Need some advice on 5.1 headphones

[Geogeo999]

Hey everyone, I need some advice on 5.1 and surround headphones. I'm looking to get a pair of 5.1 headphones to listen to 5.1 DVD-Audio discs and play video games on my computer(with a Creative Labs X-fi card.) It's really important to me to be able to have a real sounding 5.1 experience for the 5.1 albums. For various reasons a speaker system is a no-go and I've been looking around for affordable quality 5.1 headphones with no luck. I found a pair of wireless Sennheiser RS130 with SRS virtual surround sound. What I'm wondering is...

1. Are any virtual surround sound headphones going to satisfy me?
2. If not, does anyone have any recommendations on a good pair of 5.1 headphones. Price Range 50-100

Wireless would of course be nice, and I'd go to about 150 for a pair of wireless but anything more than that, I wouldn't go for. If they are wired, I at least want a pair WITHOUT a volume dial attached to the cord. My current pair's dial is extremely annoying, if it's not in the exact right spot, the sound cuts out partially in one or the other of the ear cups.

I'd seriously appreciate the help!

 

[Geogeo999]

Also, I should say that the pair I'm leaning most towards is actually this pair of Kinyo KY-100 Surround Headphones that are only about 40 dollars. I've read mixed reviews though, so if anyone has any opinions on this model, it'd help me out.

 

[Duggeh]

Stereo headphones combined with Creatives CMSS technology will give you a far better sounding and immersive surround sound than any production pair of actual 5.1 headphones ever will.

If you value the wireless too, then I say go for the RS130. I owned the RS45 and it was okay, but I imagine that Sennheiser have really improved on wireless in the intervening years.

 

[Zenja]

As far as I know, there's no such thing as a good 5.1 headphone. And it's for good reason, 2 drivers is all you need. I urged my friend not to buy some 5.1 headphones but he did anyway and you can't even tell that there's more than 2 speakers in there (big surprise, they're probably like 1cm apart), plus my headphones image much better anyway.

I tried using Dolby Headphone with a 5.1 DVD once and I thought the effect was excellent. WinDVD and PowerDVD both come with Dolby Headphone. It's a DSP which simulates a 5.1 for headphones. It can also be used with normal stereo sources like music, but in this case it just makes everything sound like it's coming from the front.

It seems like most new people here that ask for headphone advice ask for noise canceling and/or or 5.1. Those features may seem like a good idea at first thought but in practice it sucks for getting good sound (and noise canceling is easily outdone by stuff like IEMs).

 

[mADmAN]

i would agree withh what others have said about the 5.1 headphones. i say getting high end stereo phones would be better....

but if ur still itching for 5.1 heaphones. Zalman (yes, the PC cooler stuff maker) has a pair. they even have the 5.1 headphone amp specially for those headphones. i aint too sure about how good they are though.

 

[Carl]

Dolby Headphone is quite a step up from the IMHO underperforming SRS Headphone Surround.

 

[Zenja]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mADmAN /img/forum/go_quote.gif i would agree withh what others have said about the 5.1 headphones. i say getting high end stereo phones would be better.... but if ur still itching for 5.1 heaphones. Zalman (yes, the PC cooler stuff maker) has a pair. they even have the 5.1 headphone amp specially for those headphones. i aint too sure about how good they are though.

My friend had the Zalmans and he said they were terrible.

 

[uraflit]

i also wouldn't recommend 5.1 headphones...

just get a pair of normal headphones with good soundstage. there are many people here that can offer better alternatives (i would recommend the hd555 since I have it, and its 3D positioning is good for video games too)

 

[Sordel]

I've just bought the Creative 2300Q(?) which is a palm-sized surround sound decoder (optical or stereo mini-jack input) together with some not-terrible enclosed stereo headphones. Personally, I think that it's a great VfM solution to the problem, and means that if you upgrade the headphones at some point then you still have the ability to output a Dolby Headphone "5.1" signal to them.

Personally, I seriously doubt the ability to generate genuine front/back placing in a stereo headphone, but I also very much doubt the ability to do that with multiple-driver headphones. What I will say is that the Creative system does provide a genuine boost in movie soundstage: turning on the Dolby headphone circuit does do something more than eq the stereo source.

 

[Enverxis]

The SpeedLink Medusa 5.1 Gaming Headset was banned at CPL (Cyberathlete Pro League) because it gave the users of the phones an unfair advantage over everyone else (I used to own a pair of these and I can confirm they are the best headphones for FPS gaming that allows 3D positioning (Call of Duty, CSS etc))
However for music they sounded pretty darn horrible.

 

[xinoxide]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enverxis /img/forum/go_quote.gif The SpeedLink Medusa 5.1 Gaming Headset was banned at CPL (Cyberathlete Pro League) because it gave the users of the phones an unfair advantage over everyone else (I used to own a pair of these and I can confirm they are the best headphones for FPS gaming that allows 3D positioning (Call of Duty, CSS etc)) However for music they sounded pretty darn horrible.

i took my proline 750's to cpl orlando, most everyone there was astonished by the sterreo positioning of my cans, even though they didnt allow me to use my headphone amp, wich gave me the impression of really bad sound, everyone LOVED them for CS. a few of the guys that i teamed with actually baught other pairs of ultrasone cans after we met and they heard my cans.

in addition, with game engines already applying filtering based on the position of the sounds origin, it doesnt fare well at all on more than 2 speaks.

big up for ultrasones:
cans designed to effectively stimulate your outer ear, games engines designed to filter sounds based on in game position = VERY good positional audio with stereo phones. and they sound very natural with music as well, depending on the idea that you wont blast them as loud as posible, and dont have a few gigs of crappily encoded MP3's

and i agree on the horrible sound of 5.1 headphones. its the same idea as having different sized untuned subwoofers in one environment, they just dont move the same. unless you ran all of your channels through crossovers, your screwed.

 

[Duggeh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zenja /img/forum/go_quote.gif My friend had the Zalmans and he said they were terrible.

I've owned them and I'll readily confirm that.

 

[ephemere]

What you want is good stereo headphones plugged into a Dolby Headphone processor. Dolby Headphone decodes a 5.1 signal and downmixes it into LR headphone channels to simulate what the ears would hear with a real surround system in various sized rooms. Compared to straight-up stereo listening, it really improves the sound of movies. With two-channel music, I prefer to turn it off, even combined with Dolby Pro Logic II. I've never tried it with multi-channel music. The JVC SU-DH1 is a stand-alone battery-powered Dolby Headphone processor for $90 that has received some praise here.

The next step would be the Yamaha YSV-1 processor, which I don't think is available, yet. Do a search.

 

[TimmyMac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've owned them and I'll readily confirm that.

Didn't you own that wicked Sennheiser thing too? That was amazing

 

[evilking]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xinoxide /img/forum/go_quote.gif in addition, with game engines already applying filtering based on the position of the sounds origin, it doesnt fare well at all on more than 2 speaks.

I had the Zalman's for a while and this was a major problem. Sound positioning was all over the place in a lot of games (the major ones could be tweaked enough to sound good) and it sounded just horrible for music (not surprised).

Avoid.