[ric449]

Hey everyone,

I am completely new to headphones. The most expensive set I have bought are some £35 in ear Sony's for my iPod, and the only reason I got them is because they were the most expensive in the shop so I thought expensive=good quality. Anyway, to the point.

I wanted to get a surround sound setup in my room, but with the way the room is set out I wouldn't be able to get the speakers in the right places and then there is the neighbours as well. So, I thought about getting some surround sound headphones. I liked the look of the Philips HD1500's, but I can't find them available to buy anywhere (I live in the UK). So, I thought I would settle on some high quality stereo headphones.

I have been checking out what is available, and it seems that Grado are one of the best. I have been looking at the SR80's. The only problem is that I don't know how to connect them. Connecting to the PC would be easy, just jack in to the back of the soundcard (I have a Creative X-FI). But, I have a Toshiba 32WLT66, and it doesn't have an earphone port. Also, I play on the Xbox 360 a lot, that is the main reason I want some high quality sound (I also watch the majority of my DVDs on the Xbox 360). That has an optical port, again, how am I supposed to connect to this?

I haven't actually bought the headphones yet, and I would say I'm willing to pay around £130 if it means I get high quality (I was willing to pay more for the surround headphones but they appear to be unavailable in any part of the UK). As you can see, I am really a complete newbie, so thanks in advance for your help.

 

[upangel180]

Please stay away frpm sorround sound headphones. You are much better of getting a decent pair of conventional 2-driver phones for the money. Also, if you are considering headphones as an alternative to a surround sound system, avoid grado. they have very little sound stage.

You may want to consider an AT-A900 (closed) or HD 555 (open). There are others too, but these will give you a decent sound without (completely) breaking the bank. Search around this forum for more info on them.

As for connecting. Both headphones noted above, should sound decent out of a headphone jack on a receiver if you have one set up with your 360.

 

[jgonino]

For your PC I would say get a total Bithead from Headroom. Its is a USB DAC (Digital to Analog Converter, all sound cards and portables have these) with a built in Headphone Amp. ie: x-fi lineout -> bithead -> headphones. For the 360, you could use the optical out, but that would require either a reciever with optical input, or a HeadAmp with optical input. I guess you could just get a cheap amp with Dual RCA inputs, and plug the red/white form the xbox into them?

 

[Blackmore]

Why surround? Because of PC games? AKG are the best, IMO. Look at Ebay Germany and you will find a lot of surround&wireless digital AKG phones. I own one, great with movies and music as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ric449 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey everyone, I am completely new to headphones. The most expensive set I have bought are some £35 in ear Sony's for my iPod, and the only reason I got them is because they were the most expensive in the shop so I thought expensive=good quality. Anyway, to the point. I wanted to get a surround sound setup in my room, but with the way the room is set out I wouldn't be able to get the speakers in the right places and then there is the neighbours as well. So, I thought about getting some surround sound headphones. I liked the look of the Philips HD1500's, but I can't find them available to buy anywhere (I live in the UK). So, I thought I would settle on some high quality stereo headphones. I have been checking out what is available, and it seems that Grado are one of the best. I have been looking at the SR80's. The only problem is that I don't know how to connect them. Connecting to the PC would be easy, just jack in to the back of the soundcard (I have a Creative X-FI). But, I have a Toshiba 32WLT66, and it doesn't have an earphone port. Also, I play on the Xbox 360 a lot, that is the main reason I want some high quality sound (I also watch the majority of my DVDs on the Xbox 360). That has an optical port, again, how am I supposed to connect to this? I haven't actually bought the headphones yet, and I would say I'm willing to pay around £130 if it means I get high quality (I was willing to pay more for the surround headphones but they appear to be unavailable in any part of the UK). As you can see, I am really a complete newbie, so thanks in advance for your help.

 

[jgonino]

also, for phones, I agree with the above poster, and add the Beyerdynamic dt770 if you want LOTs of bass.

 

[ric449]

Thanks for all your replies.

The ATH-A900's seem to be the better of the two between them and the HD555's, and it seems to be reflected in the price difference, I have found the ATH-A900's for £160. If they are as good as people are saying then I am willing to boost my budget a bit to get the better set.

I am still confused on the connectivity though. For the Xbox 360 I was under the impression that optical was higher quality than the red and white wires?Also, I checked out the Total bithead, but confused on what exactly it does. Am I right in thinking it makes my computers sound quality higher? My main concern right now is finding out how to connect my TV, after checking out the manual it appears the TV is capable of outputting sound through the two phono jacks, so if I do connect the Xbox the same way I still need to find a way of connecting the Xbox and TV to the headphones. The PC can wait since to be honest, its barely even used.

What exactly is a reciever you mentioned? Would that help matters?

 

[jgonino]

ok you cannot use the optical output of the 360 unless you have a home theater reviever with optical input, or a amp with optical input.

 

[jonnywolfet]

the beyerdynamic dt770/80(ohm)pro model is available in the uk for £80 and is awesome for both movies and games, plus the cable is long enough to reach to the tv for xbox gaming (about 2.5m). plus its built like a tank. that said, i am a big fan of my dt770, and so i just wanted to throw that option in too. explosions with the dt770 are no nice and chunky. mmmmmm, especially on crackdown.

 

[MaloS]

Audio-Technica ath-a900 (get from www.audiocubes.com) or Sennheiser hd595, dt770 might not be the best option if you want to watch movies too.

That being said, stereo headphones are actually capable of very nice fake surround, especially if you have some kind of software that compiles dolby into stereo properly, you can pinpoint the direction effortlessly. Headphones designed for surround-sound are not so good because whoever makes them never seems to really worry about the quality of the drivers they put in there so the result is not far from a cheapo stereo headphone.

 

[ric449]

Ok, I think I'm set on the A900's, so I guess my next question should be is there any way of connecting the headphones to phono without having to shell out for a receiver? I will connect to phono for the Xbox too. I am already over budget you see and I really don't want to go past the £200 point.

 

[pkshiu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ric449 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok, I think I'm set on the A900's, so I guess my next question should be is there any way of connecting the headphones to phono without having to shell out for a receiver? I will connect to phono for the Xbox too. I am already over budget you see and I really don't want to go past the £200 point.

Perhaps you should take a look at the receivers again. These days even low end ones have optical inputs. One good thing about the receiver is that it act as the source switch and a converter, i.e. you can use it to switch between the TV (analog "red/white" RCA) and the XBox optical, and any other sources that you may have. you are getting a DAC and a switcher all in one, not necessary the best quality, but still better.

 

[ric449]

Ok, can you suggest any cheap receivers then? The A900's are going to cost me £160, and the cheapest receiver I can find costs £140:

http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...=SONY-STRDE400

While I do want some high quality sound, I'm not sure I am prepared to pay £300 for it. Any suggestions?

 

[ric449]

Ok, the ATH-A900's are ordered and on the way (hopefully, I ordered them from iheadphones.co.uk and they are out of stock, will be getting some more soon aparrantly). I figured I can plug them straight into my PC for now. Anyone have any ideas on a cheap receiver then? I thought ebay but I still don't know what I'm looking for. Can a poor quality receiver lower sound quality lower than it already is?

 

[ric449]

A900's will be here tomorrow

. As for the receiver, it turns out I already have one. We have a very old hifi in the front room, it has an amp on it (its all separate, radio, CD player, etc). It has phono ports in the back which can take the Xbox. The only problem is that its idea of surround sound is 4 speakers and no sub, since I am using stereo headphones will this make a major difference? The hifi itself only has 2 speakers, the other 2 are optional. Is it possible the amp will lower the quality of the sound coming from the Xbox/TV or is this impossible?

Thanks for all your help guys, I really appreciate this.

 

[Stephen Lau]

Let me tell you, once you use higher quality headphones, you'll realise how pathetic surround sound is for precision and accuracy

For your connectivity...you really should plug your A900s into the headphone jack of the hi-fi (if it has one). I don't know what your Hi-fi is so can't comment on the quality of it.