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5.1 headphones :( ???

S

standard141

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 28, 2005
Messages
173
im looking for a good pair of 5.1 surround sound headphones however im stuck and i cant figure out which to buy. i read the zalman review, ive looked at the eDimensional Audio FX review at 3dgameman and the altec lansing can anyone point me in the right direction. i really like the zalman but it has a couple of bad reviews, well they all do. im going to mainly use it for movies, music and gaming. thanks for your input.
 
If you've even considering listening to movies and music you do *not* want 5.1 cans. Search and you'll find plenty of discussions on this subject
 
When it comes to a pair of "5.1" headphones in your price range, fuhgeddaboudit. You'll just be paying way too much money for way too little performance. Most of those that I've listened to sound nearly as bad as, if not worse than, freebie headphones which come with a portable MP3 player.
 
If the Zalmans are the best you are looking at, then don't waste your money. Those are some very tart sounding cans. Very paper like. Not even good on a good amp.

I would get just about any decent 2 channel headphone over the zalmans to include some that come with mp3 players.
 
im looking for somethiing good that has surround sound more than a 5.1 headset. i really dont wanan spend more than 50 bux cuz thats just crazy. what about Altec Lansing AHS602 Gaming Headset???
 
ok.. hears the deal, you only have 2 ears, when the speakers are that close, haveing more speakers ruins the sterio effect, if the guys that make the sound track, did there home work, in 2 channel it should sound like its comeing from all over the place it is possible to make sounds seem like the coing from behind you over 2 channel earphones, and over a good sound card, it will... its also possible to make it sound like there in your head, something that is very tought to do with more speakers... , the only reason we need more speakers in theater is becuase the sound stage is crap, if the sound stage where set up correctly, you wouldnt need 5.1 eather...

thore
 
I got the zalmans and going through my sound card with proper tweaking, the 5.1 sound is quite nice. I'm sorry that you guys cannot make them sound good. THey sound terrible is not properly tweaked though....

But I mean seriously it's not hard to make them sound good.
 
got the zalmans and going through my sound card with proper tweaking, the 5.1 sound is quite nice. I'm sorry that you guys cannot make them sound good. THey sound terrible is not properly tweaked though....

But I mean seriously it's not hard to make them sound good.
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And your previous GOOD headphones are/were? I'm interested in what your basis for good is.

Just a warning: If you come from crap headphones, crap that's just a bit better will sound GREAT (but that still doesnt make them GOOD).

For example: I used to use regular headphone garbage. Then I got some Senn PC150's for gaming, and I used to listen to them with music. "OMG THESE SOUND GREAT!" I thought. Then I got Senn HD580s which ARE GOOD. I will never listen to music on my PC150 again unless I HAVE to. It sounds like garbage for music. But it is more revealing for my gaming.

If your budget is $50 try and find a used pair of Sony MDR-V6s or new Sennheiser HD201s. Tigerdirect has the 201s REALLY cheap, but they go out of stock fast.
 
FaRKle0079 said:
And your previous GOOD headphones are/were? I'm interested in what your basis for good is.

Just a warning: If you come from crap headphones, crap that's just a bit better will sound GREAT (but that still doesnt make them GOOD).

For example: I used to use regular headphone garbage. Then I got some Senn PC150's for gaming, and I used to listen to them with music. "OMG THESE SOUND GREAT!" I thought. Then I got Senn HD580s which ARE GOOD. I will never listen to music on my PC150 again unless I HAVE to. It sounds like garbage for music. But it is more revealing for my gaming.

If your budget is $50 try and find a used pair of Sony MDR-V6s or new Sennheiser HD201s. Tigerdirect has the 201s REALLY cheap, but they go out of stock fast.
Click to expand...

Well I have used the senn 150s and i think they sound alright but a bit muddy sounding..it's liek the sound its compressed trying to get all the diff sounds in to one...hard for me to explain you might understand

my speakers sound pretty good

but anyways my fave headphones were some sony earbuds i spent about $65 on which produced a very clear hard bass that were not as muddy

my other gmaing headphones were crappy audio 90s which sucked and logitechs with had no bass

my ears are well trained but i will not spend a ton of money for slightly better
 
Every set of earbuds Sony has ever made have been crap. Their semi-canalphones are OK for the money, though, and they make some good headphones. But earbuds...no. As Farkle says, if you haven't heard some of the mid-fi headphones you can buy for the price of the Zalmans, you don't really have a good base for comparison.

Headroom has the HD201s in stock for 20 bucks:

http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/sealed-and-noise-canceling/sennheiser-hd-201.php
 
I've never tried an actual 5.1 headphone as opposed to a Dolby Surround. How do they work? Do they actually have two drivers per earcup? (I would imagine two drivers would be required to physically simulate 5.1)
 
Every time someone even thinks of getting crappy surround headphones, little kittens are being murdered! Knowledge gives you power but can give pain too ! :rolleyes:
 
yeah guys FORGET the 5.1 headphone idea for now ok? it doesn't work nearly as well as a good pair of stereo headphones w/ some surrround mode enabled for games. get a decent pair of stereo headphones or if you must Dolby headphones but please check out my links before buying b/c headfi is THE source for headphones.
 
So what's wrong with them? Apart from the sound quality, which give the prices and the manufacturers are likely to be fairly bad. Is there any enhancement in positional accuracy?
 
I feel that there is, and ive posted here numorous times before about my personal experiences with greater positionality. However, every 5.1 headphone thread turns into a flamewar. So its not worth my effort as my personal experiences are always "wrong" and im always an "idiot" for saying what i thought having used both 2.1 and 5.1 headphones and judging based on positionality alone
 
You have a point, provided the 5.1's do provide better front/back cues. Anyone done a blindfold test with a FPS with a stationary, noise-making target? Put blindfold on, spin mouse around, then try and line up to target by sonic cues alone while someone times you.
 
ok dont laugh but currently im using some headphones from an airplane. you know the free ones because my cyber acoustics got messed up. ill be using onboard audio so i think ill stick with the zalman i dunno though or the senheiser i cant even spell the name.
 
standard141 said:
ok dont laugh but currently im using some headphones from an airplane. you know the free ones because my cyber acoustics got messed up. ill be using onboard audio so i think ill stick with the zalman i dunno though or the senheiser i cant even spell the name.
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Well, I wouldn't. Even the free airplane phones sound better than those Zalmans. Seriously.

You see, the problem with inexpensive 5.1 headphones is that most of them have very tiny drivers - none of which are any larger than the freebie Walkman/MP3 player headphones, and most of which are even smaller than those in the average earbud. And all of those tiny drivers are put into one oversized shell of an earcup. The result is incoherent sound with little (if any) usable bass response and shrill highs, making those inexpensive 5.1 headphones totally unacceptable for music listening.
 
That makes sense too. Clearly the sound would be more convincing on the regular phone, but has anyone tested out the relative positional capabilities? I doubt I'll be picking one up, but I've been curious about the 5.1 phones for a while.
 
I tried the Zalmans before and I didn’t like them very much. I think the concept might work if they used drivers that didn’t suck (I guess with that many drivers the cost savings of going with a cheap driver is just too tempting).

But the thing is, regular headphones do surround sound perfectly. There is no “deficiency” that needs to be “corrected” in this regard. So what exactly are the Zalmans trying to accomplish? At best, you might be able to do the same thing that you can already do with regular headphones in regards to positional audio, and the sound quality would still suck…

If your guys experiences prior to using the Zalmans have only included the finest $20 headphones that Wal-Mart and Toys R’ Us has to offer, you really owe it to yourself to pick up a quality pair of stereo headphones.
 
well if the 5.1 offer no real bass support then i dont think im gonna go with it, see i just want a low cost pair of headphones that can be used for everything and has surround sound for gaming. i checked out the altec lansing ahs602i and they got a pretty good review from techgage but i cant find them anywhere. techgage review said its got great sound and a great feel to them, along with the srs booster which supposedly helps out a lot.
 
AdamW said:
Every set of earbuds Sony has ever made have been crap. Their semi-canalphones are OK for the money, though, and they make some good headphones. But earbuds...no. As Farkle says, if you haven't heard some of the mid-fi headphones you can buy for the price of the Zalmans, you don't really have a good base for comparison.

Headroom has the HD201s in stock for 20 bucks:

http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/sealed-and-noise-canceling/sennheiser-hd-201.php
Click to expand...


By earbuds I mean the ones that are the canal ones..
 
Ronco said:
That makes sense too. Clearly the sound would be more convincing on the regular phone, but has anyone tested out the relative positional capabilities? I doubt I'll be picking one up, but I've been curious about the 5.1 phones for a while.
Click to expand...

A review for the zalmans said the stuff behind you doesn't sound all that far back so with my sound card drivers i adjusted the back to sound a tad further so it compensates but yes you can tell where stuff is comign from
 
I have really good positional awareness with my Senn PC150s. I can hear people really far away and know exactly where they're coming from.

For example:
on de_aztec in CS if I'm in the T bridge room I can hear people in the CT bridge room and I can tell weather they ran back towards spawn or out towards the middle area. This isn't with high volumes either... Helps a lot!
 
I would bet that most of the posters here dissing the 5.1 headphones have never even tried most of them.

I have the 5.1 Kinyo KY-100s and they work great. And yes, I do own a range of crappy and high end headphones-- multiple Senns, Audio-Technicas, and others. And, I am a recording musician so I have a discerning taste for excellent audio quality.

That said, everything in life is a trade-off-- you get what you pay for. If you want top quality sound, expect to pay over $200 for some cans. If you want decent sounding, 3D positional sound in games and not primarily used for music, then the 5.1 cans will be fine for you.

Alas, I do have a pair for sale as my wife has put the kibbash on my gaming.

Go here: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=975259
 
nope sorry just no. 5.1 headphones are ok no doubt. but for everything I use the biggest, most realistic soundstage I could find(within reason) and so far that's the AKG 501s w/ a variable bass boost amp. They are accurate and so clear that at low volume you can here directional cues distinctly for gaming. Movies are also great and music that goes without saying. I got them b/c I can wear them for hours with multiple sources and everything sound realistic. yes you need a headphone amp and that makes them expensive but whatever.
You want cheap sound fine get some low level Senns or audio-technica they are good.
Try and do better thpugh b/c good sound brings things to life.
 
It's great isn't it, everyone has a totally different opinion and are equally reasonably convincing in their own way :p I have to say my curiousity's piqued. I use the Sennheiser Orpheus for my gaming needs (pulling double duty as regular listening phones of course) and I find that unless I hear the transition from left or right, sometimes I find it difficult to tell front from back. It could just be wrong settings but I've pondered if there is a more fool-proof solution to this problem.

Many reviews of the Zalman offer praise (for the 5.1) but with a damning of the sound quality and frequency range. So many different reviews saying the same thing can't be a coincidence. I do wonder though how much the positioning accuracy makes up for the sound for someone who already has better phones when he wants to listen to music.
 
Baby O's or Daddy O's? :p

Either way you would pwn a lot of us by posting pics in the headphone picture thread. ;)
 
As far as I'm aware there is only one model called the Orpheus. Do you mean the the other gray/black plastic one?
 
The HE 60/HEV 70 electrostatic headphone/amplifier combination is commonly referred to as the baby Orpheus. ;)
 
Orpheus? damn ok well nice! but I can distinguish front/back easy w/ the x-fi and the 3d enabled BUT that 3d effect is muddied and crappy sound-wise compared to it being off.
I turned it off late last night but was too tired to think of determining if the front/back worked.
Senns are great but I believe the new AKGs will be the best all around cans especially b/c the 701s seem to produce great bass after a short break in.

on topic. If you have to get 5.1 headset I reccommend these http://www.firebox.com/?dir=firebox&action=product&pid=691

and yes u can get them in the us even in USB.
 
spaceman said:
Orpheus? damn ok well nice! but I can distinguish front/back easy w/ the x-fi and the 3d enabled BUT that 3d effect is muddied and crappy sound-wise compared to it being off.
I turned it off late last night but was too tired to think of determining if the front/back worked.
Senns are great but I believe the new AKGs will be the best all around cans especially b/c the 701s seem to produce great bass after a short break in.

on topic. If you have to get 5.1 headset I reccommend these http://www.firebox.com/?dir=firebox&action=product&pid=691

and yes u can get them in the us even in USB.
Click to expand...
These 5.1 cans are very similar to the Kinyos I mentioned in my previous post. They even use the same amp. These are more expensive than the Kinyos, but I've tried a friends pair and the sound really isn't that much better. These seem to have a bit more "dynamics" to them (a bit punchier, tighter sound), but overall I wouldn't say they're worth almost twice as much as the Kinyos. The added expense to these really seems to be the boom mic.
 
Standard141 first of all don´t take all these 5.1 bashers all to seriously. Most of these have never even tried it "because they know it´s bad".

I have tried Zalman and I am now using some Kinyo 5.1 headphones. As for the Zalmans it does have superior surround sound to any stereo headphones I have used. However the sound quality is not very good really. works for games but not for music. The Kinyo 5.1 headphones I have now however it has a separate 50" bass driver and much better sound quality. And they are also closed. I have tried open headphones like Koss Porta PRO and Philips 890 and the Kinyo has no problem whatsoever to keep up. Yes even for music. The Koss did have a bit more energy and the 890 had lower bass but overall I couldn´t decide if they where actually better so I kept my Kinyos. As for surround since the drivers aren´t as separated as the Zalman they aren´t as effective in that area but still you can hear the difference between stereo headphones and these 5.1 headphones. I still can´t believe how some people claim that it doesn´t work having separate drivers so close to the ear... Even though they are seldom "true" 5.1 headphones.

I now got a X Fi and I have tried some stereo headphones with it and CMSS 3D mode and it does sound quite good even sources in front appears to be above you which is really confusing. So I do feel that stereo headphones is a more valid option nowadays.

As for music you don´t need more than stereo for music and thus you can for sure get headphones for the same price that sounds better. My Kinyo was about 100$ or something don´t recall and it did come with an amp which I am sure helped it some. The similar priced 890 and the cheaper Porta PRO both didn´t have any amp. Now the amp is hardly high end. The headphones hiss a lot when no audio is produced but I guess it helped them keeping up with those supposedly better sounding headphones.

The Kinyo also has the rumble effect. Now if you have headphones that goes down to 5 hertz they of course create their own rumble effects however it does have an impact in games. You can adjust how much they would rumble by adjusting the bass redirection. I like to run 50-60 because then it doesn´t occure all the time but mostly when the ambient music start to kick in in fps games to build up the tension. Quite effective in F.E.A.R for example when you get the thump in your ears when a chopper passes over you and such. It can somehow replace that the Kinyo only goes down to 20 hertz or something :)

However for music listening I disable that feature...

But 5.1 headphones surely is more then a gimmick. Hi Fi people will not like it but then these people doesn´t seem to enjoy gaming very much :D

I will make sure to make a new comparison when I get my DT 770 PRO:s amped and everything to see if that will make me switch headphones from my well serving Kinyos :)
 
oqvist said:
I will make sure to make a new comparison when I get my DT 770 PRO:s amped and everything to see if that will make me switch headphones from my well serving Kinyos :)
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You are going to burn those Kinyos in effigy when you finally step into the light. ;)

FWIW, I have a buddy that owns the Medusa's.. He liked them.. but one of the drivers messed up a couple weeks ago.. they also had to ship them from the UK which was weird since they have a distributor here in the US. Personally.. I would rather have the 770's with X-Fi for my surround duties. I wouldn't have said that before w/ my A2. (even though I was looking for room for 5.1 setup and not 5.1 headphones) I think the X-Fi's do a much better job in portraying positioning with headphones. (at least in BF2). I let him listen to my xfi + dac + ppa + 770 setup at the last lan party and the first words out of his mouth was.. how much and where. :D
 
magnetik said:
You are going to burn those Kinyos in effigy when you finally step into the light. ;)

FWIW, I have a buddy that owns the Medusa's.. He liked them.. but one of the drivers messed up a couple weeks ago.. they also had to ship them from the UK which was weird since they have a distributor here in the US. Personally.. I would rather have the 770's with X-Fi for my surround duties. I wouldn't have said that before w/ my A2. (even though I was looking for room for 5.1 setup and not 5.1 headphones) I think the X-Fi's do a much better job in portraying positioning with headphones. (at least in BF2). I let him listen to my xfi + dac + ppa + 770 setup at the last lan party and the first words out of his mouth was.. how much and where. :D
Click to expand...
Sure, but you'll pay at least $140 for the X-fi plus another $190 for the DT 770s. For $300 LESS, he can get decent (not TOP quality, but decent) 5.1 surround sound with the Kinyos or the Medusas for another $40 on top of that.

The audiophiles in this thread should keep in mind that not every gamer needs or wants to shell out over $200-300 for top quality headphones. If you are a discerning listener of music, I'd recommend the same. But for those who simply want a decent surround sound experience, there are a number of offerings that fit a modest gamer's budget.
 
HoodooGuru said:
Sure, but you'll pay at least $140 for the X-fi plus another $190 for the DT 770s. For $300 LESS, he can get decent (not TOP quality, but decent) 5.1 surround sound with the Kinyos or the Medusas for another $40 on top of that.

The audiophiles in this thread should keep in mind that not every gamer needs or wants to shell out over $200-300 for top quality headphones. If you are a discerning listener of music, I'd recommend the same. But for those who simply want a decent surround sound experience, there are a number of offerings that fit a modest gamer's budget.
Click to expand...

I was speaking specifically to the user (oqvist) in which he said he already had a set of DT770's, X-Fi, and amp on the way. So I stand by what I said.. and he will still burn those Kinyos in effigy. ;) But one doesn't have to break the bank by getting high $$$ headphones, amp, and a x-fi. They always have the option of some cheaper cans that can be driven without an amp with addition of an X-Fi. No need to get "head-fi" on them if they are a "casual" gamer. The primary reason "I" chose headphones over a full 5.1 setup was my cramped studio.. then when the X-Fi came out.. I decided to give it a shot
 
How about the 5.1 phones and sitting on a sub? :p Or more realistically, something like a Buttkicker?
 
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