a huge improvement over standard surround sound with my sound system.

Sometimes, though, I just want to feel the game so I will use my surround sound - there are still some benefits of Dolby Atmos even without overheads - surround sound feels smoother and more vibrant.

I will say that whatever Dolby Atmos for Headphones does, it seems to be more consistent with it's ability to determine height across multiple games compared to PS5's 3D Audio.

For PS5, I can go either way because the 3D Audio hasn't been as impressive as I would have hoped. It's cool, but feels under-utilized and no as accurate.

I do have a very nice 7.1 sound system already, I just wish I was able to get overheads.

Unfortunately, I am out-numbered in my decision to upgrade. While I can certainly install them, others in the house don't want me cutting into drywall to install them. Plus, I would need to upgrade my receiver to one that supports 7.1.4 (and is HDMI 2.1 compatible) - and the cheapest is a Denon at $2600. My current receiver supports 5.1.2 for Dolby Atmos/DTS:X (but I chose the 7.1 route instead).

Well, that's good, because I haven't been able to try the 3D audio yet because I plug headphones into the amp, not the controller.

But....they still seem to be forgetting some people plug headphones into amps and external out isn't used just for speakers? Considering Sony's a major amp manufacturer, including some mega-$$$ headphone amps, that's unimaginable how they could not think of these things.

@GamingFan4Lyf I found the same thing with Returnal; no good for judging height. I thought it was just me!

@Mergatro1d Wait... There's a settings menu?! I have, mate. If I change from mid to high then the sound seems minutely higher, and the same for low. Mid seems the right level, but there's not much distinction between mid, high and low for my ears. I've got small ear canals that are prone to blocking.

Good to know it works well for some people!

Hoping they sort the 3d audio out for AVR set ups soon.

Just give me Dolby Atmos already

@PossibLeigh haha yeah ok, sorry if that came across as patronising

I have the playstation gold headset and my mate has the ps5 super duper 3d ones and we cant tell the difference between the 2 even though the new ps5 ones are supposed to be the better ones..i was tempted to upgrade to the ps5 headset to match the ps5 but after trying them i cant justify spending the cash..i hope this new update works as its meant to..

Just wish I could get my AirPodPro’s to work with my PS5 without needing to buy a 3rd party Bluetooth receiver

@Mergatro1d Nah, just teasing. You're alright. I think there's plenty of people these days don't think to look in settings.

Cool. Always thought 3D audio was a bit of a gimmick, and then Returnal happened and must have unlocked something in my brain as I've noticed it more since playing that game. See also: 60fps.

Samsung tvs allready had 3d audio in game mode it works good as it can. I prefer 7.1 avr towers nothing compares to true surround speaker setup.

@PossibLeigh @PossibLeigh I had the opposite experience where I can never determine where those switches are when using my home theatre setup, but can pin point the exact location with my pulse headset.

Guess I'm just lucky enough that my head/ear shape works well with the default profile.

I would suggest you experiment with the different 3d audio profiles in the PS5 system menu.

Ignore the instructions saying choose a profile that sounds closest to "ear level" instead pick the one where the bubbling Brooks sounds the cleanest/most realistic.

After playing around with a couple of profiles I found one where the soundstage really "opened up" and suddenly did truly sound spacial to the point I could pinpoint the exact location of sounds.

I'm hoping Sony expand upon the profiles available so everyone can hopefully experience this!