[nonothing]

The question is pretty straight forward. I got a pair of HyperX Cloud and noticed they were no different than my Turtle Beach P12. Little disappointed, but they still sound great. Am I missing out? How good is it really?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  The question is pretty straight forward. I got a pair of HyperX Cloud and noticed they were no different than my Turtle Beach P12. Little disappointed, but they still sound great. Am I missing out? How good is it really?

 
I'm assuming your not using anything that can create headphone surround sound.
What exactly are you plugging this stuff into (a PC or gaming console)?

 

[nonothing]

A PS4. I was curious is there are USB sound cards that can turn my stereo head phones into surround sound.............

 

[PurpleAngel]

  A PS4. I was curious is there are USB sound cards that can turn my stereo head phones into surround sound.............

 
not sure.
But the Astro Mix-amp would do the job.

 

[RRod]

  A PS4. I was curious is there are USB sound cards that can turn my stereo head phones into surround sound.............

 
The new SB X7 is external and has Creative's version of virtual surround. The Mixamp is also USB and applies the typical Dolby Headphone™ processing. There are other solutions I think by the likes of Turtle Beach, and really high-end solutions by Beyerdynamic and Smyth.
 
Virtual surround works by applying filters to the sound that mimic the effect our ears and head have on incoming sound waves. For instance, the shape of our ear means that a sound 3ft in front of you won't enter your ear canal in the same was as the same sound 3ft behind you. By taking this effect into account, you can "trick" the mind into perceiving a sound front/back or above/below. Look up "head-related transfer function" and "head-related impulse response", if you want gory details.

 

[nonothing]

So if the game is set up to have surround sound, why would I need a external drive? Why don't they do the conversion for me with the PS4 box?
 
 
 

   
not sure.
But the Astro Mix-amp would do the job.
 

I might do that, but the ASUS Xonar U7 Sound Card looks very attractive right now. I'm still rather confused about why any(?) amp would work. Are the amps designed to work solely with head phones? Or are they made to be use with 7 speakers. I'm still under the impression that the signal gets sent to different speakers and that the programming for virtual surround sound vs real surround sound is different. Am I confused on this?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  So if the game is set up to have surround sound, why would I need a external drive? Why don't they do the conversion for me with the PS4 box?
 
I might do that, but the ASUS Xonar U7 Sound Card looks very attractive right now. I'm still rather confused about why any(?) amp would work. Are the amps designed to work solely with head phones? Or are they made to be use with 7 speakers. I'm still under the impression that the signal gets sent to different speakers and that the programming for virtual surround sound vs real surround sound is different. Am I confused on this?

 
Sony does not include any headphone surround sound processing, in the PS4.
Why? It could be that if Sony used someones else headphone surround sound software, then Sony would have to pay a royalty for every PS4 shipped, increasing the selling cost of the PS4.
 
We humans only have 2 ears, so it only takes two diaphragms (speakers, one in each headphone cup) to convince the ears that they are hearing surround sound.

 

[jcx]

but to be really convincing head tracking is needed - we are deeply wired neurologically to use head motion to help localize external sound source locations - so the sound from each headphone driver needs to change as we turn our heads
 
if the sound entering the ears doesn't change as we move then our brain fails in the external localization and we mostly get the typical headphone "inside our head" soundstage like a line between the ears
 
the Smyth SVS Realizer is one of the few headtracking sound virtualization systems that can be added to headphones

 

[RRod]

  but to be really convincing head tracking is needed - we are deeply wired neurologically to use head motion to help localize external sound source locations - so the sound from each headphone driver needs to change as we turn our heads
 
if the sound entering the ears doesn't change as we move then our brain fails in the external localization and we mostly get the typical headphone "inside our head" soundstage like a line between the ears
 
the Smyth SVS Realizer is one of the few headtracking sound virtualization systems that can be added to headphones

 
That's not entirely true. If the HRTF remains constant with head position, then you will still get a feeling of external location, it's just that it will still be in reference to looking straight ahead. This is actually useful in games, where I want to know if someone is behind me, which is entirely in relation to my in-game character and not my own head. For music, though, it's nice to get the true 1st person sense of direction of sound from head turning.