[ironmine]

Does anybody have experience with this thing?

HeaDSPeaker Home

HeaDSPeaker Home is 5.1 multi channel surround system accessory for headphones with head position tracking sensors. It turns conventional stereo headphones to 5.1 surround system. Installation takes just few seconds.
The product contains:

1. DSP unit
2. Sensor unit
3. 3m sensor cable from sensor unit to DSP unit (3.5mm standard male-male)
4. USB cable and USB power
5. Velcro band for connecting the sensor unit to headphones
6. remote controller

http://verkkokauppa.planeetta.net/epages/Planeetta.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/vlsi/Products/%22HeadSPeaker%20Home%22
 
I can't see any price on this forum, but it should be around 250 euro.

 

[khaos974]

Bumping up the thread, it seems like a lower end alternative to the SmythRealizer, very interesting stuff.

Here's what the website says:

Have you ever wished you could enjoy a movie or play a video game in full surround sound, without disturbing your neighbors or family members?

You may also have thought that headphones will never suit real surround sound - only those phony "3D-effects" that just don't cut it.

But let's think again. We humans have only two ears. Thus, when we hear a sound, our brain must be able to determine the direction of origin for that sound, based on "stereo signal" that reach our eardrums. Now, what if we manipulate a regular left/right stereo sound in a clever way - to mimic those effects that would take place if the sound would actually be coming from a different direction (e.g. from behind us)? That's right - we would get the perception of a sound source located behind us.

This is exactly what HeaDSPeaker surround system does. The above mechanism is generally referred as HRTF system. This technique is known to work, but it has one serious shortcoming: it only lasts as long as the listener remains completely still. As we know, this is practically never the case in a real-world listening situation. Even though the listener is not actually moving around, his/her head constantly makes small movements. If the processed sound doesn't reflect these movements, the surround effect is quickly lost. As a consequence, any headphone surround system without head tracking will ultimately fail.

However, HeaDSPeaker is different. It features a patented (US pat. 7'672'809) real-time head tracking unit, which provides sound processor the necessary information it needs for a real dynamic auralization. Dynamic auralization gives the brain the instant feedback it needs, which substantially helps to perceive the direction of the sound. After a very short while of gettin used to it, the surround immersion becomes as natural as it gets.



HeaDSPeaker system consists of two main parts: tracking sensors and a DSP unit. Tracking sensors should be attached to your existing headphones.

The provided DSP unit processes the multichannel input signal and produces a dynamically auralized stereo signal for the headphones. HeaDSPeaker is capable of decoding 5.0 multichannel signal from 2.0 stereo sources (the analog output of modern game consoles, for example). It can also act as a 5.1 or 7.1 USB sound device when connected to a PC or Macintosh computer. In addition the HeaDSPeaker Home version can decode Dolby Digital and DTS encoded sound from optical S/PDIF. The package contains a configuration/diagnostic utility program for Windows (XP/Vista) and Mac OS X operating systems.

Connections:

Optical S/PDIF (Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS 5.1 / 2.0 PCM) [HeaDSPeaker Home]
USB (7.1PCM / 5.1 PCM / 2.0 PCM)
Analog 3.5mm stereo (2 channels stereo / 5 channel DSP-Logic active matrix decoding)
3.5mm stereo plug for binaural multichannel headphone output
3.5mm stereo plug for head-tracker (included) input

 

[nick n]

link was bad   http://verkkokauppa.planeetta.net/epages/Planeetta.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/vlsi/Categories/DSPeaker/Headspeaker  try this!
 
Interesting  thanks for this!
 
AND they also sell Philips SHP8900 Headphones there on clearance.

 

[Roderick]

I know I'm bumping up an old thread but I though why the heck not... I just got a pair of these a while ago. And I'm pretty impressed. Compared to more expensive amp's I feel these leave bass lacking on most headphones. But other than that these work pretty dang well. I don't use the headtracker because it is not convenient with many headphones but it works great without it too.
 
I'm bit of a crossfeed buff so spl phonitor has been my amp of choice for years but now I'm actually thinking of selling phonitors because dspeakers do a better work with creating a speaker like experience. Phonitor does sound better as an amp but considering dspeaker is amp/dac/motion tracking speaker virtualization system for 1/5 of the price of phonitor. If you see one of these on ebay for a decent price (id say 300usd), go for it.

 

[oliverpool]

  I know I'm bumping up an old thread but I though why the heck not... I just got a pair of these a while ago. And I'm pretty impressed. Compared to more expensive amp's I feel these leave bass lacking on most headphones. But other than that these work pretty dang well. I don't use the headtracker because it is not convenient with many headphones but it works great without it too.
 
I'm bit of a crossfeed buff so spl phonitor has been my amp of choice for years but now I'm actually thinking of selling phonitors because dspeakers do a better work with creating a speaker like experience. Phonitor does sound better as an amp but considering dspeaker is amp/dac/motion tracking speaker virtualization system for 1/5 of the price of phonitor. If you see one of these on ebay for a decent price (id say 300usd), go for it.

You are impressed using this as a headphone amp or that it works really well on imparting a out of your head effect or converting a 5.1 signal into a stereo headphones yet having direction and surround effect?  I am trying to look for something that does this. But there is so little talk or reviews on this product!

 

[Roderick]

I have not used these with 5.1 audio....it is quite hard to come by actually.  I only use these for regular music and it is awesome. Sometimes I check the volume so I don't disturb my neighbours with the bass...Then I realize the bass is in my head, or in fact so out of my head that it get's me confused. I don't know how it works without the effects.... everything else sound sounds like *hit. Once you get to know the speaker imitation sound I doubt nothing impresses you. Currently I'm using sony mdr-sa5000 and jvc dx1000... Not the most the high end headphones but I think If I had Abyss or Stax sr-009 Id still take headspeaker+any mid fi headphone over those headphones...
 
I did have T1 with spl phonitor with crossfeed. sa5000+headpeaker is more to my liking. My mind is now set on getting Smyth realiser.  
As a amp/dac... I can't tell... Without the effect everything sounds congested... Might be bad amp. or dac, or that everything sounds bad after listening to those after dsp enabled.

 

[oliverpool]

  I have not used these with 5.1 audio....it is quite hard to come by actually.  I only use these for regular music and it is awesome. Sometimes I check the volume so I don't disturb my neighbours with the bass...Then I realize the bass is in my head, or in fact so out of my head that it get's me confused. I don't know how it works without the effects.... everything else sound sounds like *hit. Once you get to know the speaker imitation sound I doubt nothing impresses you. Currently I'm using sony mdr-sa5000 and jvc dx1000... Not the most the high end headphones but I think If I had Abyss or Stax sr-009 Id still take headspeaker+any mid fi headphone over those headphones...
 
I did have T1 with spl phonitor with crossfeed. sa5000+headpeaker is more to my liking. My mind is now set on getting Smyth realiser.  
As a amp/dac... I can't tell... Without the effect everything sounds congested... Might be bad amp. or dac, or that everything sounds bad after listening to those after dsp enabled.

Thanks for your reply!  So its safe to say you like the effect in stereo. And I am happy to hear you prefer it to a crossfeed effect which I feel does not exactly have the effect I like. 
 
I will see if there are any 2nd hand unit on the market first.

 

[Roderick]

I agree that crossfeed doesn't get you right there. I love crossfeed though. It is esesntial for me to enjoy headphones. But it still falls short compared to speakers. Super stereo effect get's delt with...but it is still just two speakers glued on to your ear. I don't understand how people can pay thousands for a setup that still sounds like two speakers on your ear... Sure, best ones get the sound "out there". But not as much as headspeaker does, I'd bet on that.