Will/Do 5.1 headphones help situational awareness in BOP?

[juz1]

just wondering if anyone has 5.1 headphones and uses them in the demo...
can Headphones really provide a 5.1 experience?

I've just been using a standard headphone set (so as not to wake the kiddies)

Does anyone have any 5.1 headphone recommendations?

Thanks for sharing
________
Toyota verossa

[Mr_V]

That's a very good question! I haven't played the demo yet with surround headphones; I'll do so and let you know.

Surround headphones definitely do help with situational awareness in some games – generally games with very good sound design (to state the obvious). The most notable example I can think of right now is Codemasters' racing game GRID, where (if you're using the in-car "helmet view"), the surround sound is good enough for you to hear not only that someone is right on your tail, but even on which side of you he's trying to pass.

Surround headphones is a subject about which I've read (and taken part in) lengthy discussions on other gaming and A/V-related forums. In (short, short) summary:

Don't buy one of the sets of so-called "surround headphones" targeted specific at the gaming market.

Do buy yourself a set of mid-to-high-end circumaural headphones (e.g. Sennheiser HD5xx series), and a separate headphone amp which supports Dolby Headphone (e.g. JVC/Victor SU-DH1).

[elneilios]

Originally Posted by Mr_V

That's a very good question! I haven't played the demo yet with surround headphones; I'll do so and let you know.

Surround headphones definitely do help with situational awareness in some games – generally games with very good sound design (to state the obvious). The most notable example I can think of right now is Codemasters' racing game GRID, where (if you're using the in-car "helmet view"), the surround sound is good enough for you to hear not only that someone is right on your tail, but even on which side of you he's trying to pass.

Surround headphones is a subject about which I've read (and taken part in) lengthy discussions on other gaming and A/V-related forums. In (short, short) summary:

Don't buy one of the sets of so-called "surround headphones" targeted specific at the gaming market.

Do buy yourself a set of mid-to-high-end circumaural headphones (e.g. Sennheiser HD5xx series), and a separate headphone amp which supports Dolby Headphone (e.g. JVC/Victor SU-DH1).

MR_V, can you give us some more examples of decent headphone packages to look out for? This is something I've been thinking about getting for some time but can't justify a huge price for it (as my wife will not understand that the goodness will be worth it!!)

[BadByte]

5.1 headphones helps out in fps games, I have not gotten my paws on il2 demo yet so cant say if they are any use there.

I use Tritton ax360 (rebranded Sharkoon?), it comes with a small decoder that will plug into any s/pdif sound source, be it xbox/ps3/dvd player/etc....

[elneilios]

Originally Posted by BadByte

5.1 headphones helps out in fps games, I have not gotten my paws on il2 demo yet so cant say if they are any use there.

I use Tritton ax360 (rebanded Sharkoon?), it comes with a small decoder that will plug into any s/pdif sound source, be it xbox/ps3/dvd player/etc....

This might sound like a noobish question but if you plug a decoder into the s/pdif output of the cable will any normal stereo sound still be sent over the SCART? I ask because it would be a pain to have to unplug the headphones everytime I wanted to use the 360 for playing DVDs/games with friends/family.

[BadByte]

Originally Posted by elneilios

This might sound like a noobish question but if you plug a decoder into the s/pdif output of the cable will any normal stereo sound still be sent over the SCART? I ask because it would be a pain to have to unplug the headphones everytime I wanted to use the 360 for playing DVDs/games with friends/family.

Yes, 360 does that as default. The ps3 I have to select witch to use, optical OR analog as it can't or won't do both as the same time, midly annoying.

[elneilios]

Originally Posted by BadByte

Yes, 360 does that as default. The ps3 I have to select witch to use, optical OR analog as it can't or won't do both as the same time, midly annoying.

Ah good to know, thanks!

[Mr_V]

Originally Posted by elneilios

MR_V, can you give us some more examples of decent headphone packages to look out for?

Have you seen the lengths of the flamewars on the average A/V forum? ;-} You'll probably find more opinions than you'll find people.

That said, if I had to pick just one name out of a hat… A lot of gamers go for the Sennheiser HD555. This is a nice middle-of-the-road set that's not too expensive, and gives a very nice soundstage straight out of the box.

(I personally have the model below it, the HD515. Been using it for years, and am still constantly amazed at what a terrific piece of kit it is.)

As for a surround-capable pre-amp, there are a couple of options on the market, but the only one that is roundly recommended by just about everyone (or at least was, when I last researched this) is the JVC/Victor SU-DH1. Note that it's branded "JVC" in the US and "Victor" in Japan. I don't believe it's officially available in any other territories (though it's trivial to import from Hong Kong). The "JVC" version lacks a power socket and can only run off batteries, hence the Victor unit is generally preferred.

Of course, if you want to spend vast amounts of money (which, by the sound of things, you don't :-), you can opt for Astro Gaming's A40 setup, which includes a specialised set of headphones and a Dolby Headphone pre-amp, and has nifty features like the ability to mix voice comms and game sound in analogue fashion.

[elneilios]

Originally Posted by Mr_V

Have you seen the lengths of the flamewars on the average A/V forum? ;-} You'll probably find more opinions than you'll find people.

That said, if I had to pick just one name out of a hat… A lot of gamers go for the Sennheiser HD555. This is a nice middle-of-the-road set that's not too expensive, and gives a very nice soundstage straight out of the box.

(I personally have the model below it, the HD515. Been using it for years, and am still constantly amazed at what a terrific piece of kit it is.)

As for a surround-capable pre-amp, there are a couple of options on the market, but the only one that is roundly recommended by just about everyone (or at least was, when I last researched this) is the JVC/Victor SU-DH1. Note that it's branded "JVC" in the US and "Victor" in Japan. I don't believe it's officially available in any other territories (though it's trivial to import from Hong Kong). The "JVC" version lacks a power socket and can only run off batteries, hence the Victor unit is generally preferred.

Of course, if you want to spend vast amounts of money (which, by the sound of things, you don't , you can opt for Astro Gaming's A40 setup, which includes a specialised set of headphones and a Dolby Headphone pre-amp, and has nifty features like the ability to mix voice comms and game sound in analogue fashion.

Thanks for the information. I'll definately be investigating those products further. The other thing I would like to consider is that I currently have a set of PC 5.1 speakers without a built in decoder so it would be quite nice to find a pre-amp that can decode the optical signal and push it to either a set of headphones or my 5.1 speakers. Dolby Pro Logic would also be an advantage for any non-5.1 signals that get sent to it. Any ideas on that one? I've been considering the Tritton AXPro set of 5.1 headphones since they do exactly what I just described (I think... )

[Mr_V]

Originally Posted by elneilios

The other thing I would like to consider is that I currently have a set of PC 5.1 speakers without a built in decoder so it would be quite nice to find a pre-amp that can decode the optical signal and push it to either a set of headphones or my 5.1 speakers.

The SU-DH1 won't do for that. It's purely a headphone pre-amp; it mixes the decoded and virtualised output into two channels to play back on headphones, so there's no way to drive 5.1 speakers of it.

You do of course get desktop 5.1 amps, but I don't personally know of any which also implement Dolby Headphone. You might want to ask around on A/V forums, though…

Dolby Pro Logic would also be an advantage for any non-5.1 signals that get sent to it. Any ideas on that one?

The SU-DH1 does support the so-called "music" mode of Pro Logic II in order to widen the soundstage for 2.0 inputs (though arguably this is "fake surround"). I've tried it, and it's… interesting.

I've been considering the Tritton AXPro set of 5.1 headphones since they do exactly what I just described

No, that's exactly where you don't want to go.