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Supplied by Zalman
Can a set of headphones be classified as a “quiet computing product”? They most certainly can compared to the alternative of blasting through a game surrounded by loudspeakers. Zalman is well known for quiet computing products and steps up front and centre (and rear) with Theatre 6 Real Surround Sound Headphones. Zalman knows that enthusiasts desire the 5.1 experience and the ability to enjoy it without intruding on and annoying others. Zalman claims to deliver that 5.1 surround experience, normally had with 6 speakers, in a set of headphones.
To every coin there are two sides and firmly we shall sit balanced on the edge. The debate is speakers versus headphones and which is better. Audio is a very subjective experience. What may sound good to one will not to another. Some prefer a lot of bass while others prefer the sharpness of treble. What determines “good” audio is the path the audio takes from the source to the ear. The old saying goes that you are only as good as your weakest link and this is quite true of audio. If any component is not up to the job of faithfully reproducing the original sound then the end result will be deficient.
Remember this when plugging in a set of headphones to hear for yourself if they live up to expectations.
There are a few facts that must be shuffled up front, examined and then summarily put aside.
Sound is many splendid thing
Sound is mish-mash of acoustic bounces, reflections and changes emanating from a source to finally reach your ears. You do not hear a pure piano. You hear the hammer strike strings then reverberate through the soundboard around the plate and through the cabinet. Some of this sound travels in a straight line to your ears. Some reflects off the surrounding walls, people, objects and so forth to eventually reach your ears. This blending of sounds creates the final effect.
You smart ones may have already picked up on what you may think the Achilles’ Heel of that statement; explain electronic music as that is produced without the need to be recorded by a microphone. Ask most sound engineers and they’ll tell you that the “live” feel is added back in the form of echo, reverb and other such magical sound tricks. The pure “sound” of electronic music does not have that acoustical feel which most of us have come to expect.
I digress.
There are significant concepts to remember when comparing headphones to loudspeakers; loudness, privacy, position and environment.
Chances are that most headphone listeners crank the volume. They listen to audio, be it game or music, at a substantially higher volume level than would with normal speakers. If there is no unforgivable distortion then the loudness will likely impresses most. The fact that the sound is louder and gives the illusion of total immersion will lead most to believe that headphones could be better than loudspeakers. To every opinion that headphones can outperform speakers twice or ten times their price there is the opposite camp who will argue to the contrary.
Headphones can be and usually are at higher levels and that brings up the first benefit of the Zalman Theatre 6 headphones; PRIVACY. Headphones users can be fully immersed at blistering levels without fear of waking the neighbors or driving spouse, significant other, roommate, cat or dog…nuts. That’s not to say that there isn’t some audio bleed to another person not wearing the headphones. Headphones can be heard by others especially in a quiet house.
Headphones can create easily discernable separation with greater ease. There is a definite difference between left and right since each speaker unit is, in effect, isolated to an ear. There is very little chance for the sound going to one ear only side to reverberate and reflect and thus confuse the other ear. Positional sound featured in games can have a greater aural impact on the headphone listener since a pure “left” sound is obviously left and goes directly to the left ear without influencing the right. This positional sound is dynamic for a stereo track.
Environment has a major influence on sound. The environment in which a person hears a person singing, playing an instrument, making a sound, hitting a baseball and so forth shapes that sound. This shaping is done by the objects in the room, drapes on the wall, the distance between the source and receiver and so on. Headphones do not have the influence of the environment as the sound is fed very directly to the ear. This will probably explain why, given treble and bass are set flat, headphones can seem higher pitched than speakers.
Zalman tackles the experience
Zalman Theatre 6 headphones tackle the privacy issue like most other headphones. The Zalman Theatre 6 headphones allow for the listener to enjoy the sound experience without extensively intruding on those around. The word “extensively” is used because my girlfriend in the next room was able to hear that I was listening to something…but it was not annoyingly loud. Bear in mind it was a very quiet night in a silent house. I swear she can hear mice tip-toe across the floor.
A very large majority of buyers will look at audio specifications without a clue as to what they mean or what has been left out. Read three pages of this Short-Media article and you’ll learn a lot more about formats, delivery methods and what the specs mean.
3.5mm)
The Zalman Theatre 6 headphones deliver, in this reviewer’s opinion, sufficient volume with a nominal amount of distortion at peak volume.
This is where it gets very subjective as everyone has different musical tastes, frequency preferences and hearing ability. How the Zalman Theatre 6 headphones perform depends entirely on what they are plugged into and how good the audio source is. If the audio source, a CD for example, is a quality recording and the audio processor is sufficient to properly and accurately reproduce the source sound then the Zalman Theatre 6 headphones produce a signal that I personally found to be more dominant in midrange frequency levels when compared to a set of walkman headphones or higher end Sennheiser headphones. All three headphones deliver saturated high frequency ranges making such sounds as cymbals…”sharper”. This is a common occurrence in most if not all headphones.
Where the Zalman Theatre 6 headphones make their mark is 5.1 sound through the front, centre and rear connections.
Left and right is an easy task for any set of headphones but above, below or in front is another story. Direction left or right is determined by the strength of signal reaching one ear or the other. It’s much like a person tugging on one hand or the other. If a speaker were placed on either side of the head and only one were fed a sound then it is relatively easy to tell left from right. Above, below, or in front is a more complicated combination of frequency and phase. The human ear is a remarkable piece of equipment that is be used to detect sounds and their frequencies but it can also be used to reflect sound in the process of sorting out above, below or in front. In determining above, below or in front sound reaches the ear and reflects off the shape of the lobe. That shape causes a phase shift in the sound on specific frequency. That frequency changes with the angle of attack of that sound…
Yes it gets a little messy to explain especially when the brain gets involved to sort out left, right above, below or in front. Remember the human being is a forward tuned machine so there is a process of elimination in order to arrive at the conclusion that the sound is coming from the rear. We aren’t tuned to be as good a detector to the height of sounds coming from behind especially in the lower frequencies.
The basic and most simple explanation is that there needs to be distance between the source of the sound and the ear in order to get above, below or in front for sound orientation. The Zalman Theatre 6 headphones goal is to deliver that 5.1 positional sound by essentially strapping front, centre and rear speakers to your head.
image courtesy of Zalman.
Since the Zalman Theatre 6 headphones utilize the front, centre and surround channels of the audio system then, in theory, the headphones should imitate a home theatre system minus the massive subwoofer.
Yes and no.
Conclusion: The subjective cold hard facts
- Subjectively speaking the Zalman Theatre 6 headphones are predominantly midrange when compared to walkman style in-the-ear headphones or higher-end stereo headphones.
- Audio reproduction was relatively distortion free.
- 2 channel music does not favor the Zalman Theatre 6 headphones.
- The Zalman Theatre 6 headphones, like most others, allow for immersive sound with minimal intrusion upon others.
- The Zalman Theatre 6 headphones were comfortable with no pressure points on or around the ear.
- The driving reason behind a decision to purchase this product are games with 5.1 positional audio. (EAX or otherwise)
- Spend the time to set up these headphones as if you were setting up a home theatre system.
- The tip of the headphone muffs can be seen in the peripheral vision.
The final word is on games that have cutting edge EAX audio. The Zalman Theatre 6 headphones will give the game more presence and spatial quality. Since the Zalman Theatre 6 headphones do have front, centre and rear channels then there is an enhanced effect of 3D positional sound. There is no denying the improved experience versus a single set of speakers or normal stereo headphones.
Game sound itself is a clever technology. A lot of effort is put into positional sound in the latest games. Games do have one drawback and that is above and below since there are no speakers and respective audio channels above and below as of yet however game designers do put a lot of effort into game audio to fool the ear into believing all sorts of things.
The final word is that the Zalman Theatre 6 headphones are an innovative concept. Let’s call them 5.1 privacy headphones. Audiophiles may choose to look these over but gamers will want to give the Zalman Theatre 6 headphones serious consideration and with sufficient product feedback and development they may just become the gaming headphone wave of the future.
Our thanks to Zalman USA for the Theatre 6 headphones.
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