Polk 4 Shot and Xbox One sound settings? + Mini review.
thebigrig
Posts: 4
I picked up a pair of these just a few days ago and I got to thinking about different audio settings for the Xbox itself and for games.
First off I would like to say that I am very pleased with this headset. My previous headsets were Turtle beach X41 and a set of X12's. I had concern going in knowing that these are stereo headphones without any virtual surround processing like the X41's, they use Dolby headphone to recreate a 5.1/7.1 setting. After a few nights of gaming I'm happy to say that the 4 Shots using Polks P.O.E.T processing produce a nice positional sound environment. I feel the 4 shots have richer fuller sound then the turtle beach headphones as well. When it comes to build quality its night and day compared to the turtle beach ones. If anyone owns a pair of X41 or X42 you know they feel "hollow" and are made up of all plastic. I like how the 4 shots have a metal headband under the leather padding. The ear cups on the 4 shots are extremely comfortable and the whole set doesn't weigh heavy on your head.
OK, on to the questions at hand.
Does anyone have any feedback on to what audio setting to set the Xbox One to when using theses headphones? The options are as follows:
Stereo uncompressed
5.1 uncompressed
7.1 uncompressed
DTS digital
Dolby digital
I would think that since this is a straight stereo headset that using stereo uncompressed would make the most sense. The same applies for in-game options. Is it better to set those to stereo instead of surround? I know(at least it's my understanding) the headphones themselves use DSP (P.O.E.T) to create the wider sound stage. Is it better to send them just the stereo signal or a 5.1 signal or does it even matter?
Thank you for your time.
First off I would like to say that I am very pleased with this headset. My previous headsets were Turtle beach X41 and a set of X12's. I had concern going in knowing that these are stereo headphones without any virtual surround processing like the X41's, they use Dolby headphone to recreate a 5.1/7.1 setting. After a few nights of gaming I'm happy to say that the 4 Shots using Polks P.O.E.T processing produce a nice positional sound environment. I feel the 4 shots have richer fuller sound then the turtle beach headphones as well. When it comes to build quality its night and day compared to the turtle beach ones. If anyone owns a pair of X41 or X42 you know they feel "hollow" and are made up of all plastic. I like how the 4 shots have a metal headband under the leather padding. The ear cups on the 4 shots are extremely comfortable and the whole set doesn't weigh heavy on your head.
OK, on to the questions at hand.
Does anyone have any feedback on to what audio setting to set the Xbox One to when using theses headphones? The options are as follows:
Stereo uncompressed
5.1 uncompressed
7.1 uncompressed
DTS digital
Dolby digital
I would think that since this is a straight stereo headset that using stereo uncompressed would make the most sense. The same applies for in-game options. Is it better to set those to stereo instead of surround? I know(at least it's my understanding) the headphones themselves use DSP (P.O.E.T) to create the wider sound stage. Is it better to send them just the stereo signal or a 5.1 signal or does it even matter?
Thank you for your time.
Post edited by thebigrig on
Comments
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The sound setting are for optical out only, and wouldn't make a difference with the stereo adapter.
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Ok Don't let these reviews fool you!!!! If you are looking for something really loud or have bad hearing then stay away(footsteps,gunfire) That being said these headphones are awesome for what they are. No chords except for the headphone to controller one. Having no amp they sound excellent. It does eat into the battery life a little bit but not that much. Really comfortable , feels a little bit cheep around the headband but is nicely built where it matters. Microphone still the only issue.. Waiting patiently for the "miracle update" I really like these though. I have played titan fall(PRETTY GOOD SOUND), Theif(REALLY GOOD), COD (GREAT), Battle Field(AWESOME), Forza(The best SOUND) hotshots golf or whatever its called .. power shot maybe( GOOD) No chords was what I was lookiing for ... although I wish it was like maybe two more notches higher on the volume.. But it really is a good product. Just have to wait for the update from microsoft which I pray will be soon because im tired of everyone saying i sound muffle. I have had the TB xp7 (horrible broke in like a month) and I am currently using the x12 with a ddr2 amp for my 360. While that sounds louder ( and not by a bunch) these sound way better. Happy with the purchase almost; stupid mic.... If your on the fence I would wait until this mic thing is resolved.
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The sound setting are for optical out only, and wouldn't make a difference with the stereo adapter.
All those settings are available through HDMI as well. However after alot of testing I'm fairly certain it doesn't matter what you set it to. I believe the Xbox is sending a stereo signal to the controller regardless if you choose 5.1, Dolby, DTS, etc.
Make no mistake the 4 shots are straight stereo. After going back to my TB X41's there is a clear difference in sound staging. What is nice about the X41's amp (sorely missed on the X42s) is that you can plug any wired headset into the front of it and that headset receives the same Dolby headphone surround sound. I did this with the 4 shots and it was very nice. I may just buy a long enough 3.5mm chord to reach to my couch and give up the wireless for surround on the 4 shots. -
I feel the volume levels for games is just fine. If you have the game/chat mix all the way to game I can only handle having the master volume up maybe 3/4 of the way. In Battlefield the gunshots just get too loud any higher.
Now here is the volume issues I've discovered. When watching a movie in Xbox video with mix set all the way to game I need to have the volume almost all the way up. Maybe about 2 clicks shy of maxing out.
When listening to music through Xbox music I have to have the volume maxed out. I feel if there were maybe 3 more clicks higher that would be perfect.
So its very dependent on what you are doing on your Xbox.
If I haven't been using a pair of virtual surround headphones (TB X41) for so long I would be very happy with the 4 shots. The sound quality and detail in the mid ranges is very well done. It's just been tough adjusting back to stereo sound. In games like battlfield with things flying over head it can seem a bit harsh when the sound of say a helicopter is only coming through the left speaker and none of that sound coming through the right one. You can see what I mean in the test range map with the UAV flying over head.
