5.1 Headset and MP3's

[eyeCpc]

I think you need to do some Googling there. When listening to a stereo source the best results are always going to be with a stereo headset to begin with. For 5.1 you use a 5.1 set like the ones there. This way you hear stereo or 5.1 discretely not having only 2 out of 5 working or synthesizing surround through a stereo outlet.

 

[KSoD]

I have used 5.1 head phones with stereo. No difference when compared to a stereo head set from me.

Granted i am not a Engineer like these guys. But again believing what you read on the net is not the best thing. I think a audio engineer like Crysalis or Rican would know a bit more than some of the topics on Google.

 

[EricB]

those old nvidia nforce 2 or 3 motherboard had a chip that could encode a 2.0 signal to a 5.1 on the fly that made it sound like dts 5.1 or Sacd. nobody could appreciate it at the time, so it got scrapped .

 

[GregWalterscheid]

Was trolling around looking for good settings for my headset. Just so many things to tweak and can be a pain. But on to the OP's issue. The issue, if you haven't figured it out, is quite simple. All you need to do is open the AXPC software in your system tray(righ side of the task bar, white box with headphones symbol) and make sure the 6 with a speaker symbol next to it is blue, not the headphone symbol. If this doesn't help, let me know and I'll see what I can do...

 

[Apokalipse]

I have used 5.1 head phones with stereo. No difference when compared to a stereo head set from me.

which headphones did you compare? and what sound card were you using with them?

I mean, the fact about 5.1 anything, is that if you get 5 speakers/drivers for $100, vs stereo speakers/drivers for $100, it ends up being ~$15 per speaker/driver in the 5.1 setup vs $50 per speaker/driver in the stereo setup.
$50 speakers/drivers are more than likely going to be better than $15 ones.

Also, you only have two ears. Ears pick up direction using a few different methods, which can be emulated with a good sound card.

 

[KSoD]

I dont know what type of headphones they were. I was borrowing them from a friend who is a Audio Tech. He wanted me to try them out as his company was starting to manufacturer them. This was several years ago.

I used my Audigy 2ZS card. Again back at the time this was a better card cause X-Fi wasnt out.

As i have said i am no Audio Engineer or Audio Tech like many people around. But i have had my experience with testing Surround Sound systems. I used to work for a company that made Amps, Pre-Amps and Recievers which we tested with DD, DTS and all that other good stuff. I had to listen to each channel to make sure they were working properly.

So while i may not be a Audio person or know as much as many people in this area. I do know some things. I do know that a $100 stereo set is going to be better than a $100 surround sound set. I do know that there is a difference between the way the stuff sound in various rooms with different dimensions and different layouts cause the sound reverberations and redirections have a affect on how you are going to hear it at any given point in the situation.

To me honestly i didnt see that much of a difference in the 5.1 headphones compared to stereo headphones cause i dont use headphones that often anymore. Back when i was testing the audio equipment yeah i could tell the difference. That was also 7 years ago when i paid close attention to these details. Not i put the headphones on and listen. I dont pay close attention cause i am always working on something else.