5.1 Surround Headphone Hack!

there is only 1 Audio Output on any Laptop, PC, Ipod, Zune... so how can you plug 2 ends of the headphone in to 1 hole of the output?

go to wal mart and buy a belkin 3 way headset adpter

Another thing that can work in some cases (e.x. for onboard AC'97) is to use the line-in and mic holes to get 5.1 sound output.

but i said that for th mp3 players

There's no point in using it for stereo sound. Use it with something that supports surround...

It depends on the card if you have a cheap card then only one out. but with highend cards they have 3 outputs includeing a mic input..

You have to have a decoder built in to your device that allows multiple speaker attachment, just like the home theater systems do. This is primarily designed to take advantage of a soundcard's ability to be used as a 5.1 decoder by routing the speaker channels through several jacks. I hope this clears things up.

PCs with soundcards that support 5.1 surround sound via 3 seperate plugs. Some laptops (like mine) also have multiple plugs that allow this as well. You can also hook this into a surround sound TV system by using stereo to twin RCA adapters and plugging those into the speaker outputs ( but turn your sound all the way down, and then adjust them =)

How old/cheap is your pc to not have at least onboard surround? And you can always get card slot sound card for your laptop. If all else fails get a usb sound card.

Wife just came back with the parts, so it's off to build my own pair right now. I think the first 10 seconds of the video won her heart over as she is the one asleep by 10, and I'm the one ready to watch LOTR befor bed. You ought to patent this ASAP. Bonus, it's quieter for the sleeping side, and the SNORING SPOUSE doesn't ruin the movie expreience.

It is more 5.1 than 4.2, as the sub and center channel are shared by the main headphone's speakers. There are reports that some sound cards will split the centerchannel and subwoofer between the main left and right channel. If this is the case, either use a stereo to mono adapter plug OR just slightly pull the main stereo plug out slightly and you will get both sub and center on both headphone channels.

First of all, did yours work? Second, a center speaker is picked up by both of your ears at the same time, same as bass. So the two main head speakers aren't that dissimilar as a center speaker. Same thing for the bass.

I will say that it really works well, and the wife likes the better sleep due to my movie volume. Still stand by it being 4.2, which there is nothing wrong with. I've actually converted my home sound system to 4 subs, that put out more vibration then sound. this got me thinking and I'm trying to modify the main speakers of the headphones to a small virbra-motor to assist the effect, but problem has been the lower ohm and watt motors are not easy to find 2 that match.

Putting a subwoofer on your forehead is pretty hard =)

And I've tested quite a few of them out actually. Many are 2x2 and split the center and sub by using the 4 speakers in tandem. They cost about $45. The more expensive ones use 3x3, just like these, except that they use plastic channels for better seperation. As to the ambiance of delay, simply use EAX or equivalent and select ROOM for your delay effect. The simulated Dolby 5.1 is pretty nice I admit, but I'm still partial to this setup, as it is the closest thing you can get to a real 5.1 speaker setup... =)

Have it very loud to get the effect, and the overall decibles are significantly lower than in-ear headsets. I would never put out something that would be hazardous to use, which is why I take the time to thoroughly test my ideas before posting them, but I DO appreciate your concerns! =)