[Jepjep]

I am looking for the best way to enjoy Dolby Atmos or similar 3d/spatial surround sound on Apple TV 4K movies and series (70% of use) and PS5 games (15% of use) via headphones.

Ideally, I would put together a system that would be great for music as well (15% of use), and allow use of any high(ish)-end headphones, preferably open backed ones. So, the holy grail would be a headphone amp with Dolby Atmos for Headphones (and ideally compatibility with PS5:s 3d sound), at a reasonable price (lets say max 1k€) and a setup a layman can handle, but apparently such does not exist? Let alone one that would also include a dac (if needed) and streaming services built in, but these are not crucial.

Based on some serious web surfing, but as a complete beginner in the fields of home theaters / surround sound / headphones / hifi…, it seems like the options are:

Smyth Realiser A16

• this would be ideal, as it would provide the ultimate 3d surround experience and also allow for use of any headphones, making it great for music as well. However, the price (4k€) is just too high, and just as importantly, the setup is too difficult. I also don’t know if this would work well with a PS5.

PC/Mac with Fongaudio, Dolby Atmos for Headphones, DTS Headphone:X…

• This is not an option for me. Well, a Mac mini perhaps, but it probably gets too complicated for living room use for the whole family (a dedicated home theater is in the early planning stages as well, and there it might be a viable option, but that is a separate matter). And this probably wouldn’t help with PS5?

Xbox Series X with Dolby Atmos for Headphones

• This is something to consider, if it is possible to use any high(ish)-end headphones + to run the Apple TV 4K signal through it or alternatively play movies and series from several streaming services directly on it with equal comfort and quality, and get the Atmos. But I would guess it isn’t possible. And if it was, that would still leave the PS5 without a good solution.

Gaming oriented surround sound amplifiers (Creative Sound Blaster x4 / x7 / SoundblasterX G6, Astro Mixamp Pro TR, Epos Sennheiser GSX 1200 Pro)

• but I havent been able to find a decent amount of info on those or how they would work with movies and Atmos, Apple TV 4K and PS5 etc, let alone on how they compare with each other.

Airpods Max (¨APM¨)

• apparently this offers a very good Atmos experience with Apple TV 4K and is pretty good with music as well, but I am unsure if it works with PS5:s 3d audio/Tempest audio (it probably does, if wired to a controller, perhaps even via some bluetooth dongles). I have also read reports of lip sync issues (which would be an absolute deal breaker), although some claim those can be rectified via an Apple TV setting. These would also be wireless (which is a plus, but not crucial) and very easy to setup. But they don’t handle high resolution audio, are slightly overpriced for what they bring (500€ currently), I have no use for ANC, they are closed backed (although quite open sounding for such), and have some usability quirks (no power off button and I haven’t found a decent stand with charging that would turn them off like the reportedly crappy case does…).

JVC XP-EXT1

• which is good for surround sound, better than APM, and works with any type of audio source as far as I can tell, but is way overpriced (currently 1200€) and unusable for music. I assume these would work with PS5 as well, somehow, but this is merely a guess. There is also no Dolby Vision pass through, so connections would have to be considered carefully.

Sony MDR-HW700DS

• Based on reviews, these offer excellent bang for ones buck and are pretty good in general. I have read a customer review of these being even better with Atmos (despite lack of actual support for it) than the JVC (and hence also better than APM), and decent with music too. But these are no longer available and I have no idea how these would work with PS5 or how they would be connected to my system etc. (And the fact they are very old and lack Atmos support does seem slightly questionable, despite the aforementioned singular experience.)

Yamaha YH-L700A

• the reviews on these are quite mixed. My take from the reviews is that, at best, these might be about on par with APMs for 3D movie surround (Atmos or otherwise), should work with PS5 (but I haven’t found confirmation about that), and slightly worse than APM:s for music. So basically, APM:s seem like the surer bet.

Audeze Mobius, Astro A50, Dolby Dimension, Sennheiser RS-195…

• I havent done enough research on these yet, but at a quick glance, none of these fit my purposes as well as the others mentioned above, with the possible exception of the Mobius (if it works nicely with Apple TV as well as PS5).

Any input on what to go for (be it one of the options mentioned here or something I have missed, which is entirely possible especially since this is a constantly evolving field), any personal experiences (better yet, of several different alternatives), any recommendations etc would be highly appreciated! Budget is flexible, but lets say about 2k€ max should do it.

If the solution is anything but just wireless headphones that connect directly to the Apple TV / PS5 via BT, the connections need to be sorted as well, and I am at a loss there as well. My system consists of: Samsung Soundbar Q90R, Sony TV KD-85XG9505, PS 5, Apple TV 4K 1st gen and a dvr box. Currently PS5 and Apple TV 4K are connected to the Soundbar, and it is connected to the tv via eArc (can’t remember how the dvr is connected, but it isn’t important). I guess any amp or headphone base station (such as with JVC and Sony) should be connected to the TV via normal HDMI, while current connections stay the same?

If there is a solution that allows for any headphones, recommendations are gladly accepted. I haven’t looked into these much yet, and I would propably buy them pre-owned locally, which limits the selection a bit. But some very preliminary ideas: Sennheiser HD 800 S, some Focals, Mezes, or Hifimans.

Thank you in advance!

 

[dunring]

II've tried so many 3d sound cards and to be honest the most fun I've had watching movies was with the Sennheiser Momentum ear buds and they're fast enough for gaming. The Momentum 2 or 3 headphones can be gotten so cheap on eBay and sound wonderful for music and games. If your PS5 has Bluetooth it would get you off the hook for so much hardware and hassle. Also they have a mic for game chat.
I've played Destiny 2 and was watching Star Wars and hearing movie lines I've never heard before. The Momentum 2 ear buds have even better battery life, but even the Momentum headset I had lasted quite a while. Remember any headphones except something like the Asus Centurion will only have 2 drivers. I just go for high quality, detailed stereo rather than compromise and over complicate it.

 

[dolstein]

Reviving this thread. Smyth Realizer is still probably the best option for listening to surround sound audio through headphones. But I've been pleasantly surprised by the AppleVision Pro. While the built-in speakers can't reproduce deep bass, I still think they do an excellent job with Dolby Atmos/Spatial Audio. Much bette,r in my opinion, than the AirPods Max.