Have you successfully used Dolby Atmos over headphones with the Windows 10 Creators' Update?

[Drew Neilson]

I'm using an 8-year-old Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop that came with Windows 7; I upgraded it to Windows 10--the Anniversary Update--last year, and installed the Creators' Update recently. Today, I downloaded the app "Dolby Access" from the Windows Store and went through the app's process for setting up Dolby Atmos for headphones. When I watch the demo videos supplied by the app--which at first displayed a message saying that they weren't playing in Atmos, but that message is gone--I don't hear effects above me or far behind me. I know that this surround virtualization using head-related transfer function is processed in software, so it should, in theory, work on all sound cards (integrated and otherwise), but I'm not hearing it, so I want to know what other people's experiences are. Please make sure to state what your sound setup is, starting with your sound card (if you are using a desktop) or what tablet or laptop you are using, and what sound chip is integrated into that tablet or laptop, and what headset or headphones you are using.

As I said, my laptop is an 8-year-old Dell Inspiron 1545, and regarding its audio driver, the driver is called "High Definition Audio Device" and the driver's provider is Microsoft. I connect my headset--a Sony MDR-AS800AP--to my laptop's headphone and microphone ports through a Y-shaped adapter cable. My headset has the type of earbuds that you don't just put in your outer ear; you have to push them into your inner ear, and so far I haven't gotten a good fit, so maybe I'm not hearing much surround sound because of lost acoustics caused by not having a perfect fit.

It is worth noting that when it was running Windows 7, it had a control panel (or was it an application?) that was written either by Dell or by the maker of the audio chip, whose name I don't know. For some reason, I want to say "IDT High Definition Audio Device" but I could be wrong. Anyway, after the upgrade, that control panel or application is gone, and I assume that the driver has been replaced with the Microsoft-supplied driver, which I assume is a generic driver. If I find more information about my audio chip, I will post it here.

 

[TristanWu]

Hi, firstly after downloading dolby access, it's free btw just check that out @ windows store, then plug in any decent earbud or headphone, preferably not less than 1 year old if not a brand new ones, see if dolby atmos is available for selection, if not, better try to check for newest windows update driver then try it again, disabling any other sound effect, check sound card driver, windows10 using the latest realtek 6.0.1.8224 + classic mode ( for audio director ) Restart again and check if dolby atmos selection appeared. I already bought the apps 14$ something, its just amazing that dolby atmos could produce such incredibly surround, even with a cheap $23 std earbud. My humble opinion is if you manage to get the app working properly, 14$ its nothing to compare the cinema feel with only std earbuds and the best of it, you own it for as long as your laptop or pc last.

 

[Drew Neilson]

Just an update:
1. I paid the $15 (or whatever it was) to unlock Dolby Atmos for headphones in the Dolby Access app.
2. I've replaced my headset's tips with Comply foam tips (the medium-sized variety pack consisting of a pair of medium-sized Sports tips, a pair of medium-sized Comfort tips, and a pair of medium-sized Isolation tips; none of them have the optional ear wax filter).
3. I also own an Xbox One S, and I forgot to mention that in my first post.
4. I read someone else's trial of Dolby Atmos for Headphones (link: https://www.reddit.com/r/xboxone/co..._does_not_seem_to_be/?st=j747n2hl&sh=7ef066a0) and like what the starter of that Reddit thread said, when I am listening to 7.1-channel content via Dolby Atmos for Headphones, I think I hear the front-left channel coming from my left side, 90 degrees to my left; the front-right channel sounds like it is coming from my right side, 90 degrees to my right; and the center channel sounds like it is coming from in-between my left-side and my right-side. None of those three channels sound like they are coming from IN FRONT of me, which is where they probably SHOULD sound like they are coming from. The side-surround channels sound like maybe they're coming from my left and right sides, but just slightly behind the fronts, and the rear-surround channels sound the same, but further slightly behind. The subwoofer channel is missing when testing Dolby Atmos for Headphones on my laptop, and is present when testing Dolby Atmos for Headphones on my Xbox One S.
5. If Dolby Atmos' for Headphones' lack of sound appearing to come from in front of me was caused by my laptop's on-board audio hardware, then the problem would probably not also occur on my Xbox One S, but it does.

 

[Drew Neilson]

Update:
I've upgraded my PC to the Fall Creators Update and my Xbox One S to the Fall Update.
I found some sample videos of Dolby Atmos for Headphone and of DTS Headphone:X on YouTube, and when I watch them, just like before, sounds appear to come from behind me and from my sides, but do not appear to come from in front of me. I took my headset to the Microsoft Store at my local mall, plugged into my iPhone one of the headsets that they were selling (I've forgotten the name of that headset), opened YouTube on my iPhone, and re-watched one of those test videos. The result was the same: things coming from behind me and from my sides, but not from in front of me.
Next, I tried one of the Windows Mixed Reality headsets while wearing MY headset, with both the Mixed Reality headset AND my audio headset plugged into their Windows Mixed Reality demonstration PC, and guess what? During the demo, I COULD hear sound coming from in front of me, behind me, above me, and from various angles. This means that my inability to hear sounds coming from in front of me while using Dolby Atmos for Headphones on my PC and on my Xbox One S is NOT caused by my headset.