[SOLVED] Problem with surround sound headphones - sound works in headphones, but I'm still hearing surround sound through Creative Labs Z506 speakers

jabbadahut

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I hope I'm posting in the right section, but if not would the moderators please move this to the appropriate section? I just bought my first pair of surround sound headphones (red colored RUNMUS K2) headphones a week ago & I'm confused as to how they are supposed to work as far as hearing surround sound.

I plugged in the audio and microphone cables to the appropriate inputs on the back of my pc (I have a Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P motherboard - can't recall if it's rev 1.0 or 2.x though). However, when I set them up in Windows 10 in the sound configuration, I'm only offered a choice of Stereo , Quadraphonic, Surround, 2 choices of Surround Sound 5.1 (with spaakers either facing in back of me or on each side) or Surround Sound 7.1. I selected 7.1, since that's what these headphones are, but when I clicked the test button, I heard sound in my headphones, but then I also heard sound in my rear left and right speakers & center speaker. I then tried both types of Surround 5.1, but I still heard sound through the mentioned speakers & not the headset. Shouldn't I be hearing those speakers in my headset, because that's the whole purpose of having surround sound headphones, right? However, the headphones only come with 1 audio connector, 1 microphone connector, and a USB conector to power the lights on the headphones.

Can someone please explain to me how this is supposed to work & how to set it up, because this is the first time I have had surround sound headphones. The microphone works good, BTW.

Thanks for any help you can provide to me. :)
 
Solution
This is what the manufacturer stated in their email to me:

'As for the "7.1 surround sound",it's an abstract concept,which makes you feel the stereo when you using the headset. '

When I bought these on Amazon.com it state on their page that they are indeed 7.1 surround sound headphones.. Here is the link. So I respectfully disagree that you state these are "stereo" headphones with only 2 channels.

I've already spent 35 bucks on these a couple of weeks ago (the price has since been reduced since then.) I'm not going to waste more money buying another pair of headphones that will take me a year to save up for.

OK, but as you already found out when you set your audio options to 7.1 they don't work, so between you...

Mr3dPHD

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Jan 6, 2020
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I don't think you can have 7.1 sound in headphones. The number refers to the number of speakers, and with headphones there are only two. It sounds to me like it's simply subbing in the two headphone speakers for your front left and right channel. I'm not an audio expert by any means though!
 
I hope I'm posting in the right section, but if not would the moderators please move this to the appropriate section? I just bought my first pair of surround sound headphones (red colored RUNMUS K2) headphones a week ago & I'm confused as to how they are supposed to work as far as hearing surround sound.

I plugged in the audio and microphone cables to the appropriate inputs on the back of my pc (I have a Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P motherboard - can't recall if it's rev 1.0 or 2.x though). However, when I set them up in Windows 10 in the sound configuration, I'm only offered a choice of Stereo , Quadraphonic, Surround, 2 choices of Surround Sound 5.1 (with spaakers either facing in back of me or on each side) or Surround Sound 7.1. I selected 7.1, since that's what these headphones are, but when I clicked the test button, I heard sound in my headphones, but then I also heard sound in my rear left and right speakers & center speaker. I then tried both types of Surround 5.1, but I still heard sound through the mentioned speakers & not the headset. Shouldn't I be hearing those speakers in my headset, because that's the whole purpose of having surround sound headphones, right? However, the headphones only come with 1 audio connector, 1 microphone connector, and a USB conector to power the lights on the headphones.

Can someone please explain to me how this is supposed to work & how to set it up, because this is the first time I have had surround sound headphones. The microphone works good, BTW.

Thanks for any help you can provide to me. :)

Surround sound is all faked in headphones (there are a very very few with multiple drivers but I can't even name them without a web search). You get some virtual surround done in software to expand the soundstage out more. Most headphones that state they are 5.1, 7.1, whatever .1, come with a USB audio card that does the processing for their audio effect. If yours did not, contact the vendor or check in your box for the manual and see what exactly they mean that the headphones are 7.1

Cooler Master MH 752 for example come with this

71PYxgQvyzL._SL1500_.jpg
 

jabbadahut

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Surround sound is all faked in headphones (there are a very very few with multiple drivers but I can't even name them without a web search). You get some virtual surround done in software to expand the soundstage out more. Most headphones that state they are 5.1, 7.1, whatever .1, come with a USB audio card that does the processing for their audio effect. If yours did not, contact the vendor or check in your box for the manual and see what exactly they mean that the headphones are 7.1

Thanks for your reply. My control looks like the one in your comment, except it doesn't have control buttons, but rather a wheel to control the volume and a switch to mute the microphone. As for a USB control card, I am confused as to what you mean? My headphones come with a USB attachment, but all they do is power the lights on the headset - they provide no sound function. Plus, according to the manual, the only things included are the headset, audio cable adapter (split jacks for both audio & the microphone) and the manual, There is nothing mentioned about a USB audio card.
 
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Thanks for your reply. My control looks like the one in your comment, except it doesn't have control buttons, but rather a wheel to control the volume and a switch to mute the microphone. As for a USB control card, I am confused as to what you mean? My headphones come with a USB attachment, but all they do is power the lights on the headset - they provide no sound function. Plus, according to the manual, the only things included are the headset, audio cable adapter (split jacks for both audio & the microphone) and the manual, There is nothing mentioned about a USB audio card.

So your sound processing is built into the headphones, you need to check the manual for options they have for turning on the virtual 5.1 sound. Unless your headphones have both a USB and a 3.5mm jack, the USB is for both sound and the lights. If you get audio in both speakers and headset that just means your audio output is set to use both.
 

jabbadahut

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Sorry for reviving an old topic, but I am still having trouble. I contacted Runmus and they provided general instructions on how to set them up. The USB adapter only provides power to the lights on the headphone and nothing else.

I tried connecting the headphones directly to the headphone jack on my Logitech right front speaker, but the headphones are not showing up in the Windows sound configuration tool. I then selected on the speaker and clicked on configure. When I tried testing them, I only hear sound on the right and left front speakers in the test diagram when selecting 5.1. The center, left side, right side, and subwoofer are silent. If I select 7.1 all speakers are silent except the front left and right speaker in the diagram.

So I tried testing them on the Via HD Audio Deck (that's the software included with the sound driver for my motherboard that I downloaded from them directly.). My headphones still don't show up, but I do hear audio coming out of each respective speaker in the test diagram, but they don't appear to be in surround sound. I guess they just perform a basic sound test. Another problem I am having is that I'm not hearing human voice dialog in Far Cry 3 (the only game I have). The surround sound effect seems to be gone, yet if I play a video on Youtube that tests 7.1 sound, I can hear sound out of each respective speaker & as well as the surround sound effect. Are those videos just merely emulating surround sound?

If I have the headphones connected to the back of my PC, the surround sound effect is in the game, but the voice dialog plays through the speakers and not the headphones. I checked the audio settings in the game, but there is only a master volume - no volume for voice dialog.

What in the world is going on?
 
Your headphones are stereo then if they don't use USB for processing audio. There are two drivers on the headphones, the jack I am sure is a 3 or maybe 4 pole if you have a microphone. Those correspond to Left, Right, Ground or Left, Right, Mic and Ground. So you will only get left and right signals. "5.1" headphones would have a USB dongle to send the fake surround sound processing to the headset. Your audio test is looking for individual speakers connected to the channels, since you only have two speakers connected, that is all you hear. Don't know about youtube test videos, that may simply mix the surround sound into into stereo if it can't play the sound of the actual rear speakers.

Like I said before, and type of "real 5.1" headphone would have it's own audio processing and be connected through USB. I say "real 5.1" in quotes because none are really that, they just use some sound processing to expand the sound stage so they sound like you are listening in a larger room. You can't have 5.1 sound with only two drivers.

If you want a good gaming headset with 5.1 sound, get the Cooler Master 752, they sound good, and have that external 5.1 virtual processing that actually does something.

I don't suggest you get this, but here is an example of a 5.1 headset that would actually be doing something, with a USB cable, which means it has the processing inside it to actually work on the sound and fake the surround sound https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZJKF15...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

But don't get those, save up and get the Cooler Master 752, you will be using them for years and enjoying the sound with games and music so much more. Go buy them from Amazon and let us know in 2 days what you think :) I tried just about every "good" quality headphone from $50-300 and for the money, the Cooler Master ones are the ones I would go for, I listen to them for hours at a time, my guilty pleasure is watching the "best of the voice" "best of xfactor" etc.. videos and I end up caught up in the music, I've sat for over 2 hours watching that stuff in my 751 headphones (same as 753 without the USB dongle) and never felt like I had to take them off, very comfortable. And same thing for gaming, in WOW I can do hours with the headphones without any issues.
 
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jabbadahut

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This is what the manufacturer stated in their email to me:

'As for the "7.1 surround sound",it's an abstract concept,which makes you feel the stereo when you using the headset. '

When I bought these on Amazon.com it state on their page that they are indeed 7.1 surround sound headphones.. Here is the link. So I respectfully disagree that you state these are "stereo" headphones with only 2 channels.

I've already spent 35 bucks on these a couple of weeks ago (the price has since been reduced since then.) I'm not going to waste more money buying another pair of headphones that will take me a year to save up for.
 
This is what the manufacturer stated in their email to me:

'As for the "7.1 surround sound",it's an abstract concept,which makes you feel the stereo when you using the headset. '

When I bought these on Amazon.com it state on their page that they are indeed 7.1 surround sound headphones.. Here is the link. So I respectfully disagree that you state these are "stereo" headphones with only 2 channels.

I've already spent 35 bucks on these a couple of weeks ago (the price has since been reduced since then.) I'm not going to waste more money buying another pair of headphones that will take me a year to save up for.

OK, but as you already found out when you set your audio options to 7.1 they don't work, so between you and the vendor on how to get them working with that audio setting. It's a physical thing, there are two drivers and only two connection points to them, therefore stereo. For 5.1, 7.1 sound you need that number of drivers and connections to enable the sound, or a sound card to process that inside the headset like the USB dongle which then does positional audio in stereo to fake your ears into hearing a more open space. Even they say "it's an abstract concept which makes you feel the stereo", sounds like a stereo headset to me, they don't even have audio processing they do. It's just marketing talk in your case to sell headphones, not an actual thing they do.

Try asking them how they do a 7.1 signal through a stereo 3.5mm jack. I'm just trying to help you so you don't end up with crap hardware by buying into light up headphones by marketing instead of actual quality and usability. You go them through Amazon you should be able to return them and get something actually good.
 
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Solution

jabbadahut

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I just heard from Runmus. They are offering to replace them or give me a refund. I'm choosing the refund. If these are indeed stereo headphones, why are they listed as 7.1 surround sound? Do they merely emulate that? If so, they should have pointed that out on the Amazon site. To the casual observer who knows next to nothing about surround sound headphones (except that they sound awesome) they can be easily "gypped" into buying those. Sounds to me like false advertising, but what do I know?

The Cooler Master 752 look nice, but those are out of my budget range, which is $50 - $60. That's the reason why I bought the Runmus K2 - it was inexpensive. Thanks for all the help & my apologies if I sounded rude in my last post - I was POed that the headphones I had weren't really true 7.1 surround sound.
 
I just heard from Runmus. They are offering to replace them or give me a refund. I'm choosing the refund. If these are indeed stereo headphones, why are they listed as 7.1 surround sound? Do they merely emulate that? If so, they should have pointed that out on the Amazon site. To the casual observer who knows next to nothing about surround sound headphones (except that they sound awesome) they can be easily "gypped" into buying those. Sounds to me like false advertising, but what do I know?

The Cooler Master 752 look nice, but those are out of my budget range, which is $50 - $60. That's the reason why I bought the Runmus K2 - it was inexpensive. Thanks for all the help & my apologies if I sounded rude in my last post - I was POed that the headphones I had weren't really true 7.1 surround sound.

Like I said, it's all marketing. They list is as 7.1 to catch people with fancy terms since they know that is what catches people into buying things, then again no headphone without multiple drivers is really 5.1 or 7.1 since those are physical speaker. It's all just emulated. In this case it's not even emulated but just stereo headphones with some flashy lights.

If you want a $50 headphone, the HyperX Cloud Stinger is good, Arctis 3 is a bit more with cleaner sound, HyperX Cloud models can be found about $60 also. Corsair HS60 Pro is $50 and has that virtual 7.1 USB connection you were looking for, and they actually list it correctly with a USB DAC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X9W8CB...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

As you found out, trying to save money usually just leads to spending more money and time replacing stuff you don't like or breaks, unless you do good research.
 
Feb 5, 2021
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I hope I'm posting in the right section, but if not would the moderators please move this to the appropriate section? I just bought my first pair of surround sound headphones (red colored RUNMUS K2) headphones a week ago & I'm confused as to how they are supposed to work as far as hearing surround sound.

I plugged in the audio and microphone cables to the appropriate inputs on the back of my pc (I have a Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P motherboard - can't recall if it's rev 1.0 or 2.x though). However, when I set them up in Windows 10 in the sound configuration, I'm only offered a choice of Stereo , Quadraphonic, Surround, 2 choices of Surround Sound 5.1 (with spaakers either facing in back of me or on each side) or Surround Sound 7.1. I selected 7.1, since that's what these headphones are, but when I clicked the test button, I heard sound in my headphones, but then I also heard sound in my rear left and right speakers & center speaker. I then tried both types of Surround 5.1, but I still heard sound through the mentioned speakers & not the headset. Shouldn't I be hearing those speakers in my headset, because that's the whole purpose of having surround sound headphones, right? However, the headphones only come with 1 audio connector, 1 microphone connector, and a USB conector to power the lights on the headphones.

Can someone please explain to me how this is supposed to work & how to set it up, because this is the first time I have had surround sound headphones. The microphone works good, BTW.

Thanks for any help you can provide to me. :)
If you continued to pursue this answer, you probably found out that many of the responses were not quite correct and not quite true. I have been using TRUE surround sound HEADPHONES for about 12 years now. To have true surround sound, each earpiece must have multiple drivers (speakers), one for each component of the surround sound.

For instance, a 5.1 surround sound headset must have 2 front Speakers which handle the Center, and Front speaker duties. They must also have two rear speakers to handle the surround. that takes care of 5 channels. To handle the bass, each earpiece must have a Bass speaker to provide that heavy bass sound. The first pair I owned, and still have, are a set of Titan Pro AX headphones that are truly surround, though the surround channels are more like Side surround that Rear, because the speakers are still not completely behind the ear.

I have a set of Razer 7.1 that have a full array of drivers in each ear, and require a soundboard that will drive 7.1 audio through a set of 5 connection cables. One lead each for the Center, Front, Side and Rear, then another for just the LFE (Subwoofer). The sound is a true surround, but still has the drawback that the speakers are not around the ears, but over the ears, so rear is not truly rear, and Front and Center are not truly Front.

I have two pair of Abkoncore CH60 USB true surround sound headphones that I use for music and games. They sound pretty good, and have good channel separation, but your Windows 10 setup must be able to support the surround sound. They are NOT true plug-n-play, since you have to download and install the Abkoncore CH60 drivers to get set up the full channel separation. Like the others, though they have all the separate Front, Side, and Rear speakers, they are over the ear, so you still do not get the full front vs rear separation.

I have one pair of Psyko 5.1 surround sound headphones that give the best surround sound separation by using a VERY innovative audio system. I do agree with other reviewers that the audio is true fidelity, but I can explain. With this headset, the drivers are in the headband going across the top of your head - 5 drivers. The Center driver has a port that feeds sound into the front of the headphone earpieces, two front drivers that port stereo sound to the front ports with excellent sound separation. The Rear drivers send sound down through ports that come into the rear of each earpiece. The bass drive is provided by large drivers in each earpiece. In this headset, the sound loses some of the audio fidelity because of the small ports through which the music is transmitted from driver to earpiece. However, the sound separation is much better that the other because the Center and Front channels actually come in through ports that are in front of the ears, and the rear channels come through ports that are BEHIND the ears. The drawback to this headset is that they feel like cheap plastic, and the drivers in the headband are a bit on the small side.

BTW. The Titon Pro AX headsets are no longer available new - too bad. However, all of the others that I mentioned are very available. The Razer and Abkoncore are available on Amazon for less than $80 each. The Psyko 5.1 headsets are available through KrankzAudio.com and many others online. If you are buying surround sound headphones, make sure they have ALL of the drivers, not just two. There is an abundance of high-quality surround sound audio source available on the internet, and they are great with games like ESO, Gran Turismo 5, 6, and Sport, and with Forza 3 and 7.

Another BTW, if you want the best surround sound from a PS4 or PS5, get a converter for the Optical Audio Output to audio channels that you want. Certain USB headphones will also do a good job of audio channel separation on the PS4 and PS5.