My 5.1 adapter/system for stereo headphones guide.

[Headphone Czar]

5.1 adapter/systems for stereo headphones guide.
By: Kool Bubba Ice
03:33 PM PDT
Views: 0

What do I need?
Headphones & a 5.1 adapter. See below for some recommendations.


1. JVC SUDH1
Pros: Can be had below retail. Portable & small. Nice build quality. Supports DTS.

Cons: Eats batteries like crazy.
Not made for hard to drive headphones.

audiocubes.com jvc.com



2. Astro mix amp

Pros: Used DH next gen chip set. Nice selections of inputs including USB. Not as power hungry as the JVC. Mute function. The ability to mix voice comms.

Cons: Must buy a retail. Sellers are limited. No DTS support.

astrogaming.com



Digital 5.1 receivers

Pros: Can be used as a hub. Ample power to drive high OHM headphones. Lots of connections. No recharging.

Cons: Big & bulky. Only entry level receivers to have DH are from Harman kardon & Maranazt. Expensive.
harmankardon.com marantz.com


Pioneer 5.1 headphones (no particular model.)

Pros: Can use a second headphone (wired) to get 5.1/DH. Some models support coax. Quality stereo headphone. Portable. Can be had for less then retail.

Cons: Wireless. Have to be within a certain distance for headphones to work.
Audiocubes.com


Hi end 5.1 adapters:

Beyerdynamic Gamezone: 2,000. Retail.
beyerdynamic.com
AKG Hearo 999 Audiospere II: 1,099. Retail. (450.00)
headphone.com
Audio Technica ATH DWL5000 Digital wireless headphone system: 1,149.99. Retail.
audiocubes.com



Other category:
Most, if not all 5.1 digital receivers support simulated SS through headphones. The quality varies from good to bad. Many companies use their own DSP to save money instead of going with the proven DH.
Yamaha's Silent Cinema seems to be the best out of the 'home made' DSP..But I haven't tried JVC/Sony/Denon DSP to compare. I used a Yamaha receiver for 5.1 SS with my 595's.. This was 2 yrs ago. My comparison with the DH might be a bit muddy. From what I remember Yamaha's DSP had great seperation, but lacked Dolby headphones 3D & up close presentation. DH is also more spacious & speaker like.
jvc.com sony.com. yamaha.com denon.com.

dolbyheadphone.com

[Headphone Czar]

I go by KBI/Kool Bubba Ice/Headphone Czar.

[Teazle]

I have the JVC SUDH1. Biggest drawback is that it's restricted to lossy surround. However, IIRC the Dolby Headphone algorithms are supposed to support up to 6-ch 24/96 PCM. (On another forum a while back I read about a guy ripping his DVD-As and playing back on his PC with DH.)

Does anyone know of any hardware -- maybe one of the receivers? -- which has HDMI in and can virtualise multichannel lossless audio with Dolby Headphone? (Must be done in real time for Blu-ray audio, & without sync problems.) TIA.

[Headphone Czar]

Originally Posted by Teazle

I have the JVC SUDH1. Biggest drawback is that it's restricted to lossy surround. However, IIRC the Dolby Headphone algorithms are supposed to support up to 6-ch 24/96 PCM. (On another forum a while back I read about a guy ripping his DVD-As and playing back on his PC with DH.)

Does anyone know of any hardware -- maybe one of the receivers? -- which has HDMI in and can virtualise multichannel lossless audio with Dolby Headphone? (Must be done in real time for Blu-ray audio, & without sync problems.) TIA.

I'm going to try when I get my reciever next week.

[Teazle]

http://www.genaudioinc.com/default.aspx


No products available yet, but should be in future ...

[zicmubleu]

I am interested in getting a set of headphones for my system and prefer wired headphones over wireless. However the prices are all over the map from $1400 Sennheiser HD800 Premiere down to JVC HADX3 Digital Referencing Stereo at $110, just at Amazon.com.

I would think a good set of headphones would be a great way to compare speaker sound to a known reference sound experience but I don't want to spend a fortune either. I sort of consider $200 a bit much for headphones, but I am somewhat out of touch with headphone pricing. What are your recommendations for a good stereo headphone set? Some wearing comfort is desirable but quality of sound reproduction is first and foremost - on a budget.