[paulwilko]

Hiya

After a bit of research, I bought my Dad for Xmas a pair of Senns HD555's

He has a PS3 and SKY HD, both going into the TV via HDMI

After listening to them, I probably could of got away with a cheaper pair as the sound is not the best. Not bad, but not particularly good.

Now I am trying to find a way to improve the sound without spending Hundreds of £'s

A thought I had was a small AMP that has Optical Inputs, at least one then he could swap if need be.

Do you have any ideas what would be a good one for this idea, is there even one out there ?

I did read that the HD555's should be okay on most TV's and to be fair they are, but not as good as I thought they would be and I am blaming lack of ooomph from the TV.

Many thx

Paul

 

[Joelby]

Get him an Astro Mixamp. It has optical input and a dolby headphone encoder. This way, he can listen to movies or play games with surround sound through his phones. It will blow his mind!

 

[paulwilko]

Thx very much for your reply

How much does it boost sound volume and will it drive the Headphones properly

Also, how good in real terms is the surround sound aspect

Thx again

Paul

 

[ford2]

Get a used AVR they are cheap and good value.

 

[paulwilko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ford2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Get a used AVR they are cheap and good value.

Sorry, wots an AVR ?

 

[Mad Max]

One of those audio/video home theater receivers.

Search. Or Search.

 

[paulwilko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Max /img/forum/go_quote.gif One of those audio/video home theater receivers. Search. Or Search.

There's always one !!

 

[Joelby]

Dolby Headphone is suprisingly good at reproducing surround sound on headphones. I use it for COD MW2 and I find it very accurate for pinpointing footsteps from every direction.

Many AVRs have DH or an in house euqivalent. Yamahas have Silent Cinema, for instance. Some, like Onkyo, have nothing fancy for headphones.

I think the Astro would drive the 555s sufficiently.

 

[paulwilko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joelby /img/forum/go_quote.gif Dolby Headphone is suprisingly good at reproducing surround sound on headphones. I use it for COD MW2 and I find it very accurate for pinpointing footsteps from every direction. Many AVRs have DH or an in house euqivalent. Yamahas have Silent Cinema, for instance. Some, like Onkyo, have nothing fancy for headphones. I think the Astro would drive the 555s sufficiently.

Thx Joelby

The more my Dad reads about that little AMP, the more he is tempted, so may well be the way to go.

I know you use yours for gaming and it seems that is what it is designed for, but will it still be good for films as that is what it will mostly be used for ?

 

[LingLing1337]

Definitely look more into the Astro...

 

[Joelby]

Ya. I don't actually have the Astro, I have the JVC SU-DH1. It's essentially the same thing, just a different brand. You may want to look it up as well. Pros over the Astro are the ability to choose between 3 DH modes. Cons are that it doesn't have a mic input for gaming and runs on batteries. You can buy a wallwart with it if you get the Japanese version, say from audiocubes. Shipping on the Astro to Canada was ridiculous so I went this route.

Dolby headphone works great for movies and games alike. He won't be disappointed.

 

[Mad Max]

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulwilko /img/forum/go_quote.gif There's always one !!

 

[paulwilko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Max /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I assume you were being sarcastic when you put search links on ?
Appologies if you wern't

 

[Mad Max]

I actually wasn't, lol.

The original poster needs to do a bit more searching, I think. There isn't much info that cannot be found. I love the internetz. I beez a junkie. For internetz dat is.

 

[paulwilko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Max /img/forum/go_quote.gif I actually wasn't, lol. The original poster needs to do a bit more searching, I think. There isn't much info that cannot be found. I love the internetz. I beez a junkie. For internetz dat is.

Ok, fair do's

I am the original poster and beleive me, i did a search on Headphone AMPS with optical in, but coulnd't find what I needed hence the thread here.

Lucky I did as it has been very helpful

Cheers

Paul