NEWS - Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Xbox One Stereo Headset, Adapter may support surround sound in future
The upcoming Xbox One audio adapter could support surround sound functionality in future updates, according to Microsoft director of product planning for Xbox One Albert Penello.
For now, the headset and adapter supports just stereo output - a decision made by the Xbox One team during its development, Penello said in a comment on Reddit. The team is currently discussing future options, however.
"We are discussing some sort of virtual surround, but I think the high quality Stereo sound (the Bass on our headset is amazing), plus great chat, and the adapter for $80 is a pretty great product."
""Keep in mind, when you’re dealing with only two speakers, and we chose higher quality stereo vs a virtual surround, since the advantage of surround isn’t obvious until you get into very high-end discreet speaker headphones."
Penello added that this option could be added at a later date, writing: "Yes, its possible. Its a [software] feature not a limitation of the [hardware]."
The official Xbox One stereo headset and adapter will retail for $80, while a standalone adapter will be made available for $25. Last year, Microsoft announced that it would release a headset adapter for the system. In the meantime, several modders have created their own solutions for universal adapters.
Source: http://www.polygon.com
