What is the main difference Between 3D Audio
and Dolby Atmos on PS5? Which one is better and when to use Dolby, instead of 3D Audio?
I’ll explain it as if you are 5 years old. 3D Audio for headphones was designed to help you
hear the audio as if you’re inside the game, so you could hear something behind you, or
above you, and hear the directions as if you are in that space, it could also simulate if
something was closer to you or further. the best example of feeling that is playing Returnal. Now
this feature was designed only for headphones, but some people were using soundbars, speakers,
and other audio devices capable of Dolby Atmos, Dolby is a format to provides similar features and
makes you feel you’re in the game or the movie but mainly for multi speaker setup. To make 3D Audio
Work with other devices, Sony provided a new option as Dolby and Dolby Atmos on PS5 for Devices
that support that format like some soundbars or speakers. This way, that immersive sound which
was designed for 3D Audio for headphones, could now transform to a new format and work with
other devices, so you get the 3D Audio benefits, in Dolby Supported Devices which is great.
Now because PS5 supports Dolby Atmos, the developers can optimize games for Dolby, so
they can either pass through 3D Audio to Dolby or optimize it directly for Dolby and Atmos. Now you
might be wondering, what if I use Dolby Atmos with headphones instead of 3D Audio? From multiple
tests we made in Returnal and other games, the Dolby Atmos actually doesn’t provide the same
experience as 3D Audio for headphones and it may not sound as good, so 3D Audio for headphones with
Linear PCM is still a better choice in most games, unless a game is designed with Dolby Atmos
but for headphones, which aren’t many, so use Dolby and Atmos for other devices and try 3D Audio
when it comes to the headset, and this way you may feel happier, keep in mind it all depends on the
game you’re playing and the headset you are using, feel free to test both, and for the best
EQ settings on PS5, check this video next.
