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General discussion

Playstation 3 headset utilizing 7.1 surround?

Aug 14, 2009 6:36AM PDT

Does anyone know of a headset that supports 7.1 surround that is compatible with the PS3? I know logitech has the G35 that is compatible with a PC and has full 7.1, but I haven't seen anything similar for the PS3. Any helpful info would be greatly appreciated.

Discussion is locked

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Let's just think about that
Aug 14, 2009 10:39PM PDT

Let's just think about that for a second.

Speaker notation for surround sound systems is the number of satellite speakers and subs. So a 5.1 system has 5 satellite speakers (3 front, 2 rear) and a sub (.1).

Headphones have two speakers, left and right. It's theoretically possible they could build in a tiny little sub to each speaker, but you're still only looking at a 2.2 setup max. You can't have true 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound with headphones. What you can get is a clever use of psychoacoustics to create the illusion of surround sound with headphones. It won't ever truly be the same, especially with things like vocals which usually come from the front center channel.

But you should check with Logitech, since they make a lot of game console accessories as well. That set of headphones may well work with the PS3 just fine. You can also check with Sony, who likely has a list of every licensed accessory maker and the accessories they make.

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Surround sound in headests.
Aug 15, 2009 4:03AM PDT

Thanks very much for taking the time to post. I saw some high-end headsets at Fry's that claimed to have 5.1 and 7.1 surround by means of several small speakers in each earpiece. I thought it could be a good way to get the most audio out of my PS3 games, while not waking up my wife in the middle of the night. However, all the headsets seemed to be for PCs only. I'll check with Sony and Logitech as you suggest. Thanks again.

P.S. You made me look up the word of the day, "Psychoacoustics". Sweet.