DTS Headphone:X - new surround sound technology for regular headphones

[splinter7]

I am curious if anyone here has heard of or has listened to the Hans Zimmer soundtrack for the Man of Steel movie with this new format?

According to an article I read, DTS Headphone:X. - is a new surround sound technology for regular headphones. The downside appears that it requires an app to decode so it sounds like it is limited to be played on a smartphone type device.

Here is a link to the article.

http://music-mix.ew.com/2013/06/11/man-of-steel-hans-zimmer-soundtrack/

Regardless of the merits of the technology ( another QSound?), Hans Zimmer has a great quote:
Zimmer admitted that he never listens to his scores on the CD or MP3 soundtrack. “I can’t stand it,” he said. “It’s just stereo. When I write, I write in surround. My life is in surround. Why would I settle for less? … I’ve been waiting for this moment where I can actually go and listen to one of my soundtracks without going, ‘Oh dear, it’s only stereo.’”

 

[Dixie4]

I'm confused to the wording of the article ? Can this only be accessed via a download ? ( or can you just plug in / listen through headphones ? )

 

[haikubass]

This technology got me quite excited. For a long time now I'm feeling that surround could really take off via headphones. As for the info, why not go directly to the source?

You can start with the Invisible Dog Prank

 

[splinter7]

According to the article, it does not matter what type of headphones are used.
What you do need is the decoder which apparently is something you download.

From the article:
A free download of an app called Z+ comes with the deluxe edition — that app launches the DTS Headphones:X version of the soundtrack and works with both Android and iOS devices — and with any type of headphones.

 

[Dixie4]

This technology got me quite excited. For a long time now I'm feeling that surround could really take off via headphones. As for the info, why not go directly to the source?

You can start with the Invisible Dog Prank

I've just been reading up about this new technology. A guy that had attended CES said the demo's were very impressive, but he also said that the Man Of Steel DTS Headphone X mix was awful, brickwalled & muddy. ( he said there was no sense of a " surround " mix...just an enhanced stereo sound. )

 

[Dixie4]

As for the info, why not go directly to the source?

You can start with the Invisible Dog Prank

I love the " Dixie " cat !!

 

[elmer]

I kindly refer you all to the following thread;

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/showthread.php?12508-Sherlock-Holmes-5-1&p=106507&highlight=hans+zimmer#post106507

Previous fairy dust from Zimmer resulted in the completely underwhelming score to Sherlock Holmes. Which featured an exclusive downloadable 5.1 mix which, after all the trouble, was nothing more than a 16/44 wav file "encoded" in Dolby DPLII. There may be some crediblility to the DTS Headphone X technology but I would not recommend purchasing a "deluxe" version of the Superman disc - disappointment surely awaits. If Zimmer is so "pro-surround," then why doesn't he flex is Academy Award winning muscle and insist on a DTS HD MA "featured score" on the sure to be released BD version ala "Inception"?

 

[ProgRules]

I read a thread on AVS about this; not very impressive. Besides not having much in the way of surround, apparently you have to play the mix through the app you d/l to your phone, the files are not separate from the app, so you can't use them except on the phone, if you try to run the app in the background or have other apps running at the same time, you get all kinds of glitches and if you delete the app, you lose the mix. The people who bought the deluxe set were very dospleased...

 

[Dixie4]

A company called, Turtle Beach, are going to sell the first headphones, with built in DTS Headphone X technology. ( sometime later this year. )

 

[mattB2]

You can give the app a try by downloading it from www.zplusapp.com. It's free and comes with a demo and one track from the soundtrack as a sampler. The demo seems to produce a decent surround effect but from a quick listen on my ear-buds I'm not sure how well the effect works on the music. I'll have to dig out my Denons and see how well they cope.

 

[fredblue]

just tried the iphone app out..

..if it was my first/only experience of surround, it wouldn't encourage me to pursue it.

nice idea though and as mattB2 says the demo/tutorial with channel placement is ok but the free music track doesn't do much if anything surround-wise.