Hello esreality.com community!,

I hope you all are doing well! :)

First off, I would like to thank everyone for their comprehensive, detailed threads on a variety of topics. The level of expertise and knowledge here is invaluable!

ESR or ESReality is new to me, and I have seen and experienced great things about this community and site.

I have posted to several respected sites and no one seems to know the answers to my questions, so I decided to post here hoping this community could help.

*Questions will be in bold.*

My thread as you can see from the topic relates to audio for the new Nintendo Wii U system. Basically, I would like to learn more about the audio capabilities for Nintendo's latest console.

Before I begin, please forgive me if this topic has been posted about before. I felt that some of my questions were different enough to warrant their own thread.

This leads me to my questions (that I will build up to) if you would be so kind to consider: I purchased the new Nintendo Wii U on launch day, and would like to have surround sound for it (preferably, a headset). In the Wii U Operations Manual, the Wii U GamePad controller's audio jack is described as follows:

"Audio Jack
For connection of stereo headphones (sold separately).

If headphones are connected, no sound will play through the speakers."

I assume the speakers they are referring to are on the Wii U GamePad, and not every speaker you own, but I could be wrong. I noticed the word stereo, and that made me wonder if the Nintendo Wii U is capable of surround sound with headphones (I am aware of the system setting for surround sound, I just noticed that the word stereo was before headphones, leading me to wonder if surround sound headphones, or even headsets, are possible. Also, I learned from alan666's post at thewiiu.com in his video that the Wii U GamePad's speakers are capable of surround sound: http://thewiiu.com/topic/8086-51-audio-is-on-the-wii-u/. Thank you for your find alan666!).

Quoting from Nintendo's official website, the tech specs for the console's hardware audio is as follows:

"Audio Output
Uses six-channel PCM linear output via HDMI connector, or analog output via the AV Multi Out connector."

My audio vocabulary and history is small, so I am not sure what this means, or if it even relates to my question, but I thought I would include it anyways.

Here is a link to that page if interested:

http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu/features/tech-specs/

Unless I am mistaken, the Nintendo Wii U is capable of 5.1 surround sound (maybe more, I am not sure. Here is alan666's thread again and he states 5.1: http://thewiiu.com/topic/8086-51-audio-is-on-the-wii-u/). Now here is where things get more technical, at least for me. Apparently, in order to get surround sound from the Nintendo Wii U, it seems like you have to use the HDMI connection.

My first question is as follows: Does this HDMI requirement only apply to a surround sound system and not to headsets, or does this apply to all audio?

Here is a link to a thread on this topic:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=500865

My second question is as follows: What does HTiB mean?

Regarding LPCM audio, it is uncompressed audio from what I have researched, and that results in better quality sound. Continuing my question, how does LPCM compare to Dolby technology?

I came across a post that states the Nintendo Wii U is capable of Dolby Digital. (Is it really though? I have seen threads that speculate Nintendo's license for Dolby technology possibly expired or is going to expire soon, so I am sort of confused).

Here is a link to TRONIC-808's experience with the Wii U's audio on Nintendo's official tech forums:

http://techforums.nintendo.com/thread/17723?tstart=30

Here is an apparent work-around link as well to EL_GATO_GORDO's thread (but does this apply to headsets as well?):

http://techforums.nintendo.com/message/81277#81277

This leads me to my final question: I would like to get the most out of the Nintendo Wii U for audio, and I am thinking of purchasing a surround sound headset. What are the limits for headsets on the Nintendo Wii U, if any?

I apologize for the lengthy thread as well as having a lot of questions. I just want to learn and get this all straightened out.

Thank you very much for everyone's time and experience on the subject, and I look forward to everyone's replies.

Have a nice day! :)

Sincerely, EagerLearner