Do I need 7.1 surround sound headphones?

[ch3w2oy]

Or does my motherboard have good enough audio? 

 

I was trying my galaxy s9 headphones the other day and they sounded really good. Like real surround sound. Keep in mind I am not an audiophile and an not familiar with it at all. Is that because of the audio on my motherboard?  I broke the headphones right after that so I can't test them on my phone now. 

 

Motherboard is x470 Crosshair vii.

 

What got me thinking was the headphones I just bought says virtual, meaning software supported 7.1. But maybe I could have just gotten regular headphones and still gotten the surround sound. There's no way the galaxy s9 headphones sounded that good by themselves. 

 

Now I'm confused. I don't know what's what. Can someone shed some light? 

[JabroniBaloney]

Short answer: no.

 

Long answer: nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

[Unhelpful]

Good question, check the stickied Audio Board FAQs and search for surround: 

 

 

[an actual squirrel]

18 hours ago, tomswife said:

Or does my motherboard have good enough audio? 

 

I was trying my galaxy s9 headphones the other day and they sounded really good. Like real surround sound. Keep in mind I am not an audiophile and an not familiar with it at all. Is that because of the audio on my motherboard?  I broke the headphones right after that so I can't test them on my phone now. 

 

Motherboard is x470 Crosshair vii.

 

What got me thinking was the headphones I just bought says virtual, meaning software supported 7.1. But maybe I could have just gotten regular headphones and still gotten the surround sound. There's no way the galaxy s9 headphones sounded that good by themselves. 

 

Now I'm confused. I don't know what's what. Can someone shed some light? 

Normally, stereo only has 2 directions, left and right. In games, the panning of audio can also give you some directional information, but overall using stereo and panning is still very limited. For the ideal amount of directionality on headphones, you have to use something called HRTFs. Most applications will lack this option, but will have 7.1 output available, so you can use virtual 7.1 headphone processing to give you HRTFs for those applications.

[Turtle Rig]

d

[Turtle Rig]

19 hours ago, tomswife said:

Or does my motherboard have good enough audio? 

 

I was trying my galaxy s9 headphones the other day and they sounded really good. Like real surround sound. Keep in mind I am not an audiophile and an not familiar with it at all. Is that because of the audio on my motherboard?  I broke the headphones right after that so I can't test them on my phone now. 

 

Motherboard is x470 Crosshair vii.

 

What got me thinking was the headphones I just bought says virtual, meaning software supported 7.1. But maybe I could have just gotten regular headphones and still gotten the surround sound. There's no way the galaxy s9 headphones sounded that good by themselves. 

 

Now I'm confused. I don't know what's what. Can someone shed some light? 

Now adays the onboard audio is very high quality and you really cant tell the difference between them and creative cards etc.  Plugging into minijack on mobo would give you goo results grantid the speakiers or headphones are high quality.  For 7.1 sound grab a Megalodon used.  It is usb and has its own pod with sexy colors.. and you can adjust the front and center and sides and  rear and sub volume levels.  Great bang for the buck.  Razer makes usless pos mouse but their headsets are good.

[Derkoli]

On 12/13/2018 at 12:37 AM, tomswife said:

Or does my motherboard have good enough audio? 

 

I was trying my galaxy s9 headphones the other day and they sounded really good. Like real surround sound. Keep in mind I am not an audiophile and an not familiar with it at all. Is that because of the audio on my motherboard?  I broke the headphones right after that so I can't test them on my phone now. 

 

Motherboard is x470 Crosshair vii.

 

What got me thinking was the headphones I just bought says virtual, meaning software supported 7.1. But maybe I could have just gotten regular headphones and still gotten the surround sound. There's no way the galaxy s9 headphones sounded that good by themselves. 

 

Now I'm confused. I don't know what's what. Can someone shed some light? 

7.1 headphones are all software trickery, you cant get true 7.1 from two drivers. I never recommend surround sound headphones. Just never buy them.

[Tz000]

On 12/12/2018 at 4:37 PM, tomswife said:

Or does my motherboard have good enough audio? 

 

I was trying my galaxy s9 headphones the other day and they sounded really good. Like real surround sound. Keep in mind I am not an audiophile and an not familiar with it at all. Is that because of the audio on my motherboard?  I broke the headphones right after that so I can't test them on my phone now. 

 

Motherboard is x470 Crosshair vii.

 

What got me thinking was the headphones I just bought says virtual, meaning software supported 7.1. But maybe I could have just gotten regular headphones and still gotten the surround sound. There's no way the galaxy s9 headphones sounded that good by themselves. 

 

Now I'm confused. I don't know what's what. Can someone shed some light? 

S9 Ear buds (AKG tuned ones) are actually decent for a pair that are included with a phone.. they retail at $100.00 USD to replace (I Think). 

 

I have compared them to a few headphones and for iems I thought they were a little bass heavy but more than enjoyable and great for games. 

 

7.1 is all software based you do not need a "7.1 GAMING HEADSET" its just an over marketed cheap stereo headphone with a mic that your spending your money on.  

 

Your best bet is to purchase a regular set of headphones and if you wish to try some virtual surround or HRTF settings you can easily do so by downloading software or switching your in game settings. In my experience playing competitive CS:GO, Battlefield 5, PUBG etc I have always found I can identify footsteps etc easiest in good old STEREO at the end of the day its all personal preference audio is very subjective.

 

Good entry level closed back headphones to look into are:

 

Status Audio CB-1

Audio-Technica M40X w/ Brainwaves Hm5 Angled pads (Must do upgrade)

 

Cheers.

 

[ch3w2oy]

3 minutes ago, Tz000 said:

S9 Ear buds (AKG tuned ones) are actually decent for a pair that are included with a phone.. they retail at $100.00 USD to replace (I Think). 

 

I have compared them to a few headphones and for iems I thought they were a little bass heavy but more than enjoyable and great for games. 

 

7.1 is all software based you do not need a "7.1 GAMING HEADSET" its just an over marketed cheap stereo headphone with a mic that your spending your money on.  

 

Your best bet is to purchase a regular set of headphones and if you wish to try some virtual surround or HRTF settings you can easily do so by downloading software or switching your in game settings. In my experience playing competitive CS:GO, Battlefield 5, PUBG etc I have always found I can identify footsteps etc easiest in good old STEREO at the end of the day its all personal preference audio is very subjective.

 

Good entry level closed back headphones to look into are:

 

Status Audio CB-1

Audio-Technica M40X w/ Brainwaves Hm5 Angled pads (Must do upgrade)

 

Cheers.

 

Thanks, I just bought the Corsair HS60 for $35 on sale. Even tho their 7.1, they were still cheaper than most pairs. They don't sound as good as the S9 headphones did, but they're pretty damn good (not sure about the 7.1 in general, but good headphones for that price).

[Tz000]

1 hour ago, tomswife said:

Thanks, I just bought the Corsair HS60 for $35 on sale. Even tho their 7.1, they were still cheaper than most pairs. They don't sound as good as the S9 headphones did, but they're pretty damn good (not sure about the 7.1 in general, but good headphones for that price).

You can always use them in stereo vs 7.1 to compare I'm sure this option can be found within the software included.   At the base of it they are just a pair of headphones nothing makes them "7.1" other than the software included with them.  

[Turtle Rig]

Long time ago I had a Barracuda . it had 4 physical cones in each ear muff.  Then after that they went to USB and gave 7.1 sound.  Get a Tiamat 7.1 sighs