Ask Engadget HD: Best headphone setup for a home theater?
I work a different schedule from my roommates. I've been watching Movies and TV with a crappy set of computer speakers as a headphone amp. I'm looking to upgrade and would like some suggestions. I watch TV via VMC and Movies via Toshiba HD-A3 so multiple inputs would be nice. I'm looking to spend $200 but all suggestions are welcome I'll need to upgrade someday.
What does he need to get the best quality audio, while keeping things quiet for everyone else in the house? (We're assuming building a soundproofed room is slightly out of the question.) Surely someone of you have dealt with the same issue, let us know in the comments how you get the best sound from a pair of cans.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Andrew @ Sep 23rd 2009 1:15PM
I was in the same situation. I looked for a while but ended up moving before I found what I needed.
KH*rrigan @ Sep 23rd 2009 1:27PM
"Best headphone setup for a home theater?"
None.
/article
Chad @ Sep 23rd 2009 1:28PM
headfi.org
Peabods @ Sep 23rd 2009 1:33PM
Out of all the questions that gets sent to you guys, you pull this one out of the hat to have us chime in on? How about a real scenario that the majority of us come across every day, not a mock college dorm setup question. Dude could spend five minutes looking on the net and get a multi input headphone amp, or audio switcher to get the job done.
JKluI @ Sep 23rd 2009 1:48PM
Actually, I appreciate that something a little different gets thrown in from time to time. Personally, I think it would get a little tired if every week was a variation on "what's the best TV for under $XXX?"
Also, while it's probably true that he could quickly find something on the net that would get the job done, that's not the question. The question is, AMONGST the things that could get the job done, which will get the job done WELL.
Richard Glitter @ Sep 23rd 2009 2:03PM
Troll. This isn't the "one" question they ask, this is ONE OF the questions they have asked. If you don't like this one, peruse through all the prior Ask Engadget HD's.
Seriously, just because this doesn't apply to YOU, it probably does apply to many others out there.
Personally, the same question has been in my mind for a while now, because I'm usually up quite a bit later than my SO, and don't want to keep her up while I'm watching movies with the sub booming and gunfire blasting out of the speakers.
So, Engadget HD, thank you for posting this question. There's already been some helpful replies.
Essefgy @ Sep 23rd 2009 2:15PM
I use the Pioneer SE-DIR800C Wireless Surround Headphones
runugs @ Sep 23rd 2009 1:55PM
get a tv with a headphone jack
Mauricio @ Sep 23rd 2009 2:53PM
I also use the pioneer wireless headphones and their great
fester99 @ Sep 28th 2009 1:16AM
If we could also add a PS3 to the answer that would be awesome. I play my PS3 after my wife goes to bed and I know she hates hearing explosions and gun fire all night, so this is a problem that some of us have from time to time.
lakersin2025 @ Sep 23rd 2009 3:47PM
Yea me too. I have a wife and a 7 month old and I'm sure they are both sick of hearing "The recon plane will find them" with a German accent and "Our dogs will tear them to shreds" with a Japanese accent. Although I bet my wife gets a little frisky hearing Keefer Sutherland chiming in.
Spy @ Sep 25th 2009 2:06AM
I personally use a set of Tritton AXpro's and I love them I have had them hooked up to my TV in the past, but 99% of the time I have them hooked up to my PS3 they are great
ICU_DOC @ Sep 23rd 2009 2:55PM
One of the biggest questions is how far away from your viewing screen are you seated? Most people would agree that wireless setups are more convenient, but IMO the audio quality may be sub-optimal in your price range. A wired setup would be "better" but again in your price range you may not find something that useful. A suggestion would be something like the Headroom Total Bithead and a pair of Senn HD280s would provide good sound and good sound isolation, at a reasonable price point (I got my Senn's at $69 which I use primarily for travel). This setup again would be cumbersome if you were at a normal living room viewing distance and is thus more suited for a desktop scenario.
Good luck,
MD.
ICU_DOC @ Sep 23rd 2009 2:57PM
You can also check out www.headroom.com for good advice/ratings (and they sell stuff too).
EatingPie @ Sep 23rd 2009 3:22PM
It's incredible that out of 8 comments, there is only one real suggestion.
First and foremost, I recommend the retailer Head Room at headphone.com (no s). You can beat their price on Amazon, or get some stuff elsewhere, but you can't beat their info.
If you have an amp already, I would dump the *whole* $200 into a set of Sennheiser HD-580s. I used Grado SR-80s, which emphasize low end a bit more, which given lots of LFE in film *should* sound better. But to my surprise the more well-rounded Semmheisers performed much better.
The Amp.
If you DO NOT have an amp, this is a bit harder, if not absolutely impossible to meet your price requirements. Probably the best Price/Performance headphone amp is the (2-input) Musical Fidelity XCANs. They used to be in the $200 range, but the newest X-CANV8 is hard to find and costs $500. You can easily beat this by purchasing a $355 Harman Kardon AVR1600 (Amazon price) that decodes TrueHD and DTSMA and has a headphone output. It will also have multiple inputs, since it's HT Receiver. Getting any lower will be super difficult if you want full resolution.
Headphones.
To save money, the best bang-for-the-buck is the Grado SR-60 or SR-80 for a slightly higher price. You're looking at $60 and $80 respectively. You can combine these with a Headroom Airhead/Bithead and come in under budget. But you're better off going with a good amp, and even spending a bit more on headphones. Grado SR-125s are significantly better than the SR-60, but emphasize low end. I already mentioned the Sennheiser HD-580s, and I would not really go any lower in model number (or to the 595) from there, nor would I recommend these with the Airhead. Jump the HD-600s if you want to spend more. Also, the Sennheisers are VERY comfortable, and the Grados... not so much for long listening periods.
So here are my three recommendations:
1) Cheap.
Grado SR-60 or SR-80 and Headroom Airhead. You should come in at $200 on the nose.
2) High End.
X-CANSV8 and Sennheiser HD-580 or HD-600. At least $700, maybe more. But top-notch sound quality. (Won't be able to decode TrueHD or DTS MA, but it's musical joy incarnate!)
3) Blu-ray Ready. (HD-DVD now, as in your case.)
HK AVR1600 and Sennheiser HD-580. That would be in the $500 range. You can shave $100 or more by dropping down to the Grado SR-60/80, but I really don't recommend it.
-Pie
EatingPie @ Sep 23rd 2009 3:28PM
Oh, I just realized that your stereo analog outs from the Toshiba will likely be full resolution audio if you select that when your play your HD-DVD. (Check your manual.) That would eliminate the need of a receiver like the HK, and you can go with the Airhead or XCANs.
-Pie
Matt @ Sep 23rd 2009 4:43PM
It should be noted that these are OPEN headphone designs. A reasonable amount of sound will be coming out into the room from them. At any reasonable volume it's the equivalent of having small speakers turned on.
I hunted and found a set of AKG k272HD for less than $200. I have a pair and love them. They are also closed so you won't have much (if any) sound leaking from them.
EatingPie @ Sep 23rd 2009 5:29PM
A good observation Matt. The Sennheisers are open and will leak a fair amount of sound. The Grados, while open, do not leak sound very badly.
I have no experience with AKGs but they are also considered very good quality headphones.
-Pie
ChrisH @ Sep 23rd 2009 11:11PM
I don't know about the AKG 272, but my AKG K701's leak sound so badly my wife can easily tell what I'm listening to from across the room. They are fantastic headphones, but I'm waiting to see how long my office mates can deal with them
Ryan Anderson @ Sep 25th 2009 2:07PM
I love my Sennheiser 580s but they don't make them anymore. I hear the 595s and 600s are great but the 600s are over your $200 price tag. My 580s do a great job of simulating surround sound. For games you can tell where things are happening around you and the same goes for movies. I'm not sure they are the best headphones for straight music listening though. Although the 600s are supposed to be better for that.
I know people will go on and on about a separate headphone amp as well but I just plug mine directly into my Yamaha receiver jack. The cord length is great for TV viewing and it sounds just fine.
Although, when I replace mine I will probably go for some wireless headphones. I bought these for my computer originally and they were great for that but when you are sitting 10 feet away from the TV they kind of get in the way with the cord. Maybe some RF 140s or an equivalent. I'm okay with a loss of sound if the convenience makes up or it.
ChrisH @ Sep 23rd 2009 3:50PM
Keeping under $200, the Shure SHR840's are a very recent headphone that has gotten incredibly positive reviews at head-fi and over at AVGuide.com. They are also supposed to be pretty easy to drive, so you could put off adding a headphone amp until later, if you decide to go that route. I really love my AKG K701's, but they leak a lot of noise, and take a separate headphone amp like the mentioned XCAN V8, to bring out the best in them.
Musical Fidelity also has the VCAN line with a headphone amp for $200 that is much more reasonable in price than the XCAN, and also supposed to be a great product.
Lerch @ Sep 23rd 2009 3:53PM
For Home Theater (and actually for surround gaming too), I think that having a processor involved is at least as important as the cans you're wearing. Before I had a home theater setup, I had a little Sennheiser box that would take an analog two-channel Dolby Pro Logic signal and convert it into simulated surround, either through the main speakers or with headphones. It colored the sound a little bit but it was fun and really did spice up action movies and such. When I was finally able to buy some home theater components, knowing how much I enjoyed the "surround" in headphones, I chose a Harman Kardon receiver that had the Dolby Headphone circuitry built-in. The Dolby Headphone processing regularly blows my mind, even just using a $20 pair of Skullcandy INK'D Earbuds (with an extension cord to the receiver). There have been *many* times watching a movie or The Sopranos or something where I've been afraid that I accidentally left the main speakers on and am therefore waking everybody up. I pop out an earbud and realize that no, it's only that the soundstage was expansive enough and the bass was deep enough (and the sound design was good enough) that it fooled me.
So I heartily recommend Dolby Headphone with whatever headphones you have lying around, but getting a receiver with that built-in is going to bust your $200 budget. So just now I figured, "Hey, I'll look for a little outboard box like I used to have, except a newer one that uses Dolby Headphone!" And I did find one, the JVC SU-DH1 ( JVC: http://sn.im/s2nuy)...but it looks like they don't make it anymore.
What I DID find were a number of kits that paired a processor with a set of wireless headphones. Here are three: the Sennheiser RS 130 can be found quite inexpensively, but it uses SRS surround, which I've never really liked. The Sony MDR-DS3000 uses a proprietary surround method, and is still friendly to your budget. The Pioneer SE-DIR800C has a list price way above your budget but the street price makes them worth a hard look: they are the only ones like this I could find that actually had the official Dolby Headphone system. (c|net review: http://sn.im/s2mhk).
Important: I haven't used any of these products I'm linking to, but I'm in a situation similar to yours and have found that the Dolby Headphone processing is just the ticket, even with budget headphones. Note that the Pioneer and Sony above have both digital and analog inputs, so I think you could plug the DVD in via a digital input and the VMC with the analog; hopefully you can switch between them on the device. The official Dolby Headphone site is at http://sn.im/dolbyheadphone.
holto @ Sep 23rd 2009 4:15PM
Well,
Since it's movies, you probably aren't looking for wholly uncolored sound.
I could suggest a few Grados, or Senns, I love my 175 dollar Senns, but they don't do surround etc.
I have a friend who loves the Pioneers others have mentioned and they are wireless...
If you don't mind wired, you can get the Astro a40 set with amp and VERY durable headset for 250. I've had it for a few months now and I use it all the time for my late night movie watching and my gaming sessions.
It has tons of inputs, including optical and coax, and you can set a mix channel if you want to have your iphone or a mic plugged in just in case. It uses dolby headphone for it's surround decoding and I feel it's imaging is pretty on for the price.
The amp works with any headphone and it's all very high quality. I have a HUGE head and I seem to break all the bands/connection points on headphones all the time, these are made from a very flexible ABS with metal connections and joints at all the critical points. They show now signs of wear several months down the line.
Great set up with both the headset and the amp near your price.
I also agree with most of eatingpie's post.
cheers,
holto
Kyle Dunnigan @ Sep 23rd 2009 5:34PM
I would suggest the Astro A40 Dolby Headphone Surround sound setup from www.astrogaming.com.
You can buy this as a full kit with a headset included, or just buy the mixamp to deliver surround sound to a set of headphones you already own. The headset that comes in the full kit is fantastic for gaming, with the way the chat is integrated, along with being able to plug in an MP3 player or baby monitor as well as the overall surround sound experience makes it my favorite way to play games.
Unfortunately the way the audio is balanced in those phones doesn't make them all that great for movies. That is where already having a nice set of cans like a few mentioned above can come in handy.
So, in my opinion, the Astro mixamp and decent headphones for movies, or the full Astro A40 kit for games is the best solution.
EatingPie @ Sep 23rd 2009 5:38PM
Since there's been a few mentions of "surround" in headphones, I decided to comment again.
There are multiple technologies for creating simulated surround in headphones. Sony and Sennheiser have theirs, Yamaha has something, many companies license Dolby Headphone... you used to be able to download a program to demo Dolby Headphone when it was first being developed.
There's a BIG but here...
Your results will vary. Some people, like Lerch above, have *great* experiences with Dolby Headphone (et al). Others do not experience *any* sense of surround. Before you bet the farm on one of these processing technologies, demo it first. Or make sure you have a 30 day MBG on the product. It may work absolutely fantastically. It may do nothing. Every person's ear is different, so this truly is a case of "it works for you but not me." (Even though many of these technologies claim to overcome the ear differences, the real-world results indicate that's not entirely true.)
-Pie
Ram @ Sep 23rd 2009 9:52PM
Found none better than Pioneer SE-DIR800C in terms of sound quality and connectivity options to connect multiple sources. Another great feature is the line-out on the Pioneer with variable gain to connect either an extra wired headphones or simply use it as a preamp to connect a single input 2 channel amp like Trends TA 10.1. In my setup, I connect Logitech SB3's SPDIF output, OPPO DVD Player's Optical output and Sony's HD Radio Analog output to the Pioneer. The variable analog signal from Pioneer is connected to the single RCA Input on the TA 10.1 which is switched off when using the wireless headphones.
infinitespecter @ Sep 24th 2009 1:47AM
Seconded. I've had my this setup (Pioneer SE-DIR800C) for about four years. It's utterly fantastic in every way. The only caveat is that the headset isn't super sturdy, so I've actually gone through the orignal headset and bought a new pair. No regrets though.
Cory @ Sep 23rd 2009 11:55PM
Thanks for all of the suggestions, I submitted this question 3/20/09 so I'll give you guys an update I have Senn HD555, Senn HD280, AKG 280mk2, and Sleek Audio SA6. At the time I only had the HD555 and HD280 I will most likely use the HD280s, I am just looking for an amp. I tried the JVC dolby headphone amp, it has a horrible hiss and runs on batteries. I will defiantly read some reviews of the bithead. I may splurge and get a nicer desktop model from Head Room. I hope someday to upgrade my reciever/processor to include dolby headphone tech, I currently use a Crown K2 to power my stereo speakers(self made/designed). I run everything in Stereo because I'm old school like that. I know a lot about sound reenforcement and speakers, little about headphone amps. Again thanks for all of your suggestions and help. Just so you know I picked up a set of Bose 2.0 speakers at a yard sale for 20$ I've been using them in the mean time.
Cory
NBCraftsman @ Sep 24th 2009 4:17AM
My current "Head-Fi" set-up:
PlayStation 3 Optical Out (TOSLINK) > GRACE Design m902 "reference headphone amplifier" (X-Feed Circuitry: Active) > Sennheiser HD650 = 2-channel audio "bliss".
In many ways I strongly feel that this "rig" is the "headphoned" equivalent to my B&W 801M2 Loudspeakers in regards to overall musical accuracy, dynamics, tonal balance and bass extension.
DaFox @ Sep 28th 2009 5:28PM
Lucky bugger.
nistorica @ Sep 25th 2009 11:34PM
My setup is Marantz amplif with Dolby Headphone and a wireless pair of headphones from Acoustic Research. A.R. has 2 models,one with surround sound.By the way the range is excellent.
Greg @ Oct 2nd 2009 7:17PM
Use anything with DOLBY HEADPHONE processing. The Pioneer models work great, and feature digital infrared transmission (line of sight, but no interference), multiple optical inputs and Dolby Digital and DTS decoding onboard.
Don't use just headphones and an amp. Dolby Headphones processing takes the soundstage "out of your head" and spreads it out in front of you in a surprisingly convincing fashion. Options let you choose width of surround effects, as well as "movies" and "music" settings.
I use a set of Audio Technica wirelss IR headphones, but these use the same technology as the Pioneers - the headphones are even interchangeable.