surround sound headphones

pmckeealaska
pmckeealaska Posts: 808
edited May 2009 in Music & Movies
Ok, I dont know if this the right place to post this but I have a question about headphones. I dont own any and haven't in a while but my girlfriend says I crank up the volume on movies way too loud (what can i say I like it loud). I was wondering if anyone makes "surround sound headphones" that I can somehow hook up to my reciever and still enjoy the full 5.1 experience. Any ideas?
Music and Movie Rig

Samsung 40" HDTV 1080p
LSi25 Front Speakers
LSiC Center Channel
LSiFX Surrounds
Rotel RB 1080 2-Channel Amp
NAD T763 Reciever
Denon DVD 2900 Universal Player

Audiosource 10 Band Digital Equalizer
Audioquest CV-8 speaker cables
Audioquest Sub-X subwoofer cables
Audioquest King Cobra Interconnects

Monster AVS 2000 Voltage Stabilizer
Playstation 3 120GB Slim
Post edited by pmckeealaska on

Comments

  • thuffman03
    thuffman03 Posts: 1,325
    edited May 2009
    Never head of something like that but then again I never looked for it either.
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  • McCelery
    McCelery Posts: 123
    edited May 2009
    They do exist but I think they're a gimmick that don't stand up to the best conventional 2 driver phones out there. The reason, and you probably know this, is that our ears are single point receivers that only work to determine location when both ears hear a similar sound. So a sound coming into the left ear, for instance, is hard to make seem like it's above or behind or in front or whatever. It's just in the left ear. Combine it with a similar sound into the right ear and you have a fairly limited way of creating L-R imaging, compared to using 5.1 or 7.1 where you also add the fact that both ears hear all speakers and all reflected sounds, making more subtle variations possible.

    I absolutely love the Sennheiser HD-5xx series for movies (and music). The 595s have been regarded as one of the best set of cans out there for all applications. I have a pair of HD-555s for about $100 that are great for movies. I'm always surprised at how well they can create the illusion of sound behind me when I'm listening to a 5.1 source, and I know they were designed with movie watching in mind. They're open, which is a must in my opinion for good headphones, so your GF will still be able to hear them a little bit if you crank them. Not for blasting metal at work, for instance.

    And hey, have you calibrated your Samsung? How do you determine settings for some of the Samsung specific settings like dynamic contrast?
  • pmckeealaska
    pmckeealaska Posts: 808
    edited May 2009
    Thanks for the great info. I'll check out the Sennheiser's you suggested.

    As far as my Samsung, I never have actually calibrated it myself. The guys from Best Buy who delivered it to me did that and I havent really had any problems with the way things look on it. I love that TV, though I am looking to upgrade to one of the new 7000 or 8000 series LED LCD's sometime towards the end of the summer.
    Music and Movie Rig

    Samsung 40" HDTV 1080p
    LSi25 Front Speakers
    LSiC Center Channel
    LSiFX Surrounds
    Rotel RB 1080 2-Channel Amp
    NAD T763 Reciever
    Denon DVD 2900 Universal Player

    Audiosource 10 Band Digital Equalizer
    Audioquest CV-8 speaker cables
    Audioquest Sub-X subwoofer cables
    Audioquest King Cobra Interconnects

    Monster AVS 2000 Voltage Stabilizer
    Playstation 3 120GB Slim
  • McCelery
    McCelery Posts: 123
    edited May 2009
    Oh yeah, those new LED LCDs are the new frontier. I can't get over how bright, deep black, and yet thin they are.
  • jflail2
    jflail2 Posts: 2,868
    edited May 2009
    I've really enjoyed my Audio Technica noise cancelling headphones (ATH-ANC7 I think.)

    Great sound, relatively cheap in comparison to other nc headphones, and keeps you focused on what your'e watching/listening to.
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