[Hocenut1]

I, like many here I assume, have been searching for a good "5.1" surround headphone, understanding most in existence are over-priced and unimpressive.

In searching the net I came across a company called LTB. I have incuded the link below, any opinions or thoughts for a prospective buyer?

I was so far considering: Thrustmaster T510, Philips HD-1500, and the HCT DH-720G's. All seem to have glaring shortcomings. If anyone has advice for me, my purposes are as follows:

1) X-box gaming in Dolby Digital
2) Late night movie watching.

Any advice/insight would be appreciated. I am glad to be aboard.

http://emediawire.com/releases/2005/4/prweb227884.htm

 

[saturnine]

Wireless and 5.1? They cant possibly sound good...

 

[mattpwill]

If you get good stereo headphones that have a good soundstage, then running movies in stereo recreates the rears too to good effect. I'd personally steer clear of the 5.1 headphones, because there isn't much good theory behind it. People have different ears, and I can't believe the one-fits-all theory

 

[Hocenut1]

Just as an added aside, the reason I was hoping to find something portable, i.e. like the Thrustmaster's is becuase my X-box is in the basement, and the home theater and big screen are upstairs in the family room.

Any ideas, or do all portable surround headphones suck?

Thanks

 

[Hocenut1]

Thanks for your thoughts so far, and thanks for welcoming me to your site.

 

[quiktake]

I use the Pioneer Dir800C wireless dolby headphone system. It can be found online for about $250 U.S. It's not as portable (it has to be plugged into a wall outlet). The headphones squeeze my head a bit as well. I use the Audio technica A900 ($200) with them, and I love it fo gaming and watching movies. Obviously this is all a bit expensive, but if you already have a good pair of headphones the Pioneer DIR800C is hard to beat. It has all three dolby headphone modes and it is the most flexible in terms of useability.

 

[go_vtec]

I've tried most of so-called 5.1 headphones out there, but in my humble opinion, a good stereo headphone with soundstage will be the best choice. I would recommend getting Audio Technica ATH-A500 or A900 (depending on your wallet

). There are excellent all around headphones with very good soundstage and tight bass.

 

[Hocenut1]

I have a decent budget, probably around $300 give or take.

I will research the info you guys have provided.

 

[Hocenut1]

Is that an issue if my DVD player and Denon receiver both have DTS decoders? Sorry, I am quite new to headphones and the associated technology, might be a stupid question.

 

[deathsharp]

I tried a 5.1 headphone. My Sennheiser HD580 is way better for gaming: I can pin point exactly where someone is just by listening to his step.
I won't even compare the two headphones for music.

Get yourself a nice pair of stereo headphones.

 

[KGT]

I am a fan and user of the LTB headphones. They do work and their technology is patented. Granted the "one-size-fit-all" theory is just that - a theory - however they do come close. Consider if you were to install a surround sound system in your house, to get the true effect you would need a professional installer to set everything up to fit the acoustics of your room. That being said, the surround sound systems that are set up by the do it yourselfer would be good but not perfect.

The same logic applies to the LTB headphones, they are good and work well for most people. I can hear opponents coming from right, left, front and behind and combinations of the aforementioned. They give DVD's dimension that stereo just can not give. As far as music.. they sound fine but are not intended to do anything more than stereo since most music is recorded in stereo.

 

[Gluegun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KGT I am a fan and user of the LTB headphones. They do work and their technology is patented. Granted the "one-size-fit-all" theory is just that - a theory - however they do come close. Consider if you were to install a surround sound system in your house, to get the true effect you would need a professional installer to set everything up to fit the acoustics of your room. That being said, the surround sound systems that are set up by the do it yourselfer would be good but not perfect. The same logic applies to the LTB headphones, they are good and work well for most people. I can hear opponents coming from right, left, front and behind and combinations of the aforementioned. They give DVD's dimension that stereo just can not give. As far as music.. they sound fine but are not intended to do anything more than stereo since most music is recorded in stereo.

........

This guy sounds like he's on LTB's payroll!! And you *DON'T* have to have 'someone' come in and optimize your HT to get it 'right'... there are lots of ways for people of any budget and any given amount of time to spend on the HT to optimize the sound themselves...

Anyway, yes, headphones can give binaural sound, with proper processing, sounds can seem like they come form outside the headphones. There are many, many ways to do this, and just because one way is 'patented' doesn't make it better than any other way. Computer sound cards do it with games, and one of the favored ways to do it with movies is Dolby Headphone, which converts a dolby digital 5.1 signal to a headphone signal. This can be done a few ways; if you are using a computer as your dvd player, windvd will do it. A few digital audio recievers will do it. A few specific "5.1" headphone systems will do it (ie, take a dolby digital 5.1 signal and make it surround sound with headphones), but Dolby Headphone isn't the only way to have this effect.

 

[Helter Skelter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hocenut1 Is that an issue if my DVD player and Denon receiver both have DTS decoders? Sorry, I am quite new to headphones and the associated technology, might be a stupid question.

My DIR800C does indeed decode DTS. It's quite a nice little unit, actually. I use mine with my headphone amp and HD595s, and it's amazing how well I can pinpont stuff in games now. The included wireless headphones are pretty nice for games and movies, too, I just use my HD595s because they're more comfortable for longer periods and work just as well on the positional sound side. Not so great for music (they tend to sound a bit hollow to me, even with all the Dolby Headphone and Pro Logic processing disabled), but better than a lot of cheap stuff out there.

But man, for games, I like this better than my old 5.1 setup.

 

[sfxjames]

KGT, If you can compare Dolby Headphone with LTB 5.1 headphone you might convince us?

Does LTB best them in anyway?!

Have you heard any thing about cinema 1 by LTB?


Quote:

Alex bought Reinhardt's theory hook line and sinker! (from movie blackhole)

 

[sfxjames]

I've just ordered the LTB pro amp ac-3 5.1 and will posting a review soon, maybe this week.


Quote:

Tonight my friends, we stand on the brink of a feat unparalelled to space exploration. (From movie Black Hole)