[plyfold]

  I understand, thanks
 
I got the impression that the mixamp doesnt handle the format for blurays, im not sure if thats correct.
I notice that the Pioneer AVRs have a surround headphone out, perhaps that would suffice.
 
Are there any good places in the uk, that sell decent hp amps for a reasonable price?

I have used HiFi headphones - can't recommend them highly enough

 

[GardenVariety]

  I understand, thanks
 
I got the impression that the mixamp doesnt handle the format for blurays, im not sure if thats correct.
I notice that the Pioneer AVRs have a surround headphone out, perhaps that would suffice.
 
Are there any good places in the uk, that sell decent hp amps for a reasonable price?

None of these options will handle lossless audio since it can't pass through optical. The only way you get lossless is the Realiser. Having said that, I don't even notice the difference between lossless and DTS.

 

[redstar]

Thank you for the link to HiFi headphones, i had not heard of these
 
 
 
Im not sure if I have understood this correctly, and the limitations involved.
 
Quote:

 
None of these options will handle lossless audio since it can't pass through optical. The only way you get lossless is the Realiser. Having said that, I don't even notice the difference between lossless and DTS.

 

[GardenVariety]

An optical cable doesn't have the bandwidth to carry lossless audio from a Blu Ray. Blu Rays are encoded with DTS Master or Dolby True HD formats. These formats are bit for bit the same quality as the studio master. When you run these formats over an optical cable you are left with the core audio or a compressed version of the original. It's like CD vs a very good MP3. My bet is that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference in a blind test. Just like most of the things we discuss on this forum.

 

[redstar]

I did not know that, thank you for putting that clearly for me.
 
So with a device such as the Headzone, I assume the same thing applies? as the connection method is optical.
Does the Headzone do something to encode it back?

 

[GardenVariety]

 

The Headzone is a combination product. The Headzone takes the compressed 5.1 signal over optical and uses proprietary algorithms to create the illusion of surround sound over headphones. The Headzone also incorporates head tracking to further fool the brain by adjusting the head space depending on where you look. The last stage is amplifying.
 
Essentially the Headzone is Dolby Headphone + Head Tracking + Amplifier. If you chose this option you would still need an audio extractor/ splitter so you could feed all of your devices into the Headzone.  

 

[redstar]

So it would be;
 
1) Ps4 hdmi out
2) AVR (denon x2000 for example) Hdmi In
3) Headzone Optical In
4) Headphone out for T1
 
Could you show me an example of an audio extractor/ splitter?
Does the splitter go between the AVR and Headzone?
 
I will need to go and demo a headzone, as Ive no real idea how good the headzone is. The realiser is much to expensive for me.

 

[GardenVariety]

Do you have speakers? If so, you'd need a receiver. If not, just use something like this:
 
http://www.amazon.com/Atlona-AT-HD570-HDMI-Audio-De-Embedder/dp/B002BBAA4C/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&qid=1389983509&sr=8-24&keywords=5.1+hdmi+audio+extractor
 
You'd only need an extractor or receiver if you are going to use other devices. If you only use the PS4 then you can just go PS4 optical output to Headzone.
 
The sole purpose of an extractor or receiver is to allow multiple devices to route to the Headzone.

 

[redstar]

Nope no speakers (its the decision im toying between, spend the money on a hifi setup, or go full on with headphones)
 
Only other devices would be the TV and the Sky service.
 
If I dont go for Headzone, would you recommend the Burson Soloist SL as a HP Amp?
 
Thanks for the link

 

[GardenVariety]

Is the Sky service built into the TV? The Soloist SL is a fantastic amp IMO but if you don't choose the Headzone you'll need a DAC as well or another Dolby Headphone processor. I would sit on it for awhile and really decide what you want. These two options will take you in completely different directions. This will depend heavily on budget and space. Are you trying to avoid the noise from speakers? Do you live in an apartment?

 

[redstar]

The problem is, i dont really know what route to take. All im after is the best headphone experience i can afford for film, for my budget. Its a frustrating process this.
I know what i need for hifi, visited various hifi shops, listened to various kit, but as i use headphones alot (direct from tv) i think thats what i should improve instead.

 

[GardenVariety]

The problem is, i dont really know what route to take. All im after is the best headphone experience i can afford for film, for my budget. Its a frustrating process this.
I know what i need for hifi, visited various hifi shops, listened to various kit, but as i use headphones alot (direct from tv) i think thats what i should improve instead.

So then go with the Headzone if movies are important. There's just no comparison between straight stereo and the virtualized 5.1 on the Headzone. If you are really trying to replace speakers you'll also want seat shakers but that's a different topic. You'll hear much more detail and clarity when comparing $1000 headphones to a $1000 speaker setup.

 

[redstar]

So let me just re-cap on what your saying here, to make sure i have read you correctly. 
I would hear much more detail in clarity via the headzone than compared to a hifi set up of the same cost?
 
And just so im completely clear, the chain would be as simple as ps4 > headzone > T1?
Or will I need the Atlona AT-HD570 HDMI Audio De-Embedder that you refereed to between the ps4 and headzone?
 
I assume the amp side of things is fine in the headzone, and that theres no need to add the Burson Soloist SL into this chain?

 

[GardenVariety]

You would hear much more detail but the presentation would obviously be different. When you have an amazing quality headphone like T1, you'd need to spend multiples more for a speaker/receiver setup to match it. The Headzone will sound similar to speakers but not exactly like them. You will be missing one key ingredient with headphones, the impact that only air moving in a room can bring. You can get close to this with tacticle transducers but it's not exactly the same. Only you can decide what will satisfy you. The amp in the Headzone is decent and would suffice for most users. The chain would be as simple as PS4 -> Headzone -> T1. No need for the splitter unless you are adding more boxes to the equation.

 

[redstar]

So the only extra component to this, is if I wanted to add my TV (for sky), PC, as well as PS4, will it need to be an AVR, or is there a simpler device to allow this?