Mon Sep 21, 2015 11:14 pm
Just to be clear, there is no headphone based solution that will deliver realistic surround sound; multi-driver gaming headphones are gimmicks designed to sell to naive gamers, and Dolby headphone-esque solutions rely on very general maths that isn't convincing to most. I have tried both solutions many years ago and the results were quite pathetic.
There is only one way to get convincing surround sound via headphones: http://www.smyth-research.com/index.html
This device measures your own head-related-transfer-function (how your head and ears change the sound to provide directional cues) via ear canal microphones while you sit in a 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound speaker system (people usually have this done at a mastering studio for the highest fidelity). The system also equalizes the uneven response of most headphones for an extremely convincing effect. The only thing lacking is the physical rumble of the bass, which can be replicated well enough using tactile transducers.
Getting a Smyth is costly and requires one to get measurements at a high end venue for the best results. If that's not you're cup of tea, you'd best be served by getting a high end pair of stereo headphones, and possibly a tactile transducer if you really want to feel the 32's ; ). I personally use these: http://enigmaticaudio.com/product/paradox/ . They are designed by an audio mastering engineer, and preform perfectly (possibly even too perfectly as it allows me to hear flaws in many sample set demos I try out).
There is only one way to get convincing surround sound via headphones: http://www.smyth-research.com/index.html
This device measures your own head-related-transfer-function (how your head and ears change the sound to provide directional cues) via ear canal microphones while you sit in a 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound speaker system (people usually have this done at a mastering studio for the highest fidelity). The system also equalizes the uneven response of most headphones for an extremely convincing effect. The only thing lacking is the physical rumble of the bass, which can be replicated well enough using tactile transducers.
Getting a Smyth is costly and requires one to get measurements at a high end venue for the best results. If that's not you're cup of tea, you'd best be served by getting a high end pair of stereo headphones, and possibly a tactile transducer if you really want to feel the 32's ; ). I personally use these: http://enigmaticaudio.com/product/paradox/ . They are designed by an audio mastering engineer, and preform perfectly (possibly even too perfectly as it allows me to hear flaws in many sample set demos I try out).
