Soldato
I mentioned experience as a reason for not recommending 'true' 5.1 headphones, which was put down.
It's not just experience - it's theory too. Headsets with multiple drivers in each earcup are theoretically incapable of producing a realistic 5.1 representation. That's not to say you won't perceive the directional difference between the different drivers. I could certainly tell the difference between front and rear on the 5.1 headphones I owned.
With virtual 5.1 the limitation is practical rather than theoretical. The main problem is that everyone's ears are as unique as their finger prints. If you find that conventional virtual surround over headphones suits you you are basically lucky, in that you've found something with a good match. I got lucky with Dolby Headphone DH1 and DH3 on the early Xonar cards (and other equipment like the JVC / Victor SU-DH1). DH2 doesn't do it for me, for one reason or another (unfortunately DH2 is what you get on the vast majority of receivers, motherboards etc). By comparison, CMSS-3D on X-Fi just sounded muddy to me, although I could percieve direction.
The practical limitation can be overcome by creating a bespoke system for each user, based on binaural modelling of a speaker system using microphones in an individual's ears. The best example of this is the Smyth Realiser system. Unfortunately it's a few grand so our of most of our reach. Review here: http://hometheaterreview.com/smyth-research-realiser-a8-headphone-audio-processor-reviewed/
It's not just experience - it's theory too. Headsets with multiple drivers in each earcup are theoretically incapable of producing a realistic 5.1 representation. That's not to say you won't perceive the directional difference between the different drivers. I could certainly tell the difference between front and rear on the 5.1 headphones I owned.
With virtual 5.1 the limitation is practical rather than theoretical. The main problem is that everyone's ears are as unique as their finger prints. If you find that conventional virtual surround over headphones suits you you are basically lucky, in that you've found something with a good match. I got lucky with Dolby Headphone DH1 and DH3 on the early Xonar cards (and other equipment like the JVC / Victor SU-DH1). DH2 doesn't do it for me, for one reason or another (unfortunately DH2 is what you get on the vast majority of receivers, motherboards etc). By comparison, CMSS-3D on X-Fi just sounded muddy to me, although I could percieve direction.
The practical limitation can be overcome by creating a bespoke system for each user, based on binaural modelling of a speaker system using microphones in an individual's ears. The best example of this is the Smyth Realiser system. Unfortunately it's a few grand so our of most of our reach. Review here: http://hometheaterreview.com/smyth-research-realiser-a8-headphone-audio-processor-reviewed/
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