I have been updating my HT for a few weeks now, and half way through the process the wife annouced we are expecting our first child. For obvious reasons I am envisioning many a long nights instead of watching movies, etc in my systems full 7.1 glory I suspect I will be religated to headphone viewing at some point.
I currently have a really nice (but dated) pair of MB Quart studio grade headphones I use for music and the occasional late night gaming. They work, but of course I doubt have the latest technology. They have great stereo speration and good low-end extension, but that's it.

What are some recommendations for good headphones to use to enjoy the full (or best posible) impact of a 7.1 system; if any? I am currenly using wired, but would consider wireless if applicable?

Are there any headphones that work better than others for Headphone HD formats?

I use the Sennheiser RS 130. They are wireless and sound great! You can get them for a little over a C note on ebay.

Thanks will look into them. Hopefully I can get a few bucks for my MB Quarts, but doubt they are worth much.

I've had my Sennheiser RS130 headphones since Saturday and am about to return them (Tweeters). The power connection at the back of the unit is very intermittent and right now they're not working at all. I left them off the charger overnight but still turned off. Sadly now they're fully discharged and so unusable until recharged. The on/off switch on the phones does seem to turn them on/off, so why are they discharged? I followed the instrs and charged initially 16 hours. Have since used them twice, about 4 hours total. :(

They're comfortable and work good when they work. I have an FCC broadcast engineer's lic. so yes, I do know what I'm doing. They're intermittent, pure & simple. I'm going to return them for an exchange. Hopefully the replacement will be better.

[EDIT] note, if you're an 'audiophile' these probably aren't for you. They're what I'd call "adequate" for basic 2-channel stereo, but not studio quality. About what you'd expect though for a 'C' note. I believe MSRP is around $169

I've used several pairs of Sony MDR-7506 for many years. These are over-the-ear, so they have good sound insulation, and they are very wide range. Also, they are very consistent between individual sets, so if you know what something sounds like on one set, you're pretty much set (mixing engineers like them because of this, too).
There's a higher end version, MDR-7509HD, that I've never felt the need to try -- the 7506 are pretty transparent as is (although you can never get that room feeling).

What are some headphones that work well with surround material for a hometheater? Are there any designed specifically for that which are reasonably priced?

What are some headphones that work well with surround material for a hometheater? Are there any designed specifically for that which are reasonably priced?
Perhaps just me, but I don't see how you're every going to get that full in-room "surround" sensation from a set of binaural headphones.

The wireless convenience of the Sennheiser is nice, but the 'synthesized' surround option (thank goodness it's an option) in the RS130 to me sounds a bit like a subdued reverb unit. It's a different sound, but not what you're searching for, IMO.

Since I suffer from some moderate unilateral hearing loss (high freq rolloff), I cannot comment on the fidelity of the Sennheiser. However, the fact that the product literature packed with the Sennheiser includes no frequency response curve or performance graphs should tell you a lot ;)

Accept them for what they are, wireless headphones, period.

As I stated in the first post, I won't be using these 24/7. We are expecting our first child, and if past experience tells me anything, just watching TV at normal listening levels is too loud when the baby, or sife is sleeping. I probably don't need full surround, but it would be a nice option. I am simply looking for something that I can sit back and watch 24 or the Unit (maybe a movie or XBox game) after 8pm and not get thrown out of my own house.

As I stated in the first post, I won't be using these 24/7. We are expecting our first child, and if past experience tells me anything, just watching TV at normal listening levels is too loud when the baby, or sife is sleeping. I probably don't need full surround, but it would be a nice option. I am simply looking for something that I can sit back and watch 24 or the Unit (maybe a movie or XBox game) after 8pm and not get thrown out of my own house.
Then the Sennheiser wireless will probably be just fine.

Love my Grados, they have a more open sound then the Senns which I like.

However, the fact that the product literature packed with the Sennheiser includes no frequency response curve or performance graphs should tell you a lot ;)

If they did include the frequency response plot, people would not know what to do with it anyway. Headphone reproduction is a completely different animal than speakers, what you do NOT want is a flat response, it would actually sound unnatural. There was research done to determine what measured frequency response sounds neutral , and for the most part, it slopes downward with a couple of dips in the response. So companies take that into account when designer their hifi headphones.

Even the flagship headphones (we're talking hundreds, even thousands of dollars) from the top headphone companies (Sennheiser, AKG, Sony, Beyerdynamic, Audio Technica) do not include frequency response graphs.

for the original poster, you basically want to use some kind of headphone processor. The most popular is Dolby Headphone which is included in many receivers.
http://www.dolby.com/consumer/technology/headphone_works.html
It basically simulates (using measurement of the HTRF) the cues the ear hears when listening to surround sound system.

You can buy an outboard unit like this
http://www.amazon.com/JVC-SUDH1-Surround-Headphone-Adaptor/dp/B000ETBZ5G/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-8372167-5011353?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1173417440&sr=8-1

It's designed to work with any stereo headphone of your choice

for the original poster, you basically want to use some kind of headphone processor. The most popular is Dolby Headphone which is included in many receivers.
It's designed to work with any stereo headphone of your choice

I am shopping for a receiver now, both the Pioneer Elite and MArantz I am looking at I beleive has this. Thanks to all.

I used this for a while.. it worked great for me

http://www.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=437&subcategory=438&product=11430

http://images.creative.com/iss/images/products/headers/prod11430_hdr_1_6_1.jpg

Wired headphones bundled but can use any mini stereo headphone system

This uses HRTF (head related transfer function) to simulate surround sound using 2 speakers

The problem was that I was using it with XBox360 and I couldn't get a headset to work properly with the headphone..

So I recently switched to this:
http://www.trittontechnologies.com/products/TRIGA600.html

Unfortunately, it only works with Dolby Digital...

But it does have really discrete speakers in the headphone.



Turtle Beach has something similar...

http://www.turtlebeach.com/site/products/audioadv/srm/combopacks.asp

http://www.turtlebeach.com/site/images/aa_srm/HPA_connector_srm.jpg