Will there ever be virtual surround sound for headsets?

Hello,

I recently picked up an Xbox One and along with it the official Microsoft Xbox One Stereo Headset with adapter.

I assumed although it's a stereo headset, there would be some virtual surround sound or something similar to make it clear which direction a sound is coming from.

Now I've had nothing but issues with the headset. Crackling, popping and static. I've read that is due to a recent patch so I will make do until an update.

My bigger concern in the long run is a lack of surround. When playing in Titanfall it was impossible to tell wether sounds were coming from infront or behind.

So am I better off returning this headset or will it ever be able to replicate surround sound (albeit using software/virtual)

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Furthermore, does the "stereo adapter" even work with proper surround sound headsets?

:)

 

Need straight answer on headsets. Virtual Surround or not?

the xo's supposedly support virtual surround but until Microsoft update the controller to pass a surround sound signal then they will be stereo for now.

 

Need straight answer on headsets. Virtual Surround or not?

I purchased one of the licensed XBOX one headsets and the sound quality is lacking. I am looking to upgrade to something else but I can't find a straight answer on the net about surround sound capability. I read that the headset adapter has the capability
of virtual surround processing but it needs a patch. These lurkings on the net are almost a year old now. Has there ever been a patch done?

Do the turtle beach XO four or XO seven support virtual surround sound? How about the polk Strikers? I have read that they are capable of virtual surround but the limiting factor is the MS headset adapter. Has this been fixed or not?

I don't want to drop $100 - $200 on another set of earphones and not have surround sound. I am loving my XBox one but there are some things like this that are driving me nuts.

 

To answer your last question first, the "Stereo Headset Adapter" will work with most surround sound headsets. The adapter itself isn't "stereo" it's just an adapter for the "stereo headset" which is where the stereo part comes from. With other surround sound
headsets, it's technically just a chat adapter, nothing more, because you're not electing to get game sound through the adapter, you're getting it through your existing surround headset.

For more information on which headsets are not compatible (there are only a couple I know of) check here:

support.xbox.com/.../connect-compatible-headset

A caveat - the part that shows an image of the old chat headset "puck" which says headsets that use that are not compatible isn't entirely true. I actually have mine working fine with that cable, but there are also standard 3.5mm to 2.5mm CTIA cables which
will also work in place of that particular cable.

As for your question about the Stereo Adapter using some sort of virtual or emulated surround sound, I highly doubt that the internals of the stereo headset would be able to produce that, but I can't speak with any certainty as to the future capabilities
of the headset itself, and really, the Xbox Staff would be the only ones who can answer that definitively (which I doubt they are allowed to do, as this would amount to an "announcement" of future plans.)

Hope this, at least in part, helps!