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The Nintendo Switch doesn't have ANY stereo output on it's controllers!!!??? WAT!?

So this is an issue if you put the switch to stand and use the joycons separately?

I dunno, I guess it's not too much of an issue.

Can't understand why it's got mono sound though, that's cheap af.

It's an issue if you're the type to play games at night when your kids/wife may be asleep (or maybe you just have shitty TV speakers). A lot of folks greatly appreciated this gen for adding the whole audio jack thing standard in controllers to mitigate this issue.
Nintendo ditched it completely.
 

Modoru

Member
Am I the only one who doesn't see the issue with this? (I'm being rhetorical)

I mean, I honestly don't see that feature being necessary, but keep in mind that they're also planning to have you use the Android app for xommuni anyway. What are you going to complain about next, not being able to connect to both voice chat and game audio on your headphones?

/Note, I don't excuse Nintendo's weird decision to shove essential communication options to a mobile app. Pls don't try to make this an argument k ily
 

Magnus

Member
So to clarify, the Switch itself has stereo audio via its headphone jack, but the joycons and pro controller don't; the pro has mono audio?
 
Yeah... I definitely understand why they omitted this from the JoyCon but I can't see why it isn't an option on the Pro Controller. OP, I think some in the Switch Accessory threads noted having success with bluetooth adapters. I don't have time ATM to find the posts that suggested certain ones though.
 
I was really disappointed with this when I recently bought the Wii U Pro controller to play Zelda properly. Seems like a simple quality of life addition. Hard to understand why Nintendo doesn't do it.

Maybe the next version of the Switch will have it?
 

iswasdoes

Member
Has any tech site determined if the bluetooth audio can be enabled by a sofwar eupgrade or is a hardware issue?

I would LOVE this to be unlocked. Im using a dongle and its such a pain
 
I play docked very often and yeah, it's disappointing that it doesn't have a headphone jack on it's controllers, especially the god-like Pro controller which is amazing but misses that very important feature.

Hopefully, they patch the system to use bluetooth headphones.
 
At first I thought you meant no speakers on the joycon which imo, would have enhanced 1, 2, Switch since it relies on sound so much. It also could add to some hd rumble related features / minigames.

I guess not!
 

BumRush

Member
I still get a kick out of this...

2013 - "omg the headphone out on DS4 is god awful. Why would you do that to your ears?"

2017 - "what? No headphone out on joycons??"

Headphone out of the controller usually has awful audio. Still, I do wish Switch had A2DP or such enabled. In the meantime pick up a cheap/reliable BT audio dongle and plug it in the top of your Switch.

Huh? The sound from the DS4 is fine.
 

Futureman

Member
You could use a nice pair of bluetooth hea—oh wait

there was a topic in OT the other day on the pains of bluetooth audio and the sentiment was that there's a delay w/ bluetooth audio which makes it a non-starter for gaming. FACT OR FICTION?
 

Modoru

Member
there was a topic in OT the other day on the pains of bluetooth audio and the sentiment was that there's a delay w/ bluetooth audio which makes it a non-starter for gaming. FACT OR FICTION?
I can attest to this happening, at least from phone to car audio and phone to Bluetooth headsets.

If you load up a YouTube video or stream in those instances, it'll be painfully obvious when people's mouths move or sound effects occur vs. what you're viewing.

I'd imagine consoles to be the same.
 

Ratros

Member
In what kind of bizzarre alternate universe was the DS4 audio ever "god awful"?

It's actually god awful in the sense that the signal is choppy and breaks down frequently in environments where there are many active 2.4Ghz devices around.

DS4 utilizes Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, which is capable of transferring data at ~2.1 Mbps w/in 100 feet. Considering that the channel is shared (system events, user actions, audio-in and audio-out) and suffers constantly from interferences in the 2.4Ghz band, I always assume that the actual available bit rate left for audio-out signals is quite limited (thus the quality is quite poor).
 

Seik

Banned
Yeah, most options right now seem like they involve long stereo cables

I had a long cable that I used to connect my 3DS on my sound bar, I'm using the same for the Switch when I want clean, loud sound when my GF is sleeping, but...let's agree that while it's a solution, it's far from being ideal.
 

Regiruler

Member
"1 Step Backward" - Nintendo Switch

For playing on the TV, the Wii U currently has a better feature-set. Headphone support is a great feature in Splatoon and Star Fox (which actually helps the sound mixing in the latter).
 

Fliesen

Member
That and analogue triggers would have been nice.

i must say, i was expecting to be much more annoyed by the lack of analogue triggers than i actually am.

Apart from racing games, analogue triggers are actually a bad thing (imho) and i don't plan to be playing any racing games on the Switch (apart from Mario Kart - which doesn't require an analogue acceleration button)

As for the Stereo plug in the pro controller - i feel like adding wireless audio transfer to just the pro controller would have been a weird middle-ground.
Also, all of this is in alignment with their silly stance on "on-console-voice chat".
I can attest to this happening, at least from phone to car audio and phone to Bluetooth headsets.

If you load up a YouTube video or stream in those instances, it'll be painfully obvious when people's mouths move or sound effects occur vs. what you're viewing.

I'd imagine consoles to be the same.

You're imagining wrong.
There's no (perceivable) inherent latency to audio-via-bluetooth.
 

Jonnax

Member
Has any tech site determined if the bluetooth audio can be enabled by a sofwar eupgrade or is a hardware issue?

I would LOVE this to be unlocked. Im using a dongle and its such a pain

Of course the Switch supports it.

Here's they Ifixit teardown:

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nintendo+Switch+Teardown/78263

The WiFi / Bluetooth chip is:

Broadcom/Cypress BCM4356 802.11ac 2×2 + Bluetooth 4.1 SoC


Here's the product page:

https://www.broadcom.com/products/wireless/wireless-lan-bluetooth/bcm4356/

Though that doesn't have much info. Luckily Cypress recently out all the data sheets out on their site for Broadcom's chips:

http://www.cypress.com/documentatio...-ieee-80211ac-2-2-macbasebandradio-integrated

So here is the relevent section:

Multiple Simultaneous A2DP Audio Stream
The CYW4356 has the ability to take a single audio stream and output it to multiple Bluetooth devices simultaneously. This allows a
user to share his or her music (or any audio stream) with a friend.

So why doesn't the Switch support it?
Well I imagine the reason the PS4 doesn't support adding Bluetooth headsets is probably something to do with Bandwidth. Apparently the audio quality drops for every controller you add with headset.

Not allowing makes things predictable for Nintendo in terms of the controllers you're able to connect.

I think the real reason is that Nintendo are working on it. And like the missing Web Browser we'll see it sometime in the future.
 

WarpathDC

Junior Member
Random question, but is audio quality better on PC if you plug headphones into the speakers or into the tower directly? Or does it matter?

Depends on your PC, honestly. Specifically your motherboard and/or sound card although sound cards on PC are generally reserved for audiophiles/HTPC enthusiasts. There just isn't much of a need for them unless your motherboard doesn't have a great audio solution and you don't want to rely on audio over HDMI/DP etc.
 

Rolf NB

Member
It's actually god awful in the sense that the signal is choppy and breaks down frequently in environments where there are many active 2.4Ghz devices around.

DS4 utilizes Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, which is capable of transferring data at ~2.1 Mbps w/in 100 feet. Considering that the channel is shared (system events, user actions, audio-in and audio-out) and suffers constantly from interferences in the 2.4Ghz band, I always assume that the actual available bit rate left for audio-out signals is quite limited (thus the quality is quite poor).
Cool theory. In practice, I never had a single audio dropout or click or distortion or whatever event in 18 months.
I run a 2,4GHz WLAN for my laptop and phone etc, and scanning reveals an additional 20 in-range neighbour WLANs.
 
D

Deleted member 752119

Unconfirmed Member
Define audiophile.

I'm using PX100s.

DS4 headphone jack is better than the one on my monitors, which are connected directly to the PS4 via optical.
It also slaps the headphone jack on my Samsung TV silly sideways.

edit: the convenience in avoiding a cable running all the way from the EC around the coffee table to the couch is just the cherry on top; there is no compromise in quality.

Audiophile is just someone super picky about sound quality and would never take any convenience that anyway compromise sound quality. Having nice gear is just one part of it--plenty of people buy nice gear that aren't super audio or videophiles as they still notice a quality bump and/or want the best out of consumerism.

Personally, I honestly don't care about sound quality much at all as long as it's clear (i.e. Not static or dropouts) and loud enough. Video quality I'm a tad pickier about, but still don't buy expensive TVs (never spent more than $1000 on the three 50-55" HDTVs I've had to date) and just calibrate myself with a disc program.
 
What are you going to complain about next, not being able to connect to both voice chat and game audio on your headphones?

You know you can do this on both PS4 and XB1 through the single port in the controller right? Yes, I'm pretty sure that's basically the same issue as the OP is "complaining" about.
 

Modoru

Member
You know you can do this on both PS4 and XB1 through the single port in the controller right? Yes, I'm pretty sure that's basically the same issue as the OP is "complaining" about.
Right, but everyone already knows the switch has separated these things. That specific comment was a "you can't expect to be able to listen to both sources from different devices", so it's a bit unreasonable to expect it unless ninty changes their stance on the whole thing.

You're imagining wrong.
There's no (perceivable) inherent latency to audio-via-bluetooth.

As someone said, depends on implementation. There are some blatantly perceivable latencies on certain systems.
 

StereoVsn

Member
Depends on the implementation. Ever tried Bluetooth audio on PS Vita? The latency is unbearable.
I have tried it and it wasn't too bad. The more annoying issue was having to reconnect if Vita goes to sleep.

Overall lack of either a wireless option on the Switch itself (even through branded Nintendo headphones) or jack on the controller is a huge omission especially for people with families or who need to run off headphones for other reasons. A long audio cable is a crappy solution and I hated that in the Wii-U.
 

jwk94

Member
there was a topic in OT the other day on the pains of bluetooth audio and the sentiment was that there's a delay w/ bluetooth audio which makes it a non-starter for gaming. FACT OR FICTION?
Huh, I thought it was just my headphones. Didn't realize the delay was a normal thing.
 

JavyOO7

Member
I think you can use an bluetooth receiver and stick it on the switch headphone port and use bluetooth headphones that way. In theory it seems to work, but I haven't tried it and I want to try it.
 

R00bot

Member
there was a topic in OT the other day on the pains of bluetooth audio and the sentiment was that there's a delay w/ bluetooth audio which makes it a non-starter for gaming. FACT OR FICTION?

Fact, although good bluetooth speakers/headphones can have such a tiny delay that it's barely noticeable.
 

Hatty

Member
The headphone jack in the DS4 is real bad when used wirelessly. I had constant clipping in Persona 5 unless I had the controller connected to the system directly
 

Lister

Banned
Random question, but is audio quality better on PC if you plug headphones into the speakers or into the tower directly? Or does it matter?

Quality of sound for headphones (assuming a good set of headphones and not some $20 junk) will come down to DSP (especially for virtual surround), an AMP and the DAC.

If you are grabbing the output form your speakers, you're probably getting an amp boost thanks to powered speakers. Who knows if it adds noise or distortion though. You probably won't be getting virtual surround via that output though unless your DSP solution allows it. The best solution is a good quality DAC with a low signal to noise ratio that is isolated from other components in your PC as much as possible, a good amp that can power your headphones well, and a versatile DSP to get the source to what you want.

It's why (well some of the reasons why) sound cards use dot be relaly popular back in the hey day of PC gaming audio. Now a days, since hardware accelerated audio appears to be a thing of the past (although it may be making a comeback thanks to things like Steam Audio) and VR, an external DAC and amp are all the rage. I swear by my Soundblaster x G5, for example. But I did also loved my Soundblaster Z and before that my Asus sound card.

A good pair of Sennheiser (or similar tier headphones) with an open back design (for better sound stage, highs and mids), plus a good sound card or external amp + DAC = sound heaven. Add a game that does a full 3D soundstage + physics based sound effectst like occlusion, materials interaction, and propagation and you sir, are in the future. I don't think many games do this, or do it well. The only game off the top of my head is Overwatch it it's ATMOS solution.
 

borghe

Loves the Greater Toronto Area
It's actually god awful in the sense that the signal is choppy and breaks down frequently in environments where there are many active 2.4Ghz devices around.

DS4 utilizes Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, which is capable of transferring data at ~2.1 Mbps w/in 100 feet. Considering that the channel is shared (system events, user actions, audio-in and audio-out) and suffers constantly from interferences in the 2.4Ghz band, I always assume that the actual available bit rate left for audio-out signals is quite limited (thus the quality is quite poor).

Basically this. Audio dropouts, poor DAC on top of already compressed audio. As has been pointed out in here, for many the benefit of having the headphone out on the controller outweighs the negatives (or apparently in some cases completely disguises/hides them).. but yeah, the audio quality out of the DS4 is objectively "god awful"

here is a truly wireless unit
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0134DTP9Q/?tag=neogaf0e-20

here's a cheaper option
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008AGQMQC/?tag=neogaf0e-20

seems to be a newer version available of that one but it's $34.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M1DIZ43/?tag=neogaf0e-20

both of those two you can effectively make "wireless" with something like
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0058M2UXK/?tag=neogaf0e-20
 

HylianTom

Banned
Can't you just find some headphone solution that works with your TV? Wouldn't that always be preferable since you'll never have worry about this issue ever again?
I bought a set of wireless Sennheisers, with the transmitting base plugged to my TV. They were fantastic for Breath of the Wild, and useful for anything else on TV.
 

-shadow-

Member
I don't mind the lack on the joy-con, but the lack of it on the Pro Controller is terrible. I can only hope Nintendo comes around and releases one with a port eventually like Microsoft did.
They won't :(
 
Eh, I just have the cable running to the docked Switch.

I'm used to that though, I've been doing it with my PS4 for months as audio from a USB DAC plugged into the console beats the audio from the DS4.
 
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