DTS Sound Unbound vs Splitwave

DTS Sound Unbound is a Windows app that provides DTS audio solutions, including DTS Headphone:X and a DTS:X decoder. Headphone:X uses Microsoft Spatial Sound to place game audio cues around, above and below the listener. It works with any headphones and offers custom tuning for more than 500 headphones. The decoder plays DTS-encoded content stored locally or streamed to a device, and can be purchased separately or bundled with Headphone:X. The app is available through the Microsoft Store with a free plan priced at free, plus a free trial; audio technologies may require in-app purchases. It supports Windows 10 version 10.0.18362.380 or higher and can be installed on up to 10 devices. Xbox availability includes DTS:X for Home Theater, described as a free upgrade on listed Xbox consoles. Current content focus is headphones and multichannel speakers connected directly to a PC sound card.

Splitwave is a free desktop audio router for connecting sources, effects, and outputs in a real-time node graph. Sources include microphones, system audio, individual app audio, WAV files, and virtual-device loopback. Its listed effects include noise suppression, EQ, compression, gating, reverb, and delay, and it can record audio to files. Splitwave can host CLAP and VST3 plugins as nodes; Audio Unit hosting is available only on macOS. For network audio, WebRTC peers connect in both directions, while UDP sender and receiver nodes support Opus or raw PCM. Splitwave creates virtual audio devices on macOS and Linux; Windows users need VB-Cable or a similar virtual cable. It supports macOS 13 or newer on Apple Silicon or Intel, Linux x86_64 with PipeWire, and 64-bit Windows 10 or newer. Processing is local unless a network node directs audio to a peer. The desktop app does not transmit audio streams, personal files, or usage telemetry to an external server. It is free and open source under the MIT license.