Headphones

Status
Not open for further replies.
strawman

strawman

figmentPez said:
Steinman, what do you know about virtual surround tech like Dolby Headphone?
Click to expand...
Hmmm. How to summarize.

Humans don't have 3D hearing. At best they have 2D hearing. The only reason we perceive 3D hearing is because our ear structure alters the sound slightly depending on what direction it's coming from, and our brain processes these minute differences, combines them with other cues (usually visual) and then recreates the 3D sound for you.

There are a number of audio illusions that show you just how much your brain is tricking you.

When you have multiple speaker surround sound you are attempting to recreate the actual sound in the room that you would have if you were in the environment being simulated by the game or entertainment. Your ears and brain then do the work of decoding the audio and causing you to perceive the environmental sound as 3D.

With virtual surround sound Dolby and others have attempted to reverse engineer the ear and processing your brain does. It then takes the multiple input surround sound, and pushes it through a signal filter which is essentially the reverse of what your ear and brain processing does, so that when your ear and brain do their job you perceive it as though you had received multiple sound sources, when you've really only received two, one for each ear.

This works partly because your ears are isolated in this case - this doesn't work very well without headsets since the sound going into each ear has to be carefully controlled.

Everyone's ears and brains are different though, so it's not a great experience, but by relying on common features (again, see the audio illusions) they can give most people a reasonable facsimile of surround sound with a stereo headset.

I haven't looked into the Dolby tech specifically. It looks like some of them do a little of both - multiple speakers and processing, but not as many speakers as would otherwise be used.
 
Jay

Jay

I tend to play a variety of games and I can tell you that being able to pinpoint where sounds come from (instead of behind you, you hear below you to left your left) is extremely relevant to me and with my still functional (except for the mic) PC 350 Sennheisers that I've had for the last 5 years is day and night compared to other type of headsets I've had in the past.

I heard that PC 360 speakers are better and being the rich bastard that I am, I'm willing to fork whatever it takes (albeit I'm not paying for 500$ headsets or sound cards). Thus I repeat, I'm looking for a top-tier but not ridiculously priced headset with mic functionality and a sound card to support it. Wireless would be nice but but wireless I've seen thus far have sucked a dick.

Some recommendations are noted but I'm still unsure.
 
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

I use a pair of logitech G930 wireless surround sound headphones with built in mic. I'm not an audiophile, but I think they sound pretty damn good
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

Jay said:
my still functional (except for the mic) PC 350 Sennheisers that I've had for the last 5 years [...] day and night compared to other type of headsets I've had in the past.
Click to expand...
Jay, just buy the Zalman ZM-Mic1 to replace your broken mic and keep your current cans. Total cost is about $5 and you can put the $250 or more you were going to spend on a new setup towards a 9in Wüsthof or something useful.

There, I've made my recommendation, and I'm sticking to it. If you're still looking to upgrade after replacing your mic, then you'll have bought plenty of time to cruise reviews (or even wait for new tech to come out) for the low, low cost of $5.

--Patrick
 
Frank

Frank

GasBandit said:
Long story short - surround headphones are bollocks, and if you insist on them you're dumb as a foodie and twice as annoying.
Click to expand...
What kind of foodie are we talking about here? This forum has proven to be problematic on what a foodie is.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

I take all my previous headphone recommendations back. You need to get a pair of these.
5Hz-50kHz response, <1%THD even at full 133dB output*.

Then you need to invite me over so I can try them out.

--Patrick
*Not recommended.
 
Silent Bob

Silent Bob

How about a gaming headset that doesn't crap out sound in one ear? That's all I want. Every. Single. Headset I've ever owned has had issues with one ear dying.
 
drifter

drifter

Silent Bob said:
Nope, it happens eventually with all my headsets. One ear channel craps out.
Click to expand...
Hmm, well while I can't speak to gaming headsets specifically, I do have an old pair of ATH-M30's that I use for yardwork and such. I've used them through heat, sweat, and dirt, and long enough that the fake leather covering the earpads have completely disintegrated. I think it's been around a decade now that I've had them, and they're still going strong. Right now they're around $53 at Amazon, but I know I've seen them down around $40 before.

There's also the Monoprice 8323; I've not had them, but I mention them because they come with a removable headphone cord. If it's the wire that's the weak point, you can just replace it. Very good sound quality regardless of price, they're also less than $25, which makes them a huge bargain, and cheap enough to not worry about if they do happen to break. They're purported to have excellent build quality, but I've also heard they're not the most comfortable things (headband is a little tight, although your mileage may vary).

They're both over-ear closed-back headphones, which means good sound isolation, but your ears may get a little hot if you wear them a long time. They're also both regular headphones, so these are only options if you are amenable to using a clip-on mic or some such.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top