Virtual Vs True Surround In Headsets/phones

[DeRail]

I Know there is alot of discussion out there on this topic and sorry for the redundancies. But, I want to hear from the Linustech community as I feel it doesn't really have haters but respecting dislikers. I, and surely others, want to hear from you guys about real experiences and the important details.

 

I have little experience with surround headsets/phones. I have only owned the true 5.1 Zalman ZM-RS6F and used a virtual 5.1 cant remember brand or model, said to cost about $80 for whatever that might mean, when visiting my father. I loved the Zalmans. Gave me proper sound direction in gaming scenarios, plenty of low end sound power, but they were hard to wear for more than a few rounds. The unknown virtuals had almost if not just as good directional feeling while staying light and comfortable longer. Sound quality wasn't better or worse but different. Mostly because one side of the headset was louder than the other and not as good low end sound. Horrible comparison as I dont know what one was and the other being a lot older, but that is where im at. With the recent death of my Gigaworks 7.1 speaker system and it being increasingly harder to game and intake media at a nice volume without disturbing others. I my self am ready to use a headset the majority of the time.

 

Some points id like to discuss.

 

General comparison, The 2 types are surely better some ways in their own right. But how?

 

Does the extra amount of speakers affect the comfort enough to make note?

 

Preference?

 

Does virtual vs true amount to price at all?

 

And of course any input of points not realized but need to be taken into account.

 

I appreciate the time and thoughts.

 

 

[normandy4]

     I find that having more than two speakers in headphones is a little bit gimmicky, the benefits from having more than two speakers is lost in headphones. This is because of how the brain interprets sound, the brain is able to determine what direction a sound is coming from by the volume difference along with the slightly different time intervals that the sound reaches each ear. This makes having multiple speakers in a surround setup very effective because it simulates real life where sounds come from many directions. This benefit disappears when the speakers are moved close to the ear, this is where virtual surround sees its advantages. Virtual surround replicates real life sound in a number of ways, such as offsetting the sound and volume from one speaker to the other to give the feeling of direction. That being said, there are benefits to surround headphones. In order to have proper virtual surround the user will either need a decent sound card, with out one virtual surrond is somewhat poor, or be listening to content designed with virtual surround, which can add to the overall price, or limit the availability of content.

 

     This is a great video that demonstrates what virtual surround can sound like, just listen to it on 2 speaker headphones or ear-buds or something.

[Lyons]

There are no fundamental differences between the two. They are both just headphones - a driver either side of your head and a plastic of metal band between them. Note there are 2 drivers. TWO; not 5 or 6 or 7 or 8. As normandy said, any surround is done by way of tricking your brain. Theirs no magic, specification, or certification that make a specific pair of headphones simulate directional sound. Calling a pair of headphones '5.1' or '7.1' surround is hilarious. the .1 is a subwoofer or dedicated extra speaker for bass. Do any headsets have these?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_surround

 

Like everyone else says, just get a good pair of headphones, a microphone, and a soundcard. Hi-Fi headphones are engineered to bring out the detail in sound that the music producer intended for you to hear, ergo, they are also better for gaming, and the directional sound you are after. Any pair of drivers that are better than another in terms of sound quality will also provide a better virtual surround experience. It's very, very simple science.

 

The virtual barber shop video amuses me, because it proves that even the sh!tty earbuds you get with iPods can simulate surround sound. You don't need to waste your money on headsets where you hard earned dollars go into marketing rather than engineering. I also want to note that I personally believe that a surround speaker set up will never be as good as a pair headphones for directional sound in gaming.

 

My god why isn't any of this in the sticky...

[Lemonsquare]

Personally, I cannot play a game that is in first/third person on a two channel (standard) headset/headphone. While the sound quality doesn't compare to proper headphones and a dedicated sound card/DAC, I find the 'fake' 7.1 surround sound of my Logitech G35s to not only be advantageous in-game (however slight), but also important for immersion purposes. Also, with the flick of a switch I can revert to 2 channel from '7.1.' To really answer your question, though, I don't think there's a such thing as "true" surround sound in headphones. 

[ShearMe]

Personally, I cannot play a game that is in first/third person on a two channel (standard) headset/headphone. While the sound quality doesn't compare to proper headphones and a dedicated sound card/DAC, I find the 'fake' 7.1 surround sound of my Logitech G35s to not only be advantageous in-game (however slight), but also important for immersion purposes. Also, with the flick of a switch I can revert to 2 channel from '7.1.' To really answer your question, though, I don't think there's a such thing as "true" surround sound in headphones. 

 

The Dolby Headphone technology implemented on your Logitech G35s can be used with any headphones/headset - you just need a soundcard that supports Dolby Headphone virtual surround sound. There are headsets with multiple drivers in each earcup, but the sound quality is just so abysmal that you might as well just stick with Dolby Headphone.

[LAwLz]

The Dolby Headphone technology implemented on your Logitech G35s can be used with any headphones/headset - you just need a soundcard that supports Dolby Headphone virtual surround sound. There are headsets with multiple drivers in each earcup, but the sound quality is just so abysmal that you might as well just stick with Dolby Headphone.

Yes exactly. I find it that those "true 7.1" headphones are horrible in quality, because they just use lots of small and really crappy drivers, instead of 2 proper ones.

[h264]

There are no fundamental differences between the two. They are both just headphones - a driver either side of your head and a plastic of metal band between them. Note there are 2 drivers. TWO; not 5 or 6 or 7 or 8. As normandy said, any surround is done by way of tricking your brain. Theirs no magic, specification, or certification that make a specific pair of headphones simulate directional sound. Calling a pair of headphones '5.1' or '7.1' surround is hilarious. the .1 is a subwoofer or dedicated extra speaker for bass. Do any headsets have these?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_surround

 

Like everyone else says, just get a good pair of headphones, a microphone, and a soundcard. Hi-Fi headphones are engineered to bring out the detail in sound that the music producer intended for you to hear, ergo, they are also better for gaming, and the directional sound you are after. Any pair of drivers that are better than another in terms of sound quality will also provide a better virtual surround experience. It's very, very simple science.

 

The virtual barber shop video amuses me, because it proves that even the sh!tty earbuds you get with iPods can simulate surround sound. You don't need to waste your money on headsets where you hard earned dollars go into marketing rather than engineering. I also want to note that I personally believe that a surround speaker set up will never be as good as a pair headphones for directional sound in gaming.

 

My god why isn't any of this in the sticky...

 

Write something up and PM me and I'll add it.  They have to actually read it though.

 

EDIT:  Well, I clearly just replied to a post from 2 months ago.  That was embarrassing.

[OneGun]

What about the razer headset with 4 drivers in each ear?The drivers are so small they really suck.. But it's more then 2 drivers like someone hear said all headsets have.. Lol

[plate of pie]

i had a cm storm sirus for a short time, while the directional sound from all the speakers in each side did work i found the sound muddy and for some reason having all those speakers in each ear gave me incredible ear ache and i felt virtual surround sound just felt more natural to me. Had to return it in the end as the ear ache was just too much of an off put. 

[Lyons]

What about the razer headset with 4 drivers in each ear?The drivers are so small they really suck.. But it's more then 2 drivers like someone hear said all headsets have.. Lol

ONE headset amoungst literally thousands of other headsets and headphones has more than two drivers? Cool story, They are shit and obscenely overpriced.

[ShearMe]

It would be.... interesting to see a real pair of headphones do a good job of using multiple drivers, even if it was costly.

[t0wer]

akg has their sextet which has 6 drivers per ear.

[Loxorz]

I have the razer tiamat 7.1 with 5 drivers in each ear and I find them amazing. I can tell exactly where a person is if i play for an example bf3. I think that they are waaay better then my old headset with viritual surround :) and i think the sound is much better, bu thats just my opinion :)

[ShearMe]

I have the razer tiamat 7.1 with 5 drivers in each ear and I find them amazing. I can tell exactly where a person is if i play for an example bf3. I think that they are waaay better then my old headset with viritual surround :) and i think the sound is much better, bu thats just my opinion :)

 

And what exactly was your old headset?

[ShearMe]

akg has their sextet which has 6 drivers per ear.

 

But sadly out of production, from what Google is telling me...

[JaeDee884]

I've had 2 headsets and one set of headphones in the last year.
First was a discontinued gamecon with a USB surround sound Passthrough, With surround sound sounded lovely except in music.
second was some Roccat kaves with 5.1 surround via multiple drivers. 
Third is my AKG Q701's  paired with my Recon3D Sound Card. The surround sound in them is amazing.

I've had better experiences with Virtual over Physical. but that's just my experience. I've also got ear damage of the right side, internal and on the lobe, so don't my experiences as gospel. 

[h264]

But sadly out of production, from what Google is telling me...

 

 

the great quadrophonic age was before our time...

[t0wer]

yea, why did 5.1 take out quadrophonic?

it just makes things more expensive.

[ShearMe]

I would totally impulse buy quadraphonic headphones if some company came out with good ones... any more drivers than 2.1 per ear seems stupid.

 

Those JVCs make my pants wet.

[Shindo]

The Dolby Headphone technology implemented on your Logitech G35s can be used with any headphones/headset - you just need a soundcard that supports Dolby Headphone virtual surround sound. There are headsets with multiple drivers in each earcup, but the sound quality is just so abysmal that you might as well just stick with Dolby Headphone.

there is the razer tiamat ^.^

[ShearMe]

there is the razer tiamat ^.^

 

Which is the prime example we are referring to about crappy multi-driver headphones.

[Shindo]

Which is the prime example we are referring to about crappy multi-driver headphones.

I wouldn't say they are Abysmal. If we're talking about music, sure I'd rather be sold into slavery than listen to them; but they are actually very immersing if programmed correctly. I played tomb raider with it; combine it with triple monitors and I feel like I'm Lara without the boobs. 

[XionEternum]

Okay, personal experience here from both sides of the discussion. I'll share both my objective critique of both, as well as my subjective impressions.

True surround sound example: Arctic Sound P531. Regularly priced at $80. Has three 30mm full-range drivers positioned laterally and a bass-reflex vibration unit to emulate bass in each cup. USB connection.

Virtual surround sound example: Arctic Sound P301 with ASUS Xonar DG sound card. Combined price ~$60. Has 50mm drivers in each earcup. Analog connection.

Both were optimized in their configuration utilities and through Windows Audio Device Properties. (Won't get high quality sound if your OS isn't feeding them HQ sound)

First, I will immediately admit that there is a noticeable difference in being able to clearly distinguish forward-backward positioning between the two. I will just as immediately admit there is a distinct difference in the quality of the audio heard. It is completely true that positional speakers inside a headset will give you that directional source at the cost of audio quality. There is no denying it if you've sampled both and made direct comparisons. However, not everyone's ears are the same. Not everyone's ear canals are the same. Not everyone perceives directional source the same. This is where personal bias comes into play, and why there is so much controversy regarding this. Personally, while I can detect the positional difference, I prefer the quality of the stereo option above. Dolby Surround, alters the sound to create the phonetic illusion of a surround sound system, without actually being surround sound. That's all it does. But the audio quality is much better, and that's saying a lot as good as I thought the sound from the P531 was.

Truth is, you and everyone else can read all you want about "Which is better: True or Virtual?" until you're blue in the face, and it won't be worth spit to you. What will matter, is trying both. Save up some extra cash, and get both the multi-speaker headset you're considering, as well as the stereo headset/phones you're considering. Also, try to get analog and a dedicated sound card, as you can be sure they will both get the HQ audio feed to test their speakers thoroughly. Alternate between the two within the return window for both. When you're satisfied with your preference, return the lesser of the two and you will be a happy consumer. I'ld also like to point out that a restocking fee is worth knowing for sure that you're going to get what you want.

 

(Edited for spelling errors: Why isn't my browser's spellcheck not working here? Firefox Nightly 64-bit)