What is all the chatter about Enhanced Headphone Mode? Here let's decode fact from fiction.

Is it an EQ ? What's an HRTF Profile?

Enhanced Headphone Mode uses an HRTF to create a Spatial sound experience on headphones. HRTF's [Head Related Transfer Function] are very different from an EQ. EQ is an adjustment in sound for your listening taste, hearing ability, or to bring out certain elements in the game mix.

HRTF profiles do a very different thing. HRTF’s are a spatial profile, not an EQ, instead of changing any sounds in the game, they position all sounds in the game in their desired 3D location and enable you to hear them exactly in their respective location.

For example, an EQ may make footsteps sound louder drowning other sounds in the game; whereas HRTF will separate the footsteps into its correct location keeping the loudness the same as before. HRTF’s do not change the game mix, but they spatialize each element in the game.

How is it different from a Single Solution for All Games? Customized Immersive Audio for COD BO6.

Each game is unique in its sounds and visual design. For instance, a third person RPG game has a very different audio style and visual perspective than a competitive first person shooter.

Enhanced Headphone Mode (both Free Universal and Personalized Profiles) is customized to the unique sound design and visual perspective of COD, whereas a platform level solution (Atmos, Tempest, DTS, Win Sonic) treats all games in the exact same way.

Since every game has an entirely unique sound design, mix, and visual perspective, it is equally important that the spatial audio is unique to the game. The result is a superior listening experience than a one-size-fits-all solution.

Why in-game Integration?

The Immerse Spatial Audio engine which powers Enhanced Headphone mode is tightly integrated inside the game. As a result, it has access to all the sound objects inside the game and can place those objects in their exact location in the 3D listening space.

Other spatial or surround sound audio solutions only receive the audio after it has been processed by the game, so those objects are combined into a lower fixed resolution (say 7.1 or stereo). Any external solution (Win Sonic, Virtual Surround Sound on your headphone) will never be able to match the spatial fidelity and awareness which comes from the in-game integration.

Another major benefit of Enhanced Headphone Mode's Iin-game integration is a unified experience on all platforms (PC, Xbox X|S, PlayStation5)

Universal vs Personalized Profile

The free Universal Profile should work for the majority of the players. A Personalized Profile further customizes your HRTF profile not only based upon your head and ear size, but also the shape. The ear shape is very complex and shapes how you hear spatial sound very particularly.

For anyone who wants to try out the Personalization, all they need to do is scan the QR code in Enhanced Headphone Mode Configuration and start their free trial!