toddly6666

Now that it's 2010, I'm assuming the headphoned home theater solutions are getting better. But i'm still a bit lost. I need help!!!!

Here's my home theater situation during after-hours:

1. I live in an apartment with neighbors living below and above me.
2. I have to use headphones when my wife and child sleep in the bedrooms.
3. I have Sony MDR-DS6000 Wireless headphones which inconsistently work due to static interference probably from my internet or microwave and they have good left and right ear pseudo surround action, but NO BASS.

At this point, I just want some type of headphoned audio that has good left and right differentiation and gives me bass or some type of subwoofer effect.

Ideally, I like the idea of Surround sound Headphones with a subwoofer that can work without using volume. I just don't know if that exists yet?

I just discovered this thing that connects to one's couch and makes your couch a subwoofer and shakes the shit out of the couch, but I heard it's a pain in the ass to set up and it doesn't even work well (http://shakemycouch.com/), and I bet it shakes all the floors waking up everyone due to the rumble.

I don't know whether to stick to "surround sound headphones" or just get some good plain old "Bose headphones" that actually have some good bass/ear subwoofer action?

Can anyone figure out a good combination? Plus, I don't mind wired headphones, especially since all this wireless technology gets interference.

edclem

I don't think I'd use tactile transducers (shakemycouch) devices in an apartment. That vibration would (I would think) go right through the walls/floor, too.

Personally, I'm a fan of Sennheiser headphones. I've had a pair of HD-570's and now HD-555's.
They do make virtual surround headphones, although I've not used them myself.

toddly6666

Do they give bass? Do they connect to your HDTV or DVD player?

I might be naive with what to expect with headphones as well. What kind of bass should I even expect anyway? Is there some type of "pseudo subwoofer headphone" versus "bass headphones"?

Drexl

I would suggest staying away from dedicated 5.1 headphones. Although I haven't tried them, I've heard they pale in comparison to good stereo headphones, and the effect is just not that good. I would also not buy Bose.

There are devices you can get that will serve as amps and offer Dolby Headphone processing. One of them is the Astro Mixamp: http://www.astrogaming.com/products/detail/69/MixAmp/. You connect an optical cable to the amp, and it will process the surround sound using DH to give you a simulated 5.1. That and a pair of Sennheiser HD555s would be a good combo.

However, the big caveat is that it won't support DTS. That could be a big problem if you get into Blu-ray, since some discs have no 5.1 Dolby Digital track. A receiver with DH may allow the processing with DTS, however. I know my sound card does.

Brian Shannon

I'm not trying to nix your idea since I understand your situation.

Bass is a function of driver size, power and how much air can be moved. In other words you will not get much bass from the small driver in a pair of headphones. As already pointed out, the low frequency effects (lfe) present in dvd's would not be felt with headphones.

My advice would be to by a good set of headphones, enjoy the sound and realize that it is not true home theater.

If this were possible, they would be worth a fortune because people could go to a movie theater and not have to hear talking, cell phones, babies, eating etc.

kayak99

I think you need these:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-10...ag=mncol;title



I have several Sennheisers, my favorite being the HD600's I bought a few years ago,

Spiky

Well, they actually simulate heard bass fairly well. Assuming they are good headphones, of course. I haven't checked recently, but I seem to remember my decent set sounding better than cheap speakers. They only have to move the tiny space between them and your ears, making bass reproduction possible. Now, they will give no felt bass whatsoever. Which is what I like, hence the 900w amp. But I digress.

I don't see why bass shakers would be bad for an apartment, esp if it has carpet. Many people have used them, I've not heard such bad reviews from HT nuts. They do require the same amplification as any other sub, so consider that. And installation would be an issue for sure (does it permanently alter/damage your furniture?), I'm just used to people who don't mind overcoming that issue, I guess. Probably not Amazon reviewers, IOW.

Bose is generally overpriced, although their headphones are the one product that isn't absolute marketing hype and crap. More like....25% marketing hype and crap.

cseyer

I've read really good things about this Ultrasone HFI-780 headphone they have a simulated surround effect and are noted for being bass heavy:

http://www.ultrasone.com/index_en.ph...&artikel_id=15

Bose is crap, their headphones are the best thing going but are not very well made and way overpriced.

toddly6666

What would that Ultrasone HFI-780 connect to - the DVD player? And is the wire long enough if the couch is 6 feet away?

cseyer

You would need to connect to a headphone out. My DVD player has one but I typically use the headphone out on my receiver. How do you currently hook up your headphones?

I use a headphone extension cable like the one linked below except mine is coiled:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

toddly6666

I have these wireless surround sound headphones, so there's a optical cable that attaches to my DVD player and to the headphone base....I'm not sure if my dvd player has a headphone out, I'll check tonight...

Drexl

I would recommend something with an optical input. If the Ultrasones just connect with stereo, they're not even working with a real surround source.

cseyer

I would disagree, any optical input on a headphone is mostly gimmick. You don't have enough channels to matter. I've tried both and find wired stereo headphones superior to "surround" headphones especially wireless ones.

Drexl

Well, what I meant is that if you're trying to get some sort of simulated surround, with decent channel separation, you need to feed the processor a 5.1 source. Those Ultrasones connect to a stereo source and then try to extract surround information from that downmix. I don't think it would work as well as if you had a discreet surround source to use, and for that you would need a digital input or 6 analog inputs. I mean, if you have a sound coming from the left surround speaker, it's going to be played more faithfully if you have that discreet LS channel rather than trying to guess where it is in a stereo mix.

I agree that a good pair of stereo headphones beats 5.1 headphones. I just think you can kinda do both with Dolby Headphone. That's why I suggested the Mixamp, which allows you to connect any pair of headphones you want.

Actually, what I like about DH for movies is not so much the channel separation, but rather how natural it makes dialogue sound. It sort of pulls it forward so it matches the screen better, rather than sounding like it's in your head.

cseyer

I can see what you are saying, I have the option to do Dolby Headphone on my receiver. It's interesting and I have used it some, I find that most times Im very happy with a plain 2 - channel downmix.

Never tried the mixamp, looks interesting.

I have NOT yet tried the ultrasones, planning on picking them up soon. My current favorites are my Sennheiser HD-595's at home and my Westone UM2's on the road. I like the reviews on the ultrasones, I need a closed back headphone and I would like something more bass heavy.

Best advice is to listen to what sounds best to you!

Lt Ripley

What is your budget? Stay away from the Bose headphones. Stay the hell away from the fake ass surround sound and cordless headphones!

Since it sounds like you do not have a receiver, I would suggest getting a pair of Denon AH-D2000's. Well known for their bass response, and comfortable as hell. I would then purchase a Little Dot I+ Hybrid Headphone Amplifier. You would run the analog audio from your DVD player to the amp. I think that would work, you would then control the volume directly on the amp. This amp the the Denon's are a wonderful match. I have 17 pairs of headphones and six headphone amps, and for the cheapest rout to very nice sound, this is what I would recommend in your situation. The Denon's are 32 ohm speakers and are easy to drive.

Amazon (Amazon, not a third party) often drops the Denon's down to roughly $200. I believe the amp was only $150 shipped. I would also recommend getting different tubes than what comes with the amp, and replacing the op-amp in it. I actually have a extra nice one I could send you for free. If you can use a screw driver, you can replace an op-amp, nothing to it.

Franchot

I'll second Lt. Ripley's recommendation for the Denon's.

I own about 6 pairs of cans that cost over three hundred bucks and the Denon's are the definite winners.

Also, a nice thing about the Denon's is that the sound of the AH-D2000s, 5000s, and 7000s all sound close to each other in sound (which is very good) and have the same amount of lower bass extension. The higher priced models have wooden earcups and slightly better sound which drives up the price. The AH-D2000 are a bargain and I've seen the higher priced 7000s at nearly half price which would also be a good buy depending upon your budget.

toddly6666

thanks for your advise! When the time comes for me to buy new stuff, i'll let you know!

pbishop69

Hello Friends!!


Bottom line: What r the best headphones out there to watch films for under $150?


Pbishop69