Can anyone recommend sound settings that make for a more immersive experience?
Everything at 100% feels a bit jumbled.
The main aim is to sit in the cockpit and hear the engines spool up, get a decent level of voice communications! the rumble of tarmac along with hearing other aircraft ambient noises.
There are some settings that I don’t fully understand what the actually do, like Master Volume.
I’ve played about with things but either you can’t hear the engines or all you get is the drone of the engine of a push back tug.
Also, what I find is if you go outside the aircraft the engine sound blasts out too.
Would be interested in what other folk have their settings at.
good idea…i m having FS realistic, which gives you more "realistic"sounds,like gear and flap drag, cockpit and cabin ambiance, ground rool, … but it’s not enough…would like stuff more immersive…
“More Immersive” starts with a really good sound system. If you’re using a set of cheap headphones or computer speakers, I’d start there and spend some money on a really great sound reproduction system. Without that, all the settings in the world aren’t going to help you.
As far as in-sim settings are concerned, your best bet there is to experiment yourself and see what different options do.
Master Volume is just that, the volume of all signals going through the speakers. It controls the overall volume of everything at once.
The other volume options are relatively self-explanatory, you can control the volume of various aspects of the system, but they act system wide, not per aircraft. Sure would be nice if Asobo realized it would be nice to set options per aircraft.
The biggest issue seems to be when you go from a cockpit view to a view outside the aircraft the sound of the engines are LOUD.
After about of playing about I’ve settled for Master at 100.
Turned the Voice to about 5 and it seems to make cockpit environment better in terms of getting the aircraft ambient sounds but without ATC Screaming out.
Hmm, I dont see anything specific on the Xbox Sound Settings?
Just one called Engines.
I’ll have a play about, I wonder if that would come under Environment?
2nd, download and install the Dolby Atmos for headphones app (currently on sale for $15). Connect the headphones to your Xbox Controller via the the included 3.5 mm cable and then run the Dolby app and configure it for headphones.
3rd, In sim under SOUND, change the COMMUNICATIONS SELECTION to Headphone simulation. You will hear pin drop. See screen shot below
Nobody can say what the best sound settings are, It’s a personal one based on what you have, whether you are using a mono, stereo or surround system, whether you are using headphones, TV speakers or a high fidelity sound system.
I’ve also found that different planes need different settings as sometimes their engines are so loud that you can’t hear the ATC.
Generally, I find that I need to turn engine sounds down a little in order to be able to hear the flaps and gear deploy and retract properly and often reduce the radio sounds a little because then ATC can be a bit too loud.
It’s really a case of experimenting and finding what suits you best.
What you want to do is keep all internal volume levels at max, unless you want certain sounds to be louder than others.
Next, get a decent sound system. I’m not talking about desktop speakers or stereo speakers but get a proper amp that can do 5.1/7.1 and use powerful speakers with it. You’ll thank yourself for many, many years
As someone said, get the Dolby Access app - it practically transforms the experience. You can use it with both headphones/earbuds and amp + speakers.
Once you have that, don’t bother experimenting with the custom EQs as it’ll take you LOTS of experimentation to find a preset that suits all games, even though there are three presets you can select. Just bypass that, ok?
Either set it to “movie” with intelligent EQ set as ‘balanced’ or choose “game” and then ‘performance mode’. You might like the “detailed” intelligent EQ here but the volume levels fluctuate more than I would like.
Happy flying - hope this helps. Just invest in a good sound system and get DA, okay? Then never look back
I know what you mean. I have struggled with sound settings since SU5. I like to fly addons that include outstanding audio reproductions. The audio source must be good, or high fidelity equipment will just augment the already limited experience.
For reference, I use the following equipment that provides me with a decent enough experience:
Sennheiser HD6XX headphones (quality open back headphones - I also like to hear whats happening in the real environment around me)
Dolby Atmos for Headphones (this is significant as others have stated)
Buttkicker Gamer Pro to compliment the audio with haptic feedback.
Since I like to fly in formation with others and I like to spend most of my time looking out the windows from the cockpit, the Buttkicker allows one to hear AND feel what your aircraft is doing - so you know what control inpts are needed without looking at your instruments.
I’m still fiddling with my in game settings, and I’m still not fully satisfied. I am currently content with the following settings for Milviz and Flyingiron Warbirds, as well as the PMDG 737 and Fenix A320:
All settings at 100% except “Voices”
I reduce “Voices” to 50% or below
When using the above addons or others with good source audio, I turn my system volume up about 2x or 200% of what I use for non-high fidelity addons.
The only sounds that are unbearable with high system volume settings are voices and the external view audio. I now tend to ignore in game ATC and I rarely use external view.
Personally, I don’t use FS Realistic. The only sounds that are critically important to me are the engine rpm and prop pitch when I’m “heads-up and eyes out”. When I’m cruising in a stable attitude and just looking around, I still only want to listen the the wonderful music coming from the powerplant(s).
I think that when Milviz releases their UH-1 Huey, I’ll probably increase my system volume to 250-300% for that addon. I really want to feel the blade rpms and torque choppin’ through the virtual air.
My biggest gripe with the sound mix is that aircraft callouts are barely audible. V1, minimums, 1000, 500, etc can barely be heard in the default airliners with everything at 100. However, I can’t just lower everything else besides cockpit sounds because even at 100 the sim is not loud enough, so I would still have to increase the volume on my soundbar which is loud enough already. I’d get a message or achievement and even my neighbour would know. That’s not a good solution. I wish we could actually increase a given category, not lower everything else.
This is partly why others suggested Dolby Atmos for headphones. It will help you equalize or “EQ” midrange voices to “balance out” comms - similar to what one might do when listening to some music genres. Its also why many use the headphone simulation setting.
If you are only using basic audio from a motherboard, this is where you might consider investing in an external Digital to Audio converter (DAC) and amplifyier combo unit (assuming you also have appropriate headphones or speakers to make doing so worth it)
