[arrowst]

Hi all.

I recently got myself a nice new HD TV, and I'm looking to get myself sound to match the picture The problem is my house has quite thin walls, and rather than feel guilty everytime I watch a movie for fear of keeping my neighbours up, I thought a decent headphone solution might be a good alternative.

My requirements are basically 5.1 sound (high def sound if that's available), and preferably wireless (although not a deal breaker).

I imagine purchasing an amp would be a good idea, but if so, I'd prefer to get something which I had the option of using speakers with as well.

Hopefully that's not too vague!! Any suggestions?

[coliam]

Hi arrowst,

For cinema use, I quite like the surround modes on my Yamaha 759. It's a nice, spacious sound with my 580's.
This was actually the main reason for my purchase of the Yamaha

[arrowst]

Are they surround headphones mate? Will any amp do the trick, or is the Yamaha particularly good with headphones?

[coliam]

They're standard stereo phones, but the amp is an AV amp with quite a good DSP surround effect on the phones output.
I chose that particular amp at the time because it had that, since most (99%) of my listening is through phones.
Yamaha call it 'Silent Cinema' - it's supposed to give a similar effect to 5.1, but through stereo phones.
I expect most AV amps will do a similar thing, but Yamaha have a good rep wrt DSP.
Other than that, I think Creative used to do quite a good multi-channel headphone system.

[NicolasB]

If you're watching movies from a disc (e.g. a DVD) you could use a PC for playback and kit it out with a Creative X-Fi soundcard; their CMSS system allegedly runs rings around Dolby Headphone. However, that won't help if you're watching Sky.

Note that an amp is completely redundant if you're using cordless 'phones.

The normally recommended cordless "surround" models are the Philips SBCHD1500U (which will have to be imported from Germany) or the Pioneer SE-DIR2000C (which will have to be imported from America).

[pmc]

I have the Pioneer SE-DIR2000C's, they are simply awesome. Do a search on this forum for me and few other raving about them.

[torr1x]

Another vote for the Pioneers, love to know though what a good set of wired headphones sound like plugged into them. Dont have any do you pmc ?

Arrowst, whats your budget ?

My experience has put me right off 5.1 headhpnes - go for dolby headphone. The pioneers blew me away but i do notice a very slight distortion at explosive sounds hence wanting to see what wired phones would sound like.

[cribeiro]

As a high-quality route, I plan to go

Player->DigitalOut->JVC SU-DH1->Headphone amp->Sennheiser HD650

Although the reviews I have read are not positive, user comments are positive.

Once in a meet of headphone fans in Duesseldorf, I had an incredible experience with some Stax plugged to a computer-based system with some proprietary stuff in it (sorry, I can't remember any names, but it was rather experimental and very expensive anyway). This thing has a sensor that actually tells the computer where the screen is, and the orientation of your ears respect to it. It actually did sound very 3D and real, like a 5.1 setup. But not only that, the stage was kept even if you turned your head! That's the future, but it will take a while until we find it in the stores...

[Fangorn]

Pioneer SE-DIR2000C's,

[arrowst]

Originally Posted by torr1x

Another vote for the Pioneers, love to know though what a good set of wired headphones sound like plugged into them. Dont have any do you pmc ?

Arrowst, whats your budget ?

My experience has put me right off 5.1 headhpnes - go for dolby headphone. The pioneers blew me away but i do notice a very slight distortion at explosive sounds hence wanting to see what wired phones would sound like.

In the end I ordered the Philips HD1500U's from an Amazon Germany Marketplace seller (although they don't appear to have been dispatched yet ). I would've gone for the Pioneers but £250 plus customs seemed a bit too much to pay for my taste.