Spec me a true 5.1 headset

<Sigh>

I'm a former Speedlink Medusa (original) owner. I loved them at the time. However, when I eventually heard Dolby Headphone through the medusas, it utterly changed my perception of headphone 5.1 sound to the point I expect I'll never go back to a 'real' set.

Even the Medusas in stereo mode with Dolby Headphone running form a Xonar card give a more realistic presentation of 5.1 than the Medusas in 'real' 5.1 mode.

Yes I could tell the difference between front and rear. The bass gave a nice rumble too but really - they were a £40 headset that sounded worse than £10 headphones from other manufacturers that did a far better job of directional audio when paired with a decent gaming soundcard..

I can't tar all 'true' 5.1 headphones with the same brush, but in terms of theoretical psychoacoustics - you have no hope of successfully replicating a 5.1 sound system with drivers strapped to your head. You can successfully simulate it via stereo headphones.

tankskun - What virtual surround systems over headphoned have you actually heard? They aren't all the same.
 
My Asus Xonar d2x card does dolby headphone, turns any stereo headset into virtual 5.1 or 7.1 am not a fan it sounds like your inside a massive Hall or something very "echoey"
 
Uriel said:
<Sigh>

I'm a former Speedlink Medusa (original) owner. I loved them at the time. However, when I eventually heard Dolby Headphone through the medusas, it utterly changed my perception of headphone 5.1 sound to the point I expect I'll never go back to a 'real' set.

Even the Medusas in stereo mode with Dolby Headphone running form a Xonar card give a more realistic presentation of 5.1 than the Medusas in 'real' 5.1 mode.

Yes I could tell the difference between front and rear. The bass gave a nice rumble too but really - they were a £40 headset that sounded worse than £10 headphones from other manufacturers that did a far better job of directional audio when paired with a decent gaming soundcard..

I can't tar all 'true' 5.1 headphones with the same brush, but in terms of theoretical psychoacoustics - you have no hope of successfully replicating a 5.1 sound system with drivers strapped to your head. You can successfully simulate it via stereo headphones.

tankskun - What virtual surround systems over headphoned have you actually heard? They aren't all the same.
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My surround systems in the past were quite limited, though I 'think' now have a general idea of the virtualization process.

Have tried with my previous ATX system a Creative soundblaster live of some sort. which had Dolby surround and some other features, paired with now old Creative and Sennheisers cans. The effect was ok, I could also hear 'footsteps behind' but after a while it would just give me a headache and most of the times I was just guessing audio position.

The other day I setup my AKG cans with my onboard soundcard using Razers virtualization drivers and software. It was ok, but again I much preferred even my Trittons for the positional audio. Using my onboard soundcard may not have done any justice to emulation, but now having a mini itx setup any sound card is not an option as there is no extra slot.

I'm content with old school 5.1 (4 drivers each side) Just want to find whats the best option out there. Even willing to spend more if any exceptional ones appear. Really don't want to try software 3D anymore.
 
AKG cans are very very power hungry, they will sound awful if not fed properly.

AD700 or HD595 second hand for £50-£70 will beat any real 5.1 headset IMO.

If you want to use AKG's like the 701 range then you need a very powerful headphone amp or a decent sound card with one built in like the STX, etc.
 
I'd give up Sonny, he's got his mind set on 5.1's, let him listen to Shankly as he obviously knows best from never owning a half decent sound setup.
 
Jesus why do people get so angry about cans. He wants 5.1 because he games and watches films I get that if he only listened to music and occasionally gamed then yeah stereo cans would be ideal but thats not what he wants.

And I meant A50's sorry fella miss typed
 
this will be my last post in this thread but the sticky has all the info you need.

"Why are Gaming Headsets often said to be inferior to regular headphones?

In general, headphones (especially "audiophile" or "hi-fi" headphones) tend to have better sound quality than your typical gaming headsets. This is due to a number of reasons, such as: a design more focused on maximizing sound quality instead of maximizing stylish "gaming" looks, an Open Vs. Closed design (most gaming headsets are closed), and simply having more experience at designing headphones than gaming headset companies.




What about multi-driver "true surround sound" headphones? Aren't they better?

No. Multi-driver headphones make use of tiny drivers with inferior performance to larger stereo (dual driver) headphones. A better route is a good pair of stereo headphones with a good virtual surround DSP."

that is from the sticky
 
Psycho Sonny said:
this will be my last post in this thread but the sticky has all the info you need.

"Why are Gaming Headsets often said to be inferior to regular headphones?

In general, headphones (especially "audiophile" or "hi-fi" headphones) tend to have better sound quality than your typical gaming headsets. This is due to a number of reasons, such as: a design more focused on maximizing sound quality instead of maximizing stylish "gaming" looks, an Open Vs. Closed design (most gaming headsets are closed), and simply having more experience at designing headphones than gaming headset companies.




What about multi-driver "true surround sound" headphones? Aren't they better?

No. Multi-driver headphones make use of tiny drivers with inferior performance to larger stereo (dual driver) headphones. A better route is a good pair of stereo headphones with a good virtual surround DSP."

that is from the sticky
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Well Point one Kave are a Open design

Point two Kaves dont have tiny multi Drivers, they have 3x 40mm much bigger than your standard multi driver headphones what normally have 10mm

LOL

Some of us like 5.1 you dont, that dont mean we all MUST follow you Mr sir Audio.
 
As far as Kaves go, they are one of the better '5.1' headsets. If that is what you really want, its hard to beat for the money.

Just to add my 2p, I do personally believe, from personal experience, stereo cans with a neutral sound, good clarity and width are far better at resolving positions in fps games than 5.1 headsets. If it were my money, I would be looking at second hand AD700s or HD598s/558s/585s. They will not be as good for movies as the 5.1s, which will be more immersive, but they certainly will be better for gaming.
 
Okay, first, here's a video I made last year on some headsets, including the CM Storms and the Roccat Kaves - http://youtu.be/DVfmonTlZqw


Now, a year and a half later, I'm still using the CM Storm Sirus headset. It hasn't let me down, feels comfortable and generally sounds good. For surround, that's my recommendation. I've recently tried Razer's "Surround" app with studio headphones, but, it's not a replacement for a real surround headset.

Now, as an audio engineer, well, it's far trickier. Why? Because we all have different needs. I let my brother hear my awesome Denon AHD2000 headphones, but he preferred his Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphones.
I've owned plenty of studio headphones like Beyerdynamic DT-250s and DT100s, as well as countless sets of consumer headphones. Currently, my personal workhorse favourites are a set of Sennheiser HD 280 Pros. But, that's just me.

Anyway, I hope my video helps. Again, my comments in the video are just my personal opinions on the sound that 'I' was hearing. What you'll learn in time is that we all hear things differently. Take from that, what you will!
 
Imdur said:
Okay, first, here's a video I made last year on some headsets, including the CM Storms and the Roccat Kaves - http://youtu.be/DVfmonTlZqw


Now, a year and a half later, I'm still using the CM Storm Sirus headset. It hasn't let me down, feels comfortable and generally sounds good. For surround, that's my recommendation. I've recently tried Razer's "Surround" app with studio headphones, but, it's not a replacement for a real surround headset.

Now, as an audio engineer, well, it's far trickier. Why? Because we all have different needs. I let my brother hear my awesome Denon AHD2000 headphones, but he preferred his Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphones.
I've owned plenty of studio headphones like Beyerdynamic DT-250s and DT100s, as well as countless sets of consumer headphones. Currently, my personal workhorse favourites are a set of Sennheiser HD 280 Pros. But, that's just me.

Anyway, I hope my video helps. Again, my comments in the video are just my personal opinions on the sound that 'I' was hearing. What you'll learn in time is that we all hear things differently. Take from that, what you will!
Click to expand...

I like your YouTube video. Straight to the point, very helpful. The CM Sirus is now edging it since you have used multiple headsets. I fully trust your judgement and it seems like you hear the sound stage just like me.
 
Imdur said:
I'm glad to have been able to help :)
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Good video, about the movie and Game mode. Movie mode makes talking more clear over other sounds, while game mode improves all the other sounds.

If you put a movie on and flip between them you can easy tell.

Apart from that only other thing about Kaves I do kinda agree with you is the hand band. The new version have improved this though.
Mic am not sure, so far no one complained to me. The surround sound I find to work stunning, this could also having something to do with the sound card also?
I do really like the controller has you pointed out, it works superb and finding the sweet spot for rear and front audio.
 
Uriel said:
Experience. We're trying to be helpful and save him all the faff we went through.
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Experience is not stating that all 5.1 headsets are terrible that's passing judgement. Some people want 5.1 and others stereo
 
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tbh all 5.1 headsets are pretty bad. they don't give you any advantage at all. some peopel like them some don't I wasn't a fan. The last good headset like that was the g36/35 by logitech which was great for gaming but it was also easy to break and heavy just like the kaves. Logitech rebranded the g36/35 but made it too expensive and i think wireless which can be a pain for long gaming sessions.

if you have to go down the 5.1 route kaves would imo be best value for money with a pretty good warranty but they are heavy and warm when warn for a long period of time. They are also very weak around the hinge so if you're a bit rough with your stuff be carefull.

As other said though it's all preference I've never bought into the surround sound gimmick
 
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TwsT said:
tbh all 5.1 headsets are pretty bad. they don't give you any advantage at all. some peopel like them some don't I wasn't a fan. The last good headset like that was the g36/35 by logitech which was great for gaming but it was also easy to break and heavy just like the kaves. Logitech rebranded the g36/35 but made it too expensive and i think wireless which can be a pain for long gaming sessions.

if you have to go down the 5.1 route kaves would imo be best value for money with a pretty good warranty but they are heavy and warm when warn for a long period of time. They are also very weak around the hinge so if you're a bit rough with your stuff be carefull.

As other said though it's all preference I've never bought into the surround sound gimmick
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Disagree :p 5.1 like OP has helped me when playing games a lot. Like I said in my first post I get accused of hacking/ghosting in CSGO at times just because how good I hear things around me.
 
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