# 5.1 headphones



## fschris (Oct 31, 2009)

Does anyone use headphones that include 5.1 surround? What ones do you use and how to use them?

do you connect to receiver or do you connect to PC ?

I have only found these turtle beach PX5's ...

http://www.turtlebeach.com/product-detail/ps3-headsets/ear-force-px5/51


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## 8086 (Aug 4, 2009)

The use of terms like 5.1 and headphones is a bit of a marketing gimmick. There is no subwoofer and there certainly isn't any spot on your forehead to place a center channel speaker. You were born with two ears and yet you can magically hear in surround with out having 5 or 7 ears on your head. All you need is good QUALITY two channel headphones and proper headphone processing. 

Your best bet is to try Beyerdynamic's Headzone. There are a few different versions of it, the one you want is the one with out head tracking. (ill post the model when i find it)

http://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/shop/headzone-headphone-surround-system.html


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## fschris (Oct 31, 2009)

that looks super cool and I understand what you are saying about 2 channel 2 ears concept. those look very cool but wow the set up is pricey!


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## 8086 (Aug 4, 2009)

Well, Dolby has Dolby Headphone mode, DTS recently announced their own version of Headphone processing, Yamaha has it's own thing (of course), Creative has it's CMSS 3D, and there's a few other competitive options out there that I can't recall at this moment.


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## fschris (Oct 31, 2009)

I did read some revies from CES about 'Dolby X" people were pretty amazed. id like to see how it is incorporated in the next couple years in avr's etc... it would be cool to see it added to sound cards.

i guess I will try the turtle beach px5's and I will report back how they sound. my primamry reason for this is I have a young one at home now and its hard to watch anything after 8PM due to sound levels and before 8pm we are busy with other stuff.


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## Kal Rubinson (Aug 3, 2006)

AFAIK, the most successful multichannel headphone setup is the Smyth Realiser A8. It did an amaizing job of simulating the sound of my main systems.


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## 8086 (Aug 4, 2009)

I believe your Yamaha listed in your system specs should already have some headphone processing built in to it. Grab a decent pair of headphones and give it a shot. 

$3600 for the Smyth Realiser A8 is a lot of dough for a piece of technology which I'd expect to become almost ubiquitous over the next 6 years.


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## fschris (Oct 31, 2009)

I need to edit my spec... I no longer have that Yammy. I upgraded to UMC200. yes that is a lot of dough.


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

I have some Sony Pulse headphones that are 5.1, I'm not impressed with the 5.1. The headphones sound great and produce very good bass. When 5.1 is enabled the sound changes tone, basically sounds like your TV speakers when you enable virtual surround. These are wireless and I use them for my PS3 and listening to music through my Mac.


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## goldkenn (Jul 7, 2013)

nova said:


> I have some Sony Pulse headphones that are 5.1, I'm not impressed with the 5.1. The headphones sound great and produce very good bass. When 5.1 is enabled the sound changes tone, basically sounds like your TV speakers when you enable virtual surround. These are wireless and I use them for my PS3 and listening to music through my Mac.


As far as I know Sony did stated The Pulse don't have surround mode for movie even play through PS3, it is only for game.


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

You are absolutely right 5.1 on the Pulse is only with games, I was not very clear on my previous post. I do use them for music and think they are very good. I also think they are very good for games, just not impressed with the 5.1.


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## macmovieman (Dec 7, 2010)

I would love to see what they sound like first.


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## rgordonpf (Jun 28, 2014)

There are a number of new products on the market that do a pretty good job of creating a 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound using head phones.

I have tried two of these solutions. One is from Darin Fong Audio fongaudio.com which uses software and your PC to do the signal processing ($150). The other is the HeaDSPeaker from DSPeaker dspeaker.com which uses DSP chips to do the signal processing. The USA pricing has not been finalized but it should be around $400.

I find the simulation from both solutions to be very good except for the rear left and right speakers. This is the area where the simulations fall apart. Yes, jets and other loud noises pass from side to side behind you, but it is not as convincing or as loud as what you hear in a true 5.1 or 7.1 loudspeaker system. 

I prefer the HeaDSPeaker and use it for most of my movie watching. I find amongst my movie collection that I do not have many that use the rear left and right channels to any great extent. Thus, the limitations of the simulations don't bother me. What I do enjoy is the clarity of the voices and the spaciousness of the sound. Also with closed cans other activities in the house do not interfere with my movie watching.


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## Kal Rubinson (Aug 3, 2006)

8086 said:


> $3600 for the Smyth Realiser A8 is a lot of dough for a piece of technology which I'd expect to become almost ubiquitous over the next 6 years.


Agreed but I expected it too become a popular technology for the past 6+ years. 

BTW, I thought this (https://fongaudio.com/out-of-your-head-software/) did a pretty nice job. Fake, to be sure, but effective.


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