Mobius Surround Sound Playback in VLC

Greetings fellow traveler!  If you're reading this, it means that you are in possession of content with 6-8 audio channels and are wondering how to experience that content in its full Surround Sound glory through your Mobius!  While the Universe is vast and contains a wide variety of options for media playback, we have chosen to use VideoLAN Client (VLC) for the purposes of this guide.

    Before we begin, you will need to make sure you have VLC downloaded and installed on your system.  VLC can be downloaded by accessing the following link and selecting your appropriate operating system:https://www.videolan.org/vlc/

    Once VLC is installed, please connect your Mobius to your device using one of the included USB cables.

NOTE: Surround Sound playback through the Mobius is only available in USB mode.  But you already knew that, didn't you? After all, included with your Mobius was a shiny new Traveler's Guide which you totally read...right?  Of course you did!  

For Windows:

1. Launch VLC and select Tools > Preferences.
2. Select the “Audio” tab at the top of the Preferences window, and then select “All” under the “Show settings” section in the bottom left-hand corner of the window.
3. In the new settings window on the left-hand side, locate Audio > Output modules > DirectX, then set your "Audeze Mobius 3D 8Ch" headset as the Output device.
4. Once this is done, set the “Speaker configuration” to 5.1 or 7.1 (depending on your content), Save, and then restart VLC.
5. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your content!

NOTE: If you do not see DirectX listed under Output modules, select “Dolby Digital” instead and follow the rest of the instructions as written.  Well, all of the instructions except for Step 5 - that one is optional.

For OSX:

1. To ensure that your headset is properly configured for Surround Sound, open your Audio MIDI Setup utility and select Window > Show Audio Devices.
2. Select your "Audeze Mobius 3D 8Ch 2" as your system’s sound output device. Once this is done, select the Output tab from the right hand side of the window and then the Configure Speakers button in the bottom right hand corner.  NOTE: On Mac, Mobius is listed as two separate devices within the Audio Midi Setup utility.  You will notice that the first of these listings features 2 inputs and 0 outputs, while the second features 0 inputs and 8 outputs.  The first listing corresponds to your mic, while the second corresponds to the headphones. Everything discussed in this guide pertains to the device with 8 outputs. 
3. In the Speaker Configuration window, select Multichannel and 5.1 or 7.1 Rear Surround. This should bring up a diagram of the appropriate speaker layout. Double check that the speakers are assigned as follows, and then select Apply:
   1. Left Front (Front Left), Right Front (Front Right), Center (Front Center), Sub-woofer (Low Frequency Effects), Left Surround (Side Left), Right Surround (Side Right), Left Rear Surround (Back Left), Right Rear Surround (Back Right) NOTE: Left Rear Surround and Right Rear Surround will only be present if “7.1 Rear Surround” was selected.
4. Once this is done, exit out of the Audio Midi Setup utility and open your VLC player. Select Audio > Audio Device > Audeze Mobius 3D 8Ch.
5. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your content!

    We hope that you have found this guide both informative and enjoyable.  If you have any further questions, please feel free to peruse our other support articles.  If you can't find the answers you seek among them, we can always be reached at support@audeze.com.