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Thread ID: 66302	2006-02-18 07:39:00	Xbox 360 surround headphones?	Atreides (7000)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
431828	2006-02-18 07:39:00	I'm looking forward with anticipation to the March 23 release of the Xbox 360, especially after seeing a display model in Gamesman. As well as the better power and games of the console it will also let me have a much better gaming setup than my current 14 inch mono TV - with the VGA high-def cable it can be connected to a computer monitor. I also want to upgrade from mono TV speaker sound to some surround sound headphones, but I'm not sure quite what I'll need to do this. This may not quite be a PC thread, but it is closely related in the end and most people will probably still be interested in it. Quietpc.co.nz down in Christchurch have some Zalman 5.1 surround headphones (www.quietpc.com) which look good. They have connectors for a PC 5.1 sound card, though. I'm fairly sure the 360 won't have those. So, what do I need? I don't want to get a $2000 digital receiver/amp thing just to plug in my $70 headphones! Do I need an amplifier for the signal? Do I need a different AV out cable from the 360? It does have digital audio. Optical digital, I think. I've yet to see quite what the connections are though, and those outputs might be from a different AV cable. Those Zalman headphones (www.quietpc.com) actually have got 6 speakers built into them for real surround sound, while some products that claim surround sound are in fact just stereo headphones with some manipulation of the audio input. Like this Dolby one (www.etcetera.co.uk). Basically I'd appreciate any input here from people who have surround sound headphones for their DVD player/home theatre/Xbox 1/PS2 or plan on getting them for 360 too. Or anyone who knows something about it. Thanks, Atreides	Atreides (7000)
431829	2006-02-18 16:13:00	More info than you could read in a lifetime can be found from a reliable source here (www.google.com 3BAH%3Acenter%3BLH%3A64%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.dan sdata.com%2Fchrome%2Flogo.gif%3BLW%3A323%3BAWFID%3 Ac047247881a20119%3B&sitesearch=dansdata.com).	Greg (193)
431830	2006-02-20 03:11:00	Yep, looks like a pretty good site, thanks Greg. My question has been answered for the most part. :thumbs: Sounds like surround headphones aren't really very good, and that I may as well get stereo ones and then consider a "surround processor". Like that Dolby thing. Should've known Dolby would be better than Zalman. Dan's Data: Letters #146 Dude! Robert Plant is, like, totally behind me! What is your opinion on 5.1 headphones? I am currently looking at Turtle Beach's Earforce HPA. Enoch Answer: I don't know whether any multi-driver headphones sound very good. The cheap ones, like those ones Zalman have been selling for a while, certainly don't. The Turtle Beach ones are also pretty suspiciously inexpensive (though they have considerable fiddle-toy value!); it's not easy to cram multiple drivers into a headphone that sells for $US100, and comes with a mic and a control box, and still make the result sound good. Since at least 90% of the market don't seem to be able to tell the difference, sound quality isn't often a priority (which is a shame, of course, because Turtle Beach audio adapters are generally very good). Oh, and that "subwoofer" bass shaker thing is unlikely to be more than amusing - to my knowledge, all of the "buzzy" headphones on the market are gimmicky, like the ones I reviewed back in 2001. They're certainly fun, but you're kidding yourself if you think they'll give you The Cinema Experience, or actually add to the realism of games. I recommend you spend the same money on a decent pair of regular stereo headphones, if you don't already have some. You could afford Sennheiser HD 280 Pros or HD 515s, for instance (depending on whether you want sealed or open). Save up a bit more and a set of HD 555s could be yours. Or you could save some money, go for old-school looks, and get a set of Grado SR 60s. All good options. Then, if you feel your surround sound experience is lacking (it won't be, in computer games; plain stereo headphones are the best way to listen to synthesised positional audio), you could start pricing surround processors for stereo headphones. All you need for great headphone surround is two drivers, because you've only got two ears; it's all in the signal delay and phase response, which multiple little drivers in the headphones are not actually very good at reproducing. I guess I'll look at what stereo headphones are around, and what they cost. And spend the next few days of my lifetime reading other bits and pieces on that site, Dan's Data (http://dansdata.com/). Atreides	Atreides (7000)
431831	2006-02-20 03:21:00	What you (and all other lovers of multiple speaker setups) need is a course of gene treatments. I have seen pictures of extra eyes growing on legs and other places on drosophila flies due to addition of mouse ey genes. Surely someone has come up with a gene which will let you grow extra ears. (There's a guy in Korea looking for a new research line). Then you could have six (or 8 if you want 7.1 sound) ears. You just buy the appropriate number of stereo headphones. Some people would like them symmetrically placed around the head; others might prefer places where clothing could cover them.	Graham L (2)
431832	2006-02-20 03:42:00	Hi There, I've had a set of Zalman surround sound headphones for over a year now, and as far as I'm concerned they're great. Not only can you listen to all the usual modes, stereo etc, but when playing games like Doom3 or Quake4, you can actually hear the beasties running up behind ya!! Actually did a lot of reading from all over the world about these headphones, and a lot of gamers love them!.... My 2c worth	Ferroshus (842)
431833	2006-02-20 04:38:00	So Ferroshus, you reckon the Zalmans are good? That's interesting given what Dan's Data said, "I don't know whether any multi-driver headphones sound very good. The cheap ones, like those ones Zalman have been selling for a while, certainly don't."I suppose there's a bit of a trade-off between the actual quality of the sound, and the way that it surrounds you. I think I'll have to have a bit of a listen to some different models at some shop. Don't know what shop though. What shops have lots of different headphones?	Atreides (7000)
431834	2006-02-21 02:26:00	Hi There :) I admit I'm no audiophile and I dont have an ear that can pick a pin dropping in a wall of sound, But. For all the techno, hardcore, DVD's and games I play the Zalmans are more than worth the $90 I paid. I've read Dans piece and I think hes right but too much of an audiophile. I have read heaps of glowing reports on these ears, some UK PC mags had them as best gaming headphones.The only drawback........they should have been wireless!! Cheers Ferr	Ferroshus (842)
431835	2006-02-21 07:46:00	Worth looking at then, as well as stereo ones... Thing about wireless headphones is that they cost 4 times as much as the wired version of the same model. The surround speakers in the Zalman headphones really work well, do they? It would be fun to have a surround sound system for $80. Though what it really is that worries me is how I plug them into an Xbox. They have 3 plugs for a 5.1 PC Sound Card. Will I have to spend another hundred or several dollars to get something that takes the 360's digital Toslink audio signal or something and then turns it into PC sockets? Or the RCA stereo audio (red and white)? I don't know. I'll have to find a good local shop that knows its stuff, I suppose.	Atreides (7000)
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