Yes, Surround Sound Headphones Do Exist (And Here's How They Work)
Although the sound may not be at the forefront of our minds when we face the ultimate boss in a video game or watch as the protagonist in a film slowly turns the doorknob before walking into what seems to be an abandoned house, it's a huge part of the entertainment experience. That's why so many of us spend time fine-tuning our home's surround sound setup to create an immersive, cinematic atmosphere in our living rooms. While this is great when we're at home, many of us spend a good amount of time streaming movies and playing video games on the go, and as much as we'd like to take that surround sound system with us during our travels away from home, it's just not feasible.
That's where surround sound headphones come into play, bringing this immersive sound technology directly to our ears. And you don't have to spend a small fortune to enjoy this technology. Several brands make affordable surround sound headsets with excellent audio quality. There are two types of surround sound headphones available: True and virtual. With true surround sound headphones, speakers are positioned around each ear and produce sound from different angles. In contrast, virtual surround headphones use software algorithms to simulate surround sound using just two speakers.
How surround sound headphones work
Most of us are familiar with traditional stereo headphones, even if we don't know a lot about how they work. Stereo headphones use two distinct audio channels (left and right) to deliver sound to our ears. This method creates the two-dimensional audio experience we're all familiar with. One problem with stereo headphones is the sound they produce can feel disconnected from the on-screen action. This happens because the sound coming from them is close to our ears and lacks the spatial qualities and directional cues we get when sitting in a room with multiple speakers with sounds coming from different directions. Surround sound headphones try to fix this issue.
True surround sound headphones use multiple speaker drivers within each ear cup to produce sound from different angles to authentically replicate the surround sound setup you'd find in a home theater. Virtual surround sound speakers work differently, using digital signal processing to simulate a surround sound environment with just two speakers. This technology uses head-related transfer function (HRTF) algorithms to manipulate sound, so it seems like it's coming from multiple directions. This technique tricks your brain into thinking the sound comes from more than two sources, even though it delivers the audio through only two drivers. In that way, it creates the illusion of the full 360-degree listening experience of spatial audio depth and directionality while only using two speakers.
True surround sound vs. virtual surround sound headphones
From a strictly audio quality standpoint, true surround sound speakers outperform virtual surround sound speakers because they have multiple speaker drivers producing sounds from different angles, much like you'd find in a home theater. However, this comes at a cost. True surround speakers are more expensive to produce, so companies may have to cut corners to sell them at an affordable price. As a result, their build quality often isn't as good as what you'd get with virtual surround sound headphones, and they're much bigger and heavier, too. That's why many people prefer virtual surround sound headphones and find they deliver better sound than the complicated multi-driver setups found in their true surround sound counterparts. Virtual surround sound headphones have larger speakers, which contribute to a richer, more powerful sound. They're also cheaper than true surround sound headphones.
The choice between true or virtual surround sound headphones will ultimately depend on your specific needs and budget. While true surround sound headphones might provide a more authentic and directional audio experience, virtual surround sound headphones are more cost-effective and still significantly improve the listening experience while gaming or watching movies.