Headphone options - Moving to a small condo

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audioguy

Active Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2015
Messages
65
I'm really excited to moving to a new condo. However, I'm also really bummed that it's the end of my audio system since it'll disturb the neighbors. I'm only planning on staying at this condo for 2 years, so my system will go into storage.

I have terrabytes of multichannel audio on my file server. Of course, some multichannel files will downmix properly into 2-channel, but I know there are some that don't have that encoding and will probably not sound proper. I don't think there's any solutions for getting proper native surround on headphones? Is there? I would imagine headphones would have to connect via USB or HDMI for surround (if even possible). I know of the cheap surround headphones that emulate surround, but I don't like those.

So....what are my options? What headphones would you recommend? Budget: Under $3,000.

And I have an Exasound E38 DAC which has a headphone jack. I'm presuming this would be sufficient? Of course, I'm also open to headphones that need a power amplifier (like the old Stax).
 
If you want to get in to headphone surround, supposedly the Smyth Realiser is the only game in town. BMoura could probably comment with more authority on this as I believe he owns their A8 model - they have a new A16 model that's either out or coming out soon.

As far as headphones go, you might want to sign up for the Head-Fi Forums and have a look around there, you can find reviews of every headphone under the sun, in every price range. If you're in an apartment on your own and sound isolation isn't a concern, supposedly open-back headphones offer the best sound quality. I personally have a pair of Oppo PM-3's which are a closed-back design - I wanted the isolation for being able to use them when I was on the go. Having said that, they produce some of the best sounding audio I've ever heard, easily on par (for me) with some of the most expensive loudspeakers I've ever heard. It took me a while to convince myself to spend $300 on a pair of headphones, but now that I've heard them I consider it to be some of the best $300 I've ever spent!
 
I had never heard of the Smyth Realiser. Looks like something that may do the job for me! But the problem is that I have to be able to listen to it before spending the money. I'm going to the high-end audio show in Los Angeles later this month. Wonder if they'll be there demoing their headphone.

And I agree that open air type of phones will generally give better results. I've heard some really good stuff about the Oppo too.

Thanks for the response!
 
If you do audition or purchase the Smyth Realiser I hope you'll share your impressions here.

I've often felt that if there's another resurgence for surround sound, it'll be via headphone surround. All the headphone surround I've heard so far (Dolby Headphone, DTS Headphone X etc) has been disappointing, but it seems like the kind of thing that should be possible to do, in theory.

With the speed that technology innovation occurs at, imagine in a few years if someone creates a smartphone app that can take multichannel FLAC and create a realistic surround experience via headphones. Sitting on a bus listening to Elliot Scheiner's 5.1 mix of Gaucho, or watching a hollywood movie on a plane with the full 5.1 soundtrack experience, or listening to one of the Chicago quad mixes while I was working out or riding a bike or something - for me that's like the stuff of dreams. If an app like that did come in to existence, you can bet the labels would be mining their vaults for multichannel content to sell as digital downloads for it!

I love my 5.1 system, don't get me wrong - but the idea of having surround sound with me anywhere I go is mouth-watering. I know the Smyth Realiser is a big honkin' desktop unit, but if it does what it claims to do, it's at least a viable proof of concept for realistic headphone surround.
 
Well, don't know how well you can hear the neighbors, but in my apartment, I can hear them TOO well, BUT, this IS SPAIN and not the USA (the philosophy here is that "kids scream , dogs bark, slamming the door is normal, etc.", but I DID have a neighbor come down once and complain cause I was playing my ELECTRONIC DRUMSET (THRU MY HEADPHONES, so no speakers were involved), but she was NOT a Spanish woman (maybe English)...
ANYWAY...I have a nice "cheap" but average setup: a Pioneer receiver that pumps out 150 w x6 (or 7..dunno), four JBL E80s (almost 4 feet tall) and a JBL center speaker. The front speakers are about six feet apart, as with the rear ones. Front and Rear pairs are about seven feet apart, so I have a pretty cramped setup, but I can set them up thru the receiver.
The theory and reality of having so much power is that , at a normal volume (my normal volume is set at -31 dB, which is loud enough to hear everything) is that all that wattage doesn't overwork the system and you get a pretty flat frequency response- as opposed to having a 40 w amp and overworking it. I can listen to music and you'll hear something outside the room with all the doors closed, but it's loud enough to hear everything in the room and not bother the neighbors. My speakers go down to 38 Hz (+/- 3 dB), but they actually go lower because my right front speaker is in a corner (no bass trap) , and I set it up to have more bass...
What I find extremely annoying are subwoofers. Unless you are in a studio, I do not find them necessary. Of course, the lower the frequency, the longer the wave, so imagine what a 25 Hz wave is like, and that is why they can be heard thru walls and bother the neighbors.
If the problem is that your space is limited, that would be another story but OTOH, MY space is really limited too, but I make the best of it.

As for headphones, my favorites have always been the Sony MDR-7505 (or the MDR-V6, which is very similar and was the original model). I still have the V6s I bought back in the late 80s-they are pretty beat up, but for recording a band, any member can still use them. They do not have HUGE bass, but their response is flat enough for me and they are extremely comfortable. They are collapsable (they come with a bag too) and are around $125.

These are my .02 EUR cents...
 
If you want to get in to headphone surround, supposedly the Smyth Realiser is the only game in town. BMoura could probably comment with more authority on this as I believe he owns their A8 model - they have a new A16 model that's either out or coming out soon.

As far as headphones go, you might want to sign up for the Head-Fi Forums and have a look around there, you can find reviews of every headphone under the sun, in every price range. If you're in an apartment on your own and sound isolation isn't a concern, supposedly open-back headphones offer the best sound quality. I personally have a pair of Oppo PM-3's which are a closed-back design - I wanted the isolation for being able to use them when I was on the go. Having said that, they produce some of the best sounding audio I've ever heard, easily on par (for me) with some of the most expensive loudspeakers I've ever heard. It took me a while to convince myself to spend $300 on a pair of headphones, but now that I've heard them I consider it to be some of the best $300 I've ever spent!

SteelyDave is right. The Smyth Realiser is the only product I've ever heard that delivers believable Surround Sound over stereo headphones.
The original version (A8) went for over $3,000. The new version with Dolby Atmos and Auro 3D 11.1 formats + 5.1 and 7.1 formats is less expensive ($1,795 now, $2,295 starting in October 2017).

Highly recommended.

http://smyth-research.com/
 
And I have an Exasound E38 DAC which has a headphone jack. I'm presuming this would be sufficient?
That headphone output will provide only 2 channels. Using the Smyth, you can fairly impressively simulate multichannel output from your files as well as other sources. It would seem ideal for your application.
 
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SteelyDave is right. The Smyth Realiser is the only product I've ever heard that delivers believable Surround Sound over stereo headphones.
The original version (A8) went for over $3,000. The new version with Dolby Atmos and Auro 3D 11.1 formats + 5.1 and 7.1 formats is less expensive ($1,795 now, $2,295 starting in October 2017).

Highly recommended.

http://smyth-research.com/

I like the rack mountable version much better than the "tower" model. The problem with headphones is finding the right balance of sound quality and COMFORT..any recommendations to use with the A-16? At $1795 that's pretty reasonable
 
I like the rack mountable version much better than the "tower" model. The problem with headphones is finding the right balance of sound quality and COMFORT..any recommendations to use with the A-16? At $1795 that's pretty reasonable

Smyth's comments on recommended headphones:

"We judge headphones in a number of ways. How comfortable are they to wear for an extended period of time, can they faithfully reproduce virtualised loudspeakers and how cost effective they are. For example the entire range of Stax headphones are comfortable and can reproduce virtual loudspeakers with stunning accuracy. Hence we continue to use the Stax 2170 for our own internal use due to its cost effectiveness. Sennheiser HD800s on the other hand have the same performance, are almost as comfortable, but are physically more robust, don’t require an external amplifier and they go louder. Hence we have moved over to using these headphones for demonstrations. These are two headphones we use every day and can vouch for their performance and comfort."

http://smyth-research.com/A16Q&A.html
 
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