5.1 Headsets comparative test (page 1: Introduction)

Headphones can be the best way to have a nice sound quality on your computer. It may actually be more interesting to invest in a good set of headphones rather than an expensive set of speakers. For $70 to $150 it is possible to purchase a Sennheiser HD570 or a K240 Studio AKG. The level of sound for these headphones is far beyond that of equivalently priced speakers. Headphones are also the best friend of late night gamers as it avoids noise pollution. It also is very efficient in 3D sound as stereo effects are better reproduced than with any speakers, of which random position and stereo image are undeniable weaknesses.

Taking this to another level, manufacturers are now producing "5.1 headphones". Even if the idea sounds odd, it also sounds quite intriguing. These headphones are made to create a surround sound effect, as 5.1 speakers do with two front, two back and one center speaker + a subwoofer. To create this sound each earpiece has three or four speakers depending on the product. With the Kinyo KY-100, the AVPro PDVD-9208 and the Tekuni Cam- 6C each earpiece has a 4 speakers, one for the surround voices, one for the central voice, one for the front voices and the last one for the bass. The Gainward SoundXplosion 5.1 also has 4 speakers per earpiece but with a different organization as the bass speaker is integrated in the earpiece body. The Zalman Theatre 6 has a different architecture with only three speakers per earpiece. This unit has bigger speakers than those used in the other 5.1 headphones and we will see later their consequences and results.

To use a 5.1 headphone it is imperative to have a 5.1 sound card with an analogical three mini-jack output. The intention isn´t to emulate sound but to reproduce separately the 6 channel 5.1 system. Some of the headphones have a cabled remote control to independently adjust the level of each pair of channels; front, surround and bass or centre.

To evaluate the quality of each sound system we used the following criteria:

- Overall sound reproduction. Bass, treble and medium sound reproduction with a stereo source. We also tested the stereo image and instrument repartition.
- Sound saturation was a key factor, mainly the bass.
- The quality and the efficiency of 3D sound spatialization with games and with DVD playing. We also used the RighMark 3D Sound subjective test to evaluate accurate positioning of 3D sound.
- Preamplifier quality when provided and the functionalities.
- Headphone design, its weight and ease of use.

We tested each headphone as if it was a stereo headphone to evaluate the quality of its components. This test was made with specific parameters dedicated to headphones in sound card and software settings. Then we tested 5.1 sound reproduction with sound card and software parameters dedicated to the 5.1.

The following 5.1 headphones were tested:
- Gainward SoundXplosion 5.1
- Zalman ZM-RS6F
- Kinyo KY-100
- Tekuni CAM-6c
- AVPro PDVD-9208

Some of the headphones had similarities. The KY-100, CAM-6c and PDVD-9208 are all manufactured by Cosonic. The KY-100 and the CAM-6c have the same Cosonic 2J08 speakers. They respectively correspond to the Cosonic HTS-860MVI, HTS-168MVI (without the microphone) and the HTS-6621VI. The Zalman ZM-RS6F is manufactured by MM Gear and corresponds to the M500FL. The Gainward SoundXplosion doesn´t correspond to any product yet released.

The test configuration is:

- Athlon XP 3000+
- nForce 2 Motherboard
- 512 MB PC3200
- Sound card Audigy 2
- Sound card Terratec MIC2
- Sound card Terratec DMX 6Fire 24/96
- Headphones Sennheiser HP570 et HD-212
- Headphone Altec Lansing AHS512