Is it really worth buying virtual 7.1 surround sound headphones instead of paying less for a stereo headset and software

FugitiveAlias

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Nov 23, 2015
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It's basically just that. With the exception of the occasional and very expensive "true" surround sound headsets (ASUS ROG Centurion), all virtual 7.1 surround sound headsets are actually stereo headsets that use magic to mimic sounds coming from different directions. The only difference I can see is that the headsets that sell themselves as 7.1 surround is that they just come with the software built-in and often a larger cavity in the cans because apparently, it helps.
In my specific example, I'm interested in the HyperX Cloud Revolver S and the not-s version which looks exactly the same but without the software built-in and way cheaper. Yes, one has the USB for the midway controller but it converts back to standard jack anyway. Would it be smarter of me to just but the ordinary set and download something like Razer Surround?

I've got to be missing something here because I would think getting ordinary stereo headsets and using your own software would be more common practice.
 
Solution
there is no such thing as "virtual" 7.1 or 5.1 headphones. The only way to "simulate" 5.1 or 7.1 would be in a specially designed room; with known acoustic signature; it is possible to simulate "3d" sound in such an environment, however it usually doesn't work all that well without a room designed for that purpose. This type of marketing nonsense is how the audio industry continues to reinvent the wheel to keep consumers buying their most expensive product when their most expensive product rarely is any better then a free pair of earbuds that came with your iphone.

Most audio equipment is overpriced and over designed with features your dog might enjoy, but you'll never hear (for example the human ear can only hear about 20Khz of...
there is no such thing as "virtual" 7.1 or 5.1 headphones. The only way to "simulate" 5.1 or 7.1 would be in a specially designed room; with known acoustic signature; it is possible to simulate "3d" sound in such an environment, however it usually doesn't work all that well without a room designed for that purpose. This type of marketing nonsense is how the audio industry continues to reinvent the wheel to keep consumers buying their most expensive product when their most expensive product rarely is any better then a free pair of earbuds that came with your iphone.

Most audio equipment is overpriced and over designed with features your dog might enjoy, but you'll never hear (for example the human ear can only hear about 20Khz of frequency); here is a great youtube to visually demonstrate what your ear can hear https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAsMlDptjx8 (my ears can only head about 36hz to 15k hz, but then I'm older); now of course if you have bad speakers/headphones you might be artificially limited when viewing that video, however pretty much every audio device will cover that 20hz-20Khz spectrum of hearing.

So what are you paying for? typically you're paying for deeper bass or clearer treb, but what you almost never get from that free pair of earbuds to the $200 beats! headphones is much of a difference you can actually hear. Now that I've said all that, I will say, you CAN hear the difference between good and bad headphones, and good and bad speakers, but its rarely limited to price, as some of the worst headphones i've heard were some of the most expensive.
 
Solution
There technically is only 1 headset (that I know off) out there that has True 7.1. It's the Razer Tiamat. But as @ingtar33 said, I wouldn't recommend going for a true 7.1 anyways.

The only way a 7.1 sounds really good is if you physically have 7 outputs covering the entire house. When it comes to headsets, having a simulated one is actually much better.