With over a decade of writing experience in the field of technology, Chris has written for a variety of publications including The New York Times, Reader's Digest, IDG's PCWorld, Digital Trends, and MakeUseOf. Chris has personally written over 2,000 articles that have been read more than one billion times-and that's just here at How-To Geek. So, if you're playing a game and a sound is coming from above your character and to the right, the sound will be mixed before it's sent to your headphones so you hear that sound as coming from above you and to the right.Ĭhris Hoffman is the former Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek.

When you enable one of these features, your Windows PC (or Xbox One) will mix the audio using the positional data, providing a virtual spatial sound experience. You just need to enable either 'Windows Sonic for Headphones' or ' Dolby Atmos for Headphones.' Both work similarly, but Dolby's version uses Dolby's technology and has a price tag, while Windows Sonic uses only Microsoft's technology and is included for free with Windows 10 and the Xbox One. However, this positional data can provide spatial sound in any pair of headphones. Even if you have a traditional 7.1 stereo surround sound system, you're just getting normal surround sound with eight channels of audio-seven speakers plus your subwoofer.

This spatial data would normally only be useful if you have a Dolby Atmos system that can actually use it.

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