[Rocketly]

I'm looking for a solid set of headphones to use on my PC. Basically I'll be using to listen to music while I work, and to watch movies and play games while my girlfriend sleeps. The more research I do the more features I see, and one thing that sounds really cool is the 3D Surround sound. How big of a difference does this make? I saw a few headphones at Frye's with SRS 3D Surround Sound but I couldn't test them out. Is this a worthwhile feature?

 

[m_vanmeter]

nope....consider headphones as two tiny speakers very close to your ears. Surround and 3D effects are created by multiple speakers positioned around the listening position. While there are multi-channel headphones (mostly gimmicks), they pale compared to better quality stereo headphones.


For the listening conditions you describe, particularly someone sleeping nearby, I'd recommend "closed back" headphones. In that category, you will have to search long and hard to find phones better than Sennheiser HD280 for the money spent.
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.as...ingid=74198859


Oh...and welcome to the forum ! A lot to learn here

 

[amicusterrae]



Quote:
Originally Posted by m_vanmeter /forum/post/18161789


nope....consider headphones as two tiny speakers very close to your ears. Surround and 3D effects are created by multiple speakers positioned around the listening position. While there are multi-channel headphones (mostly gimmicks), they pale compared to better quality stereo headphones.

I disagree, somewhat. My receiver has Dolby Headphone processing and it does provide a pleasing effect. You're still wearing headphones, but the music seems outside the middle of your head and actually around your head. This comes at the cost of some coloration, however, which isn't really an issue for movies and games. Yet, it drives me crazy to hear something in a favorite song sound so different. Anyway, I agree that you should be leery of processing built into the headphones. And, m_vanmeter gave you a great recommendation.


If you want to explore simulated surround sound further,

check out binaural steering:
http://www.harman.com/EN-US/OurCompa...nyChannels.pdf (starting at PDF page 15).


There are sound cards that offer some type of headphone surround processing mode. AKG use to offer a free download ( http://www.akg.com/site/products/pow...nguage,EN.html ), but it appears to be discontinued in the states. You can try this link: http://www.audiomaster.cz/download.php?cid=377

 

[barryecohen]

The first two replies are pretty spot on. For more info on headphone surround sound check out The Binaural Source .