Zalman 5.1 ZM-RS6F Headphones

What is it: Zalman 5.1 ZM-RS6F Headphones
Manufacturer: Zalman
Cost: £59 from QuietPC.com
Availability: Now
Supplier: QuietPC.com


Wil: Rich, wanna review some 5.1 headphones?
Rich: Yeah, ok
Wil: Sweet
Rich: wait... 5.1? Do I need 6 ears for these or something?



Yes, 5.1 headphones, and very odd things they are!
These could prove to be a god-send for the LAN gamers around us who hate having to downgrade from a 5.1 setup to a 2 channel headphone setup when gaming! Zalman have attempted to create the true 5.1 (6 speaker) surround effect within a pair of headphones.

For those unfamilar with the term '5.1', it means 5 speakers and 1 sub-woofer. Sound comes from the centre, front-right, front-left, rear-right, rear-left and a sub-woofer positioned infront. As you can imagine, this gives an impression of sound coming from all around you.

Rather than the usual shape 'can' that fits the shape of your ear, these also have an oblong construction fitted to the back, which houses the extra speakers needed for the 5.1 effect.

You can get an idea of how these headphones acheive this in the image below:


The headphones have a neat folding action, which makes them easy to store and cart about - again, another pro for LAN attenders!


[p]They require three connections to your DVD/home cinema setup/5.1 channel sound card, which are Front, Rear and Centre. I hooked them up to my nForce2 board and loaded up a DVD with a 5.1 soundtrack.



A few specs...

• Frequency Responce: 50Hz - 20kHz
  
• Impedance: 16Ohms @ 1kHz
  
• Power: 0.02W Nominal; 0.15W Maximum
  
• Weight: 350g
  
• Connection: 3.5" stereo jacks * 3