Headphones and Movies

[Spike M.]

I'm admittedly a bit of a headphones novice, and while I love my pair of Sennheiser HD558's for music, I find watching movies with them (or any pair I've tried) to be an excruciating and sometimes impossible task. The curve seems all over the place- half the time dialogue is far too quiet, then a character speaks up and it's sharply loud, then something like an explosion or motorcycle engine revs and I need to pull them off my head as quick as humanly possible. I'm aware that the cause for this is likely the amount that gets lost in translation from the sound mix when my laptop is trying to compress and 5.1 or 7.1 track into a stereo set up, but is there any known way to circumvent or alleviate this? I've tried "night mode" solutions, but frankly they're terrible.

[FreddieFerric]

Don't know if there is a headphone that is designed for movie viewing.

[Badas]

There was a Sony HP recently developed and sold as a movie surround sound HP. Sorry I can't remember the model number.

Also DTS-X has a headphone system. I remember having a listen at a HP meet. It was okay. I don't know if the software can work for other sound formats.

[Hrvojeos]

Hello.

I have headphones some cheap Sennheiser.

When I connect to Tv everything is low. Volume, dialoges, bass... I turn volume up for headphones ofcourse.

But when I connect to laptop great.

Is there something cheap an small to put between tv and headphones to amplify sound?

[jfcarbel]

It is all about wide open sound stage and strong but clear bass with movie head phones. I love my Audio Technica ATH-AD700 they have a wide open sound stage. I sometimes wonder if I am even wearing headphones as the sound is so surrounding.

The best for movies are also open back design of head phones. Now anyone in room will hear some sounds but this design provides a better sound stage.

They do sell newer versions as Audio Technica ATH-AD900X or AD700X and these are still very good and very comfortable.

Good place for info is over at head-fi forums as well.

Some folks also like the Sennheiser HD598 or AKG 612/701 for movies as well.

If you are connecting any larger size headphones to a laptop than you may not have enough power to drive a clean signal and need a portable amp in between.

Also Sennheiser is refreshing their 5XX lines this Sept and are introducing a HD599. Not sure if any updates over HD598
http://en-de.sennheiser.com/ifa-2016

[BeastCreatureTrapper]

I have used Sennheiser 280 Pros for my movie watching nearly every single time for the past five years. Living in an apartment (with neighbors on both sides and on top of me) and watching my movies late at night, it's just what I've become accustomed to.

The 280 Pros sound great. I never had any problem making out dialogue or feeling as though the sound wasn't balanced properly.

Keep in mind that my mix is coming from a full-on Onkyo receiver, and not a laptop. That probably makes a huge difference.

[italy12]

I did some research a few years ago and found these from someone's suggestion in another discussion on here:

Sony MDR-HW700DS

They are incredible, albeit pricey. They decode all of the blu ray codecs (TrueHD, DTS HD-MA) and while I don't think you can get true surround in a headphone, they seem to have found a way to "place" the sound in different areas to simulate a surround experience. It really is quite immersive.

These cans are super comfortable and you can probably watch around 4 or 5 movies before having to recharge the batteries.

I highly recommend!!

[fain2daniel]

Originally Posted by italy12

I did some research a few years ago and found these from someone's suggestion in another discussion on here:

Sony MDR-HW700DS

They are incredible, albeit pricey. They decode all of the blu ray codecs (TrueHD, DTS HD-MA) and while I don't think you can get true surround in a headphone, they seem to have found a way to "place" the sound in different areas to simulate a surround experience. It really is quite immersive.

These cans are super comfortable and you can probably watch around 4 or 5 movies before having to recharge the batteries.

I highly recommend!!

I have this model for about 6 months, I can only say perfect for gaming and movies. I've watched 3D Dredd wich have dts neo x 11.1,sound was out of this world. I'm wearing glasses and had problems with another model's for being to tight around ears and having discomfort after 20 minutes.
But not with this Sony mdr hw 700ds. Those fit in perfectly.

Sent from my D6603

[italy12]

I still use these all the time! Glad you like yours!