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Surround Headphones?

R

RoyLuv

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 20, 2004
Messages
361
I was looking at a couple sets of headphones, specifically for gaming. Music, I don't care about, I have another PC for that. Anyways, here are the two I was looking at:

Altec Lansing AHS602i Gaming Headset

And

Zalmann 5.1 Surround Gaming Headphones

Are these going to be any different from something that would be of superior music quality? Such as the Sennheiser recommendation I see flying all over these boards?

Any other recommendations and/or links would be great if possible. I'm looking for some awsome sound quality (obviously), closed phones, preferrably w/ a mic.
 
blueworm said:
How much budget do you have ? What is your source?
Click to expand...

$100 or less would be good.


What is my source? Not sure what you mean by that. But I get my money from my job :p
 
Can we please, please, please have a big sticky that just says "DON'T BUY 5.1 HEADPHONES"?
 
No! :p

But you are more then welcome to post a new thread and share your experiences with 5.1 headphones with us.
 
i was just in the market for good gaming headphones and got the ath-a500. below is a bunch of links i aquired in my search. hope it helps.

saw alot of good things on the ath-a500 here and other sites so i ordered some. haven't gotten them so i can't comment but i was looking for something good to game with and these are supposed to be great. also very comfy(read reviews - some good sounding sets have many complaints in that area) but no mic. easily driven by soundcard, ipod, etc. and requires no headphone amp.

http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1028172869&postcount=21
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=182277
http://forums.ipodlounge.com/showthread.php?threadid=29340
http://www.audio-technica.com.sg/ath-a500.html
http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?p=823202
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=68986
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=60774&page=1&pp=25
http://www.audiocubes.com/product_reviews/product/Audio-Technica_ATH-A500_Art_Headphones.html

i got them for $95 shipped:
http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1028172554&postcount=22
 
Thanks Zoinks. That is helpful. Anyone mind telling me what is so bad about the "surround" headphones as opposed to others?
 
Source= where the sound comes from.
In this case the sound card.
The main problem people have with surround phones is bang per buck.
For the same cash you can get traditional phones that kick the snot out of them sound quality wise.

BTW 10 lines max for your sig please. ;)
 
the impression i get is that the surround must not be that great. maybe the surround is more hype cause everyone recommends good hi-fi instead.

in fact, i opted for good hi-fi over the computer speaker garbage ten years ago and never looked back. no home theater pro logic stuff. just a 2-channel onkyo(high gain amp) receiver with 2 sats and a sub. equivelent to these only my model has been long discountinued:
http://cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=spk_subsat&item=k1pkm19zz
http://cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=spk_subsat&item=k1pk208zz

btw: my system sounds as good as i first got it...very loud, clean, great bass, zero hiss.
i remember when i first got it and "Descent" was THE game...the only light coming from the monitor and that kick-ass music jammin', then the quick hiss of a missle slammin' you from behind and your toast...nothing like being scared ****less by sound :D

henry kloss has some great stuff over there at cambridge soundworks. i've looked at the newer speakers over the years he offers but i've also had no reason to upgrade from my old set. better sounding then bose imo and waaay cheaper.
 
If your looking for something similar to Altec Lansings headphones but want better sound quality.Sennheiser makes a wireless headphone with srs feature on it for surround sound.RS 130 model.On pricegrabber you can find a online store for around 107 that sells these which is around your price range.
 
RoyLuv said:
Anyone mind telling me what is so bad about the "surround" headphones as opposed to others?
Click to expand...

The problem with "surround" headphones is that they use several undersized drivers -- most of which are as tiny as typical earbud drivers, and the largest of which measure no larger than stock freebie Walkman headphone drivers -- inside one oversized enclosure. As such, they produce no deep bass (or no bass at all whatsoever), honky echoey midrange and harsh screechy treble.
 
E4g1e said:
The problem with "surround" headphones is that they use several undersized drivers -- most of which are as tiny as typical earbud drivers, and the largest of which measure no larger than stock freebie Walkman headphone drivers -- inside one oversized enclosure. As such, they produce no deep bass (or no bass at all whatsoever), honky echoey midrange and harsh screechy treble.
Click to expand...

Thanks E4g1e! :D That makes alot of sense.

Thank you all for your replies and helping me out. Any other recommendations would be great. Won't be getting some for a couple weeks anyways.
 
Introduction
For those who are new to this new surround sound headphone thing: Multi channel headphones have multiple speakers within that properly project audio position via a mix of these speakers. "Surround" headphones only have two speakers, but use fancy phase manipulation and smoothing to simulate the effect our pinna has on sound perceived from around us. This following information only deals with multi channel headphones.

Problem
I wanted multi-channel headphones because I live in a rule stricken dorm that demands quiet after 2300h, and I work evenings. I want to play games and watch movies at night without bothering anyone, including my sleeping roommate. I also don't have the space or patience to mount satellite speakers everywhere. And finally, I want to bring my 5.1 gaming-edge to LAN parties and not piss everyone off around me...

Solution
  • Zalman Studio 6
First I purchased a pair of Zalman Studio 6 headphones on sale for $45CDN. These were great as they looked awesome, quite comfortable, and did the 5.1 I wanted. Of course it's a pain to have to switch headphones for listening to music. These Zalman headphones just didn't cut it for sheer audio reproduction as they sound like plastic boxes on your ears. I'm sure with a bit of moddification and some rubber tape you could help that, but still- not great quality for music. I sold them to a friend who isn't into music at all, but he absolutely loves them! They've even helped his game in CS:S (it's fun to "hear" exactly where your enemy is). So it really depends on how much of an audiophile you are.
Other notes:
- I'll warn you, the soft material that covers the foam rips away at the seams... oddly, due to where the seams are, this does not really change anything about the phones.
- These phones seem to contain the sound rather well.
- I also purchased the Zalman Mic which clips onto the wire and is really quite good. (I have experience with many, many PC mics too.)

  • Speedlink Medusa LFE
The Speedlink Medusa LFE headphones are well over $100, highly uncomfortable as they feel as they should fit on a head twice as big as mine, and comes with a proprietary connector that MUST be plugged into their included cheap and boomy amp. However, keep the volume on the amp reasonably low and the sound quality is very good. On top of the beautiful sound quality comes the wonderful LFE channel. You see, 5.1 contains 4 channels (left/right front, left/right rear), 1 channel center and sub mixed, and a final channel (the 0.1) that isn't quite a full channel as it simply blends into the lower end of the center channel. This 0.1 channel only details frequencies from 0-60Hz (generally). Yes, these headphones project frequencies 0-20Hz, the ones we can can't hear only feel.
Other notes:
- These headphones don't do quite provide containment quite as well as the Zalman's.
- These have a built in mic which is quite good.
- I won't say, but if you order these you'll get a kick out of the packaging.

Conclusion
For anyone who wants a quick solution to their 5.1 needs, check out some multi channel headphones. There are several manufacturers coming out with alternatives to these two listed.
Other notes:
- A high quality 5.1 or higher sound card really helps. I recommend either The M-Audio Revolution 7.1 or the Audiotrak Prodigy 7.1.
 
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