I don’t know if any of you happen to have the same problem, but sometimes audio in multiplayer completely loses its “depth”. Like i hear people gettin killed on the other side of the map, or there’s no way to tell if a sound comes from behind left or right, every sound has the same volume and tone everytime. Obviously this makes the game very difficult to play especially with headset on. I don’t think this is a setting issue because almost everytime it works just fine.
I’m playing on xbox for the record.
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My biggest issue is the foot step audio. I know Halo has never been focused on directional foot steps, but it’s there in Infinite (as is should be in every FPS game) but it’s not accurate and inconsistent.
For an example, on the map Recharge…
In the maintenance bay area. If you’re standing directly in the middle of the top level, you can clearly hear the foot step audio coming from the attic, drainage pipes and elbow stairs. If your standing on the first set of elbow stairs and/or the landing, you cannot hear the foot step audio coming from the drainage pipe area. Same applies for standing on the first set of stairs coming from the drainage pipe area, you cannot hear the foot step audio coming from the elbow stairs area or attic.
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Yeah the audio engine in this game is as bad as the net code…absolutely awful.
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when you use a headset do you use dolby atmos?
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Actually you’re catching me unprepared on that, i can tell you i never really made the effort of changing any audio setting. So i’m guessing i’m not using atmos.
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I play on PC and currently using the Sound Blaster G6, thinking about getting the GC7. I could use Dolby and Dolby Atmos by using optical, but it’s not as good as using the DAC as native. Plus, I can adjust the “virtual speaker” placement to how I like it and what feels more natural and realistic to me.
I’m also not a fan how of Xbox is not doing their headset audio, hence one of the reason why I got the HDFury Vrroom so I can use my G6 with it also.
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I’ve tried all the headphone settings with and without both Dolby Atmos and Windows Sonic, but the footstep directional audio is terrible especially from behind which is literally non-existent. It’s not my headset either which is a very good audiophile headset and provides excellent audio in other games.
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What’s your audio set up?
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Nothing too technical as isn’t really needed and I play on Xbox. Headset is an Audio Technica ADG1X in to Elite 2 controller headphone port.
The headset itself is a highly rated open back headset and much better than any of the usual gaming headsets on the market as I’ve used them all (Astros, Steel Series, Sennheiser and Turtle Beach). Tempted to get the Audeze Penrose X but probably wait until a decent game comes out.
Edit: the mid season update includes:
“Audio mix improvements across both multiplayer and campaign”
Will have to test if this improves footstep audio.
Edit2: may be not:
“ * The following sound effects are louder in the audio mix for both multiplayer and campaign:
- Enemies throwing grenades
- The Needler’s supercombine
- Player Ravager completing its charge”
Edit3: …or may be it does:
“ * Sound effects for receiving damage as well as enemy footsteps and gunfire are now louder in multiplayer’s audio mix.”
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Gotcha. Yeah, still not a fan of how Xbox is doing their headset audio, though. You headset is like a golden bucket. It’s a good bucket for sure but if you fill that bucket up with crap, you’ll have a bucket of crap.
The worse thing Xbox has done was ditch the optical output. It might be dated tech, but it’s perfect for DAC’s.
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That’s a very good analogy! 
Totally agree about the lack of optical…I was shocked when I found out they’d got rid of it. I tried plugging headset directly in to monitor but the audio quality was worse and you also lose the mic functionality.
I’ve never had audio issues in other games though…footsteps and directional audio was crystal clear for me in CODMW and COD Warzone, so hopefully todays updates will at least improve things 
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I’ve found multiple audio challenges, but exiting out of the game and reloading it typically solves the challenges for me.
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I’d recommend downloading the dolby app and trying that, if you like it there’s a one time license fee IMO its worth it. In the dolby app I set my audio to Performance mode and find I get the best directional imaging with that enabled. I use Sennheiser + Drop PC38x for my headset, and have it plugged into the xbox controller, so nothing too fancy and I got them on sale from drop for like 120 something us.
One thing that did make a huge difference was changing the volume in the xbox menu (xbox button>bottom right of popup menu 'Audio & music">headset volume to full> headset chat mixer to farther to the left -since this makes the game louder also -. I have a volume wheel on my headphones though so idk if you should follow that exactly haha.
Personally, I’ve never played any games with headphones before this and I absolutely love it. I’ve been replaying the campaign and will say with Atmos and the headphones I find it really impactful compared to the first time just using my tv, especially during cutscenes. Lastly, if you try this, boot up training mode and fire a shot with the bulldog, if it works well for you, you will very clearly hear the empty shell casing bounce on the floor to the right of you. First time I noticed this I bugged out a little because I thought it was something in my room and not coming from the headphones.
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@SimonShark96 I replied to you but it got flagged for some reason and needed mod review, they just approved it so its at the bottom
@K0NSPIRACY see my post above, but also sorry to hear that. I don’t have a ton of experience playing games with headphones so I also may not exactly know what really good audio should sound like but for me I’m having a good audio experience so far, I’m excited to see what the update brings.
@ItzTheDay I’m deff not that advanced with it all, I didn’t understand most of what you just said haha.
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Yeah I read your post above but I’m a bit confused as to why you push the chat mixer all the way to game…it’s basically acting as a loudness button. My point being…what do you do when you play with friends or team mates as you wouldn’t be able to hear them or do you only play solo?
Have you tried using Dolby on one of the custom channels with all the EQs as flat? Obviously it depends on your headset and personal preference (as all audio is personal) but in theory it should give the the most balanced sound with the benefits of spacial audio if you have a good headset (ie a lot of headsets can tend to be top, mid or bass heavy).
It’s easier to explain and let you hear the difference in person. The way Xbox is now handling headset audio is not as good as it was done with using optical and a decent mixamp/DAC. Yes, both a mixamp and DAC can only simulate surround sound, the same way Xbox can natively simulating surround sound but a digital mixamp/DAC is using codec taking from a digital signal. Optical/Toslink is old tech, but it’s still in use today with other commutations. Channels are limited to 6 channels (FL, center, FR, SR, SL and low pass) but the licensed codec (either Dolby and/or DTS) does a far better job at simulating that surround sound, plus a higher bit rate.
I’m an audio and visual snob, that’s why I bought a device that cost more than an Xbox Series X so I can still pass through full HDMI 2.1 support and extract the audio via HDMI to get Dolby Digital back…
https://hdfury.com/product/8k-vrroom-40gbps/
I game on a monitor but if you have a TV with an optical out, your TV will extract the audio also.
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For the chat mixer, I do that because I find my headphones don’t really get loud enough when they’re in the middle, I also want my game to be the central audio in my ears and chat to be secondary. Playing solo, immersion and experiencing the content the way the devs intended is my main priority. If I’m playing with friends I typically still keep it closer to the controller but not as drastic. I think in general I keep it 2-3 notches right from full controller and I can still clearly make out chat. But I also want the game to be sending audio at full volume so I have control on my headset’s volume wheel rather than needing to open the menu in a match to adjust it.
As for custom EQ’s in the dolby app, I have zero clue what I’m doing there so I have just left it on performance, happy to try anything if you have suggestions tho. When I first got the headset I tried some of the other preset EQ’s and felt like they made parts of the game feel weaker than they should’ve been.
@ItzTheDay Okay, kind of know what you’re talking about now, I play on a series x and LG CX (Visual snob/aspiring audio snob) so I’m kinda familiar with the different cables used for audio. I remember learning about some of this when I was trying to figure out how to connect my xbox to a surround sound system and have no audio quality loss/delay. This was back when I was looking at tv’s (didn’t get a sound system for now though, being in an apartment I think my neighbors would kill me haha).
TBH there’s no point me giving you my audio settings recommendations right now as they may well change as a consequence of todays update, and it will take a few days of testing to settle on what works best for me.
With regards to audio, I have to reiterate that it is one thing that is entirely personal (our hearing is completely individual and audio settings become personal preference) but also depends on the headset or equipment you are using (for instance some headsets pronounce bass at the expense of mid/top range) so the EQ could be entirely different for both of these reasons.
I’ll try to remember to post in this thread in a few days or just reply to one of my posts in here to remind me.
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Dude I still have my AI revert back to Butler.
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Well, I personally hear no difference in foot step audio. I do hear the difference in gunshots at distance, kinda reminds me of how it was done in Halo 3, just not as good.
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