DTS DCH Driver for Realtek HDA [DTS:X APO4 + DTS Interactive]

[Fragbert]

Is there any actual functionality of DTS:X Ultra when using analog 6 channel output? It seems that it only allows EQ/environment adjustments if you are in stereo mode? I only get a statement that it is enabled and "automatically configured" with no EQ or any manual adjustment to speak of. I have an Asus PRIME Z790-A WIFI which uses the Realtek DTS:X driver model and I'm trying to give it a chance, but I typically revert to the cracked/hacked Realtek drivers so I can use the built in Realtek EQ and loudness controls (which still sound the better than any third party APO, IMHO). I understand Realtek and DTS mutually want no competing EQ so the EQ/loudness in the RT console is disabled by design in these DTS:X versions of the drivers, but if I have no options to adjust in this seemingly silly "Multi-Channel output mode", what do I do? Is there some registry trick or magic from that realtek tool? Thanks!

 

[ajf64]

when in multi-channel it is produceing a similar object based audio as Virtual DTS:X or DTS:X Neural it is all automatic

 

[Fragbert]

when in multi-channel it is produceing a similar object based audio as Virtual DTS:X or DTS:X Neural it is all automatic

But isn't that for stereo/headphones to simulate multichannel audio? It doesn't make sense that it would do the same for an actual, physical, real surround system? Every iteration of Realtek with 6 channel analog output for over a decade allows for EQ and loudness adjustments - except for the DTS packaged version, and whatever it claims it is doing 'automatically' is demonstrably nothing.

 

[ajf64]

it can be but can also take a standard 5.1 signal such as dobly digital or dts and make it fake atmos like DTS:X object based surround sound once it detects multichannel set up it locks it self in to object based multichannel mode if you listen to a normal dts or dobly digital sound track vs one with dts ultra added there is a difference in the quality of the surround sound it dose a pretty good job of widening the sound stage with phantom height and side speakers.

 

[Ferather]

@druboo_666, message me and I will book some time to take a look using Teamviewer (sorry again for the late response).

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@Ferather so small update i built a new pc i got a 7950x with gigabyte Aorus x670e Xtreme motherboard that comes with an ALC1220 but this 1220 only has a spidif port no analog 5.1 so they just copied you and added dts ultra to interactive over spidif to improve audio quality you need to tell them they owe you money lol. Have not used it yet since im on HDMI but i got a suspicion that yours sounds better

I'm actually not surprised to see digital only, the amount of time and money being spent on analogue to make it sound closer to digital.
I would not even be that surprised that being digital only drops the price as well as the amount of parts.

Maybe soon we will get the current standard SPDIF and transmitters (15 channels, 1 connector), and again digital only.

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@Fragbert, for me it increases audio quality, even with SPDIF and DTS Interactive, if you want additional EQ's and other options in the Realtek panel, See the 'TOOLS' folder for extra steps.
If you normally have an EQ-other when using the generic Realtek driver, simply register the file only, if not, you can export-edit the devices policy.

I can guarantee and FX features in the DTS preset apply when in multichannel mode, if I edited the file and added bass to a mode, I get more bass even with multichannel.
You will be hard pushed to find an EQ that works on multichannel, as far as I know the EQ's I have experienced are 2 channel (front-left).

There are not many features to add to multichannel, since the audio has already been mastered in multichannel, and ultimately does not need multichannel processing.
When I say multichannel processing, I mean for stereo, as you said to simulate multichannel where multichannel does not exist.

The major multichannel feature is upmixing stereo to multichannel, adding channels that don't exist at all.

 

[ajf64]

so from what i see this spidf port on this mother board is supposed to be super high quality seems they actually spent some money here on some decent audio i mean it should for almost 1k$ but it comes with Realtek® ALC1220-VB connected to a internal ESS ES9218 DAC chip with gold and red filter caps. pretty great if you use head phones one day ill hook up my optical cable and test this thing lol

 

[Ferather]

ALC 1220 is sweet as, I have the S1220A Asus edition, I would also opt for a Gigabyte equivalent (from past experience). I have limited interaction with MSI audio, but have seen negative posts from others.
Regardless, that's very nice to see. Hopefully it wont be long for the new consumer standard to become native in motherboards, and relevant receiver hardware.

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Once the new SPDIF consumer standard becomes native, it would be possible to get 15 channel headphones, 1 cable. The headphones will need-come with its own DAC-Other that the headphones use.
Even now various headphones can utilize SPDIF optical as the primary input, although its SPDIF stereo. It will downmix multichannel to stereo, then add spatial (after downmix).

I used to have a version that also decoded DTS-Dolby, so it did 5.1 channels (true, not spatial) for headphones.
If I remember correctly it had hardware spatial, and utilized the existing channels fully.

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As a side note, its also 100% possible for GPU manufacturers to add a TOSLink (optical) port to a GPU, it doe not require much space, and runs from HDA the same as HDMI (same limits).
Both SPDIF and HDMI are capped by the maximum bandwidth of the HDA design, which is roughly 37mbps. SPDIF has no set limits, and TOSLink is now up to gbps.

 

[ajf64]

ALC 1220 is sweet as, I have the S1220A Asus edition, I would also opt for a Gigabyte equivalent (from past experience). I have limited interaction with MSI audio, but have seen negative posts from others.
Regardless, that's very nice to see. Hopefully it wont be long for the new consumer standard to become native in motherboards, and relevant receiver hardware.

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Once the new SPDIF consumer standard becomes native, it would be possible to get 15 channel headphones, 1 cable. The headphones will need-come with its own DAC-Other that the headphones use.
Even now various headphones can utilize SPDIF optical as the primary input, although its SPDIF stereo. It will downmix multichannel to stereo, then add spatial (after downmix).

I used to have a version that also decoded DTS-Dolby, so it did 5.1 channels (true, not spatial) for headphones.
If I remember correctly it had hardware spatial, and utilized the existing channels fully.

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As a side note, its also 100% possible for GPU manufacturers to add a TOSLink (optical) port to a GPU, it doe not require much space, and runs from HDA the same as HDMI (same limits).
Both SPDIF and HDMI are capped by the maximum bandwidth of the HDA design, which is roughly 37mbps. SPDIF has no set limits, and TOSLink is now up to gbps.

hmm what that head set you had one of those super rare ones that had multiple speakers per ear so it could do real channel separation

 

[Ferather]

I don't think it did, it took the 5.1-7.1 audio and used processing to convert it into positional stereo, for example, the rear channels sounding like they come from behind you with stereo.

If the rear channels where already downmixed to simple left right, without any meta data, there would be no way to determine true rear audio.
Even with meta data, the processing would be unnecessary and unlikely 100% accurate, compared to true rear.

6 channel PCM > 6 channel SPDIF out > Headphones receiver > multichannel to stereo processing > Spatial.
6 channel PCM > 2 channel SPDIF out > Headphones receiver > stereo + meta data processing > Spatial.

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If you plug in standard headphones into a Z906 unit, other otherwise (another HDMI unit), then play back multichannel DTS, you should hear all channels.
The input the the receiver is multichannel, not stereo, and in my case compressed to DTS. [ AAC Multichannel Playback Test ].

Unfortunately the Z906 does not have any 'for headphones' technology, so there is no positional spatial.

 

[ajf64]

ah i see ya that makes sense

 

[guns120]

my z790mobo has ALC4080, window11, I tried your dtx driver and realtek 2.8 mod driver and it didn't work, in the end windows alway reinstall the original driver. is there anyting I can do? I'm using logic Z906, the realtek 2.8 mod driver works fine on my old rig Z390mobo.

 

[Ferather]

I has not been built to directly control USB versions, only HDA versions of Realtek. Your previous board was a HDA version.

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Anyone who is shopping around, I suggest the ALC 1220, or 1200. The 887, 889, 897 are quite old and not as good.
Lookout in detailed specifications for audio shielding, Japanese capacitors, other.

 

[ajf64]

if your shopping around don't waste your money on 13 gen Intel with a dead end socket path get Zen 4 with AM5 you wont regret it

 

[guns120]

OK, Now I've just ordered a sound card that supports dolby digital live like soundblaster zse, hope nothing goes wrong

 

[Ferather]

An X570 is still an option if your looking for more budget, nothing wrong with DDR4 (most games don't use the full extent of DDR4, when compared). I still get bios updates with my Asus X570 Prime Pro.

My 5800X and RX 6900 XTX are still very powerful. My father recently got a Gigabyte X570 with ALC 1200 (DTS) + the shielding, jap capacitors etc, and 5700G CPU.
He also purchased 32GB DDR4 3400, and a MP600 (cant remember with version of MP600), + other parts, in total it was around £500.

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142 FPS in Star Citizen @ 2K 120hz. Some screen recordings for giggles: Sabre VHRT One, Two.

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[ajf64]

am4 is great if you really cant afford say the new platform its just once you go that rout your kinda in the same boat as intel your stuck with no upgrade path i always find it hard when some one is building a brand new system to have them go with a system that has no upgrade path cuz im the type of user who dose the 5 year plan where i build a new system re-useing my gpu then the next year i upgrade the gpu then the following year some times 2 depending on what comes out ill upgrade the cpu so your getting 3 upgrades out of one build and still able to stay on the cutting edge of performance but i understand alot of people are not like that so for most bang for your buck at this moment yes zen 3 cpu with rdna 2 gpu is the way to go. My last build startedc on a 3900x with a 5700xt then i upgrade to a 6900xt and just know made the upgrade to the 7950x and AM5 platform and just kept my 6900xt now i can upgrade next gpu cycle + got a good gpu uplift just from eliminating the bottle neck on my gpu and this is why i tend to like the way i do my upgrades all about future proofing.

PS: star citizen looks dope i want to play it just the prices scare me lol

 

[Kabal81]

@Ferather
Wohoo another Citizen. Those FPS lookin very decent. Damn, I really need to update my rig^^

@ajf64
Why are you scared about the prices? A package with a very decent ship costs the same as every other game. Somewhat around 50€ for germany.
And there are discounts from time to time. SC is definetly worth the money and there is no need to pledge with hundreds of bucks^^

 

[Ferather]

I got the silly Aurora MR to start with, then upgraded it to an Avenger Stalker (not Titan). The rest I buy with in-game credits, else not much point playing imo.

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DTS DCH APO placement:

Analogue: PCM (can be lossless) up to 8 channels > Realtek+DTS APO > DAC > Output.

Digital, DTS 5.1: PCM (can be lossless) 6 channels > Realtek+DTS APO > Encoder > Output | Receiver.
Digital, PCM: PCM (can be lossless) 2 channels > Realtek+DTS APO > Output | Receiver.



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SPDIF updated standard: PCM (can be lossless) up to 15 channels > Realtek+DTS APO > Output | Receiver.
Note, the current consumer standard SPDIF is limited by HDA 1.0a (~37 mbps).

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[ajf64]

well the game cost is one thing its the in game purchases good ships cost a ton you can easly spend 1000$s in that game i know a few people who have

 

[Kabal81]

well the game cost is one thing its the in game purchases good ships cost a ton you can easly spend 1000$s in that game i know a few people who have

There is really no need to buy ships. Thats just to fundraise the project. You can just buy the game for 50 bucks or so and enjoy it. You can buy all ships ingame after earning some ingame money.
I know people who have spended some hundreds € too. But they did that to support the game.

 

[Ferather]

One of the videos I saw on VHRT suggested ships, the guy had paid out over $8k.

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I also forgot to mention, anyone who says get an external DAC and stop using analogue, it also applies to SPDIF-TOSLink, as the DAC is in the receiver (external).

It DOES NOT have to be USB. Optical is still the best data transmission method, there is no conductive cable, even with internet.

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@ajf64, [lossless] fiber optic HDMI 2.1 cables for your HDMI HT sound system (as close as you can get). My Dad has 2 of them for about £12-20 each.

Amazon

 

[ajf64]

that's actually what i use 48Gbp/s fiber 2.1 from monster cable was kinda expensive tho honestly never tried any other so guess i could swap out a regular cable idk how much of a difference there is mine cost about 80$ usd but i was stupid and got it from best buy cuz i didn't want to wait i got to check those ones out

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Kabal81 also i know i dont have to spend money but i know id prob be tempted im like that

 

[Ferather]

I was recently looking at some display overrides in my GPU settings, it turns out they are there to help with cable, cable-length issues.
Then I looked at the loss for conductive vs fiber in length. Max Length of an HDMI Cable - TechReviewer.

Notes: What Makes Optical Fibre Immune To EMI? | Tiny Green PC




In the above we get power loss only, no signal loss.

 

[ajf64]

HDMI also has HDMI LINK monitoring at least on amd cards that will automatically drop down to a lower link speed if it detects any sort of signal loss or degradation

 

[Ferather]

Aye but they still have to add compensation features for conductive methods. Same for grounding.