i need some for playing my 360 at night and watching dvds on my MBP....what is my best option? $400 max, i was looking at the bose quiet comforts, although they don't have the 5.1 i was hoping for for video games. What do u guys have?
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best high quality headphones with 5.1?
- Thread starter Wallace86
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You do realize the only 5.1 with headphones you're going to get is the virtual kind (using psychoacoustics) that doesn't really sound like 5.1 ... more like Dolby Pro Logic from yesteryear.
The reason is that in order to get true 5.1 surround sound you need 5 speakers. Headphones only have 2 that are very close to your head so you lose all the spaciousness and timings that true surround needs. Even if they had 2 speakers in each can you still wouldn't hear it as you do when listening to a home theater setup.
Forget the promise of true 5.1 headphones. Instead, I'd get a good quality pair of headphones. Unfortunately, people are very opinionated about which are best. Some love Grado's while other prefer less coloration and like Sennheiser's or high end Sony's.
I personally prefer the Sony MDR-7506's simply because they give the flattest frequency response that I know of and I can therefore EQ it to my heart's content.
For gaming you probably don't want Grado's since I assume you're trying to keep the noise down in the place and Grado's are definitely not sealed from the outside.
Bose headphone's sound nice if you haven't heard proper ones. What they're doing is boosting the lower midrange and making you think you're hearing true bass. Once you've heard what good headphones sound like you'll know what I mean.
Sennheiser's aren't bad and some people prefer them but I haven't had any experience with them.
The first thing to remember is that not everyone hears exactly the same. This is a major reason why so many people argue over what's better. If at all possible see if you can try the pair you'd like to be on and listen to whatever you are most likely going to be listening to with them. This will give you an idea of what you actually prefer without spending a ton of money buying different sets.
A great place to do research for purchasing is Headroom
I personally prefer the Sony MDR-7506's simply because they give the flattest frequency response that I know of and I can therefore EQ it to my heart's content.
For gaming you probably don't want Grado's since I assume you're trying to keep the noise down in the place and Grado's are definitely not sealed from the outside.
Bose headphone's sound nice if you haven't heard proper ones. What they're doing is boosting the lower midrange and making you think you're hearing true bass. Once you've heard what good headphones sound like you'll know what I mean.
Sennheiser's aren't bad and some people prefer them but I haven't had any experience with them.
The first thing to remember is that not everyone hears exactly the same. This is a major reason why so many people argue over what's better. If at all possible see if you can try the pair you'd like to be on and listen to whatever you are most likely going to be listening to with them. This will give you an idea of what you actually prefer without spending a ton of money buying different sets.
A great place to do research for purchasing is Headroom
hmm, those sonys have some good reviews and look pretty awosome...I was also looking at Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 QuietPoint Active Noise-Cancelling Headphones....i kind of like the idea of the noise canceling thing, but i dont know. how well do the sonys block out noise?
The Sony's completely block out noise when they are playing music. Anything that could've been heard with them on (talking, etc) is completely washed out by the sound flowing to your head. The only thing you may be able to hear is jet engine noise but no worse than any other noise canceling set.
They are extremely well built, you can buy every part to make it (like a Jeep Wrangler), and the frequency response (even bass) is phenomenal. They can also handle a lot higher volumes than what you can tolerate without distortion. Even extremely hot signals don't produce audible distortion (ex. crank the preamp +12 dB). Most headphones will distort even at these levels.
The only downside they do have is that they can be a tad bit bright if you listen to them with the EQ flat (That's more the fault of how we hear and not of the cans, as they're doing what they were designed to do). However, a little EQ'ing and you're straight.
I picked mine up at Guitar Center for $89. They usually run $99 which is still a steal in the higher end headphone world.
One thing on noise canceling headphones. If you don't like being in soundproof rooms because of the lack of ambient, natural, white noise you'll most likely dislike Noise Reduction.
They are extremely well built, you can buy every part to make it (like a Jeep Wrangler), and the frequency response (even bass) is phenomenal. They can also handle a lot higher volumes than what you can tolerate without distortion. Even extremely hot signals don't produce audible distortion (ex. crank the preamp +12 dB). Most headphones will distort even at these levels.
The only downside they do have is that they can be a tad bit bright if you listen to them with the EQ flat (That's more the fault of how we hear and not of the cans, as they're doing what they were designed to do). However, a little EQ'ing and you're straight.
I picked mine up at Guitar Center for $89. They usually run $99 which is still a steal in the higher end headphone world.
One thing on noise canceling headphones. If you don't like being in soundproof rooms because of the lack of ambient, natural, white noise you'll most likely dislike Noise Reduction.
So you want headphones with five speakers in them. Let's see, one speaker goes over each ear, where to the other three go?
The BEST headphone ever made are still the AKG K240. (well, I guess some might disagree) AKG has been making them for 30 years and they are widely used by professional recording engineers. I think they are the "standard" reference headphone. They are as flat and accurate as you will ever find The good thing is they cost something like $150
The only problem with them is they not not block noise well and they take some power to drive them