Surround Sound Headphones / Dolby Headphones

[themanwithapc]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Didn't expect so much so quickly.

andrewfee: I'm currently using my TV speakers for sound and have no amplifier of any sort. The Eltax you link to doesn't outline what inputs it has exactly. Surely I'd get a better all round result if I could feed it optical inputs?

I have my doubts about how comfortable I'd find the SR-80s. I currently have some Sony MDR-V6 headphones, and I find them extremely uncomfortable for extended use as they clamp down on my ears (I wear glasses) and get pretty hot. I've seen some extremely large headphones that completely cover your ears and then some. Would those be better suited for me?

That Cyrus amp is bloody expensive, otherwise I'd consider it. Don't you also have the GS-1000s?

capcom_suicide: That creative decoder looks pretty nice and what I'd probably need, so I'll have to look into it. As for the headphones, I've used 5.1 headphones and not been impressed, so I'll give them a miss. Like you said the 2 should cost £100, so if I spend a bit more on headphones and get slightly better ones, I should still be able to make my £150 budget.

RE Wireless headphones: My dad has a pair of Sennheiser RS130 wireless headphones, and whilst they aren't 'bad' I do find the hiss on quieter parts unbearable, especially as a lot of my usage is with 'quieter' material. They're also pretty crap for music listening, which I intend to do with my setup (should have mentioned it in the opening post, sorry). One thing to note is that I seem to find them far more comfortable than my Sony MDR-V6s, so perhaps it's worth looking into some Sennheiser headphones?

Once again, thanks for all the help so far guys.

[andrewfee]

Yeah, I wasn't recommending you went for the same amp etc as me (though there are a couple on ebay that are less than half price now) just letting you know how I have things set up as I thought it might help.

I imagine all four inputs on that amp will be RCA ones (red/white cables) you'll have to check up on it. Depending on your TV though, if you're not sending the sound to anything else, you might be able to get away with running all the sound into the TV first, and then using its line out to an amp, which would get rid of the need for one that has input switching, so you could maybe go for a cheaper headphone amp (if you can find one within budget) that doesn't have any kind of switching ability.

If you're ever planning on adding a decent pair of speakers though, then the Eltax (or something similar) is probably a better choice though. (but then it would also depend on whether it'd be a 2.0/2.1 setup or 5.1)

I agree with you on the 5.1 headphones or wireless ones - they just don't sound very good at all, in my opinion. And yep, I've got a pair of GS-1000s now, which I use for pretty much everything. The thing I love about headphones is that you're taking room acoustics out of the equation, so things always sound great no matter where you're sitting. As I'm in a pretty small room, even when you're in the "sweet spot" my speakers don't sound nearly as good as they should do.


The SR-80s are pretty comfy though, as they have a metal headband that you can shape until it fits you perfectly, and they're very light plastic. There's no clamping effect with mine, and the bits that go on your ears aren't all that large - just big enough to rest on your ears and nothing more, rather than surrounding them. I sometimes end up using them if I'm finding things too hot to use the GS-1000s. (though, despite the size, the GS-1000s don't actually get all that hot most of the time) They're open-backed too, which helps keep them cooler. I don't wear glasses, but I think they'd probably be ok once you've reshaped the headband a bit. (so that it stays on your head, but without putting much pressure on it)

If the SR80s aren't comfortable, I guess you'd have to be looking at those ones that go in your ear, like Etymotics.

[themanwithapc]

Oh yeah, I realised that. I was just saying that your setup costs a lot of money otherwise it'd be perfect for me.

Although I currently have no plans to add speakers, I might do in the future (probably 5.1), so it might be nice to have the option to buy an amp that has the ability to do so. Is there much difference in quality between a dedicated headphone amp and an all in one (like perhaps the Creative linked earlier)? I'm not really feeling the Eltax, as it looks pretty bulky, ugly and doesn't have any optical inputs.

I've been using in ear phones for a while, and are the only things I'd consider using when portable. However, they feel a bit 'weird' when watching TV/movies/games. Can't really describe the feeling, but it just doesn't feel right. I might have to give the SR-80's (or SR-60's) a go to see if I like them. Thanks for all the help.

[EvilBoris]

would they still need to be 5.1 headphones though? Or are the headphones just the same as ordinary stereo ones?

They are the same as normal stereo ones, the decoder does some crazy surround sound algorithm to make them 5.1

http://www.dolby.com/consumer/technology/headphone.html

There are some Demos there if you have and decent headphones already.

[CMcK]

No hiss on the Philips surround phones and they use RF as opposed to the IR transmitter on the Sony phones. Only about £120 from the link I supplied earlier.
Also the Philips unit has two 6.3mm headphone sockets so you could use existing phones with it.

[Spatial]

I'm being forced to go down the Headphone route for gaming at the moment and seems my trusty 5 year old decoder won't cut it in that department as it has no headphone output (never noticed before today as I didn't really need to).

The Sony MDR-DS3000K one's look like a good solution for me (thanks Soi and Zato) as I don't want to get rid of my existing decoder if I can avoid it, and all of my consoles go in via Optical input to an automatic switcher anyway.

Just wondered if there were any other people on here who had a pair and if they rated them?

[andrewfee]

If you're going to spend almost £200 on a pair of headphones, you're throwing your money away if you're going for a wireless set, in my opinion.

While I haven't heard a pair, I'm really happy with my Grado SR-80s, and GS-1000s, so you could probably pick up a pair of SR-225s or Alessandro MS-2s and have money left over.

[EvilBoris]

I know Soi can't use his Sony ones he recently got as his new TV emits IR that interferes with the signal. That is a fairly potential problem that any of those could suffer from.

Just remember if you are getting headphones of any sort, go for open back/air units as they sound better, although a bit more sound comes out from the other side of the cans.

[Spatial]

Ah, that could be a bit of a swine then.

Was just doing a bit of reading around and some random internet dweller posted elsewhere that they had the same problem (particularly with a Plasma set).

If you're going to spend almost ?200 on a pair of headphones, you're throwing your money away if you're going for a wireless set, in my opinion.

I'll admit it doesn't need to be wireless as I sit close enough to my AV unit for that not to be a problem. What is a problem though is my decoder not having any headphone output - unless anyone else can recommend me a decent and reasonably priced one to go with a decent set of earphones?

[EvilBoris]

Yeah Soi's newun is a plasma set so it is obviously a common problem.

[themanwithapc]

I'll admit it doesn't need to be wireless as I sit close enough to my AV unit for that not to be a problem. What is a problem though is my decoder not having any headphone output - unless anyone else can recommend me a decent and reasonably priced one to go with a decent set of earphones?

Depending on your budget, you have a couple of options for this:
1) Ditch your current decoder, buy a new(er) one (ebay have some absolute steals second hand) and then buy a set of headphones.
2) Buy a set of headphones (wired or wireless) that come with a built in decoder.
3) Assuming your decoder does output via the phono sockets (i.e. the red and white audio ports) then you could probably get a couple of cheapy converters to connect a set of headphones to your current decoder (Phono to 3.5mm).

Again, it depends primarily on your budget, so I might be able to advise you further with specific components if you can give an approximate ceiling price.

Just remember if you are getting headphones of any sort, go for open back/air units as they sound better, although a bit more sound comes out from the other side of the cans.

For reference, I have a pair of these and a Sony DAVS400 All in one system that they're plugged into. However, I also use mine for music listening (via PC) too so I was willing to sacrifice the isolation for a more 'fuller' sound. If you're only going to be using your headphones for gaming then you might be want to consider closed back headphones as the isolation during loud explosions and the like might be preferential in most circumstances.

[huxley]

Whats the view on these? Does anyone here have anything like it?

http://www.trustedreviews.com/mp3/review/2006/01/21/Creative-HQ-2300D-Dolby-Headphones/p1

[themanwithapc]

Whats the view on these? Does anyone here have anything like it?
http://www.trustedreviews.com/mp3/re...-Headphones/p1

I don't have them, but did read up a bit about them when I wanted some headphones. The general consensus was that the decoder included was decent to very good, but the included headphones were appaling. You can however plug in your own headphones into the decoder.

If I recall correctly, andrewfee got a hold of just the decoder from these very forums, so it might be worth waiting for him to post an opinion of it.

[andrewfee]

Someone said they were going to send me theirs, after their headphones were lost/broken (if I remember correctly) but nothing ever turned up.

I wasn't expecting great results though.

[EvilBoris]

Whats the view on these? Does anyone here have anything like it?
http://www.trustedreviews.com/mp3/re...-Headphones/p1

I've got those, they work about as well as I can imagine dolby headphone processing works, it is certainly better than listening in stereo, you do get some really good recreations of surround through them.