Customer Reviews

Zalman ZM-RS6F 5.1 surround sound headphones

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Not bad. No subwoofer but I don't even like subs that much. When 1st plugged into sound card (creative SB AUD2 NX) the sound was muddled. But if you tweak with the graphic equilizer on the sound card and the tone control utility. you could make it sound clear. Im doing that now as I write, haven't found the perfect combination yet, so that's one of the hassle for it (ie. it doesn't have a tone adjustment knob on the headset, you need to tweak the equilizer). Another bad thing is it doesn't have a volume control knob either, but you could solve that easily by tweaking the master volume on sound card. That's why I'm giving it a 4, the hassles of finding the perfect combination of tone and volume, detracts from its enjoyment (but once you get it right, its awesome).

I am really impressed how well these work for computer games. Sounds are tack sharp and there is a good spatial sense between fore and aft. No real booming bass. Good fit and pretty comfortable in the long haul. Bulky and somewhat heavy. The ends are somewhat noticeable in the corner of my eyes. Works well for shooters, RTS, KOTR, WOW, hmm just about everything. Doom3, scary as hell... Completely encloses the ear. The really nice thing is that I can play games and HEAR what is going on. Also muffles outside noise. For movies on my PC (you need front, rear, and center/sub 1/8" stereo phone jacks) they again makes everything sharp. One star for that missing booming bass.

When i first plugged the Zalmans into my system i was a little confused with the 3 leads as i have a Sound Blaster Audigy card with no front, rear or center ports. Having borrowed a mate's sound card i was now ready for the Zalman 5.1 experience.

I am very big on gaming and sound, and i have to say that Zalman's sounds great with games that have support for 5.1 sound output. The best sounding game i found was Half Life 2. The sounds were just amazing especially when the music starts up and you're in one of those caves, that's when you can really appreciate the 5.1 experience.

As for the bass, yes i agree it lacks power but you can crank up the bass output in Windows advanced volume settings to some degree.

----PROS:

-Nice long lead, good for LAN sessions.
-Comfortable to wear, even for prolonged periods of time.
-Great sounding 5.1 surround sound
-Does not suppress outside noise too much, so you can still hear things in emergencies etc. to some extent.

----CONS:

-No volume control on headphones
-Lack of bass
-Price tag @$60AU-Could have volume control and better bass for that price.

While these are without a doubt 5 channel headphones, the spacial effects (no, that wasn't a misspelling of "special") are not impressive. I played numerous instances of "Battlefield 2" with these headphones. I also ran the various 5.1 diagnostics for my sound card. Whereas I clearly hear the 5-channel positioning with my speakers, the surround effects with the headphones are negligible. The difference can be heard if you listen closely enough, but you might need to really listen hard to hear any positional effects. I realize that headphones cannot have large a depth of field as speakers, but it should still be relatively simple to come up with a design to separate the speakers farther than they currently are.

I was also bothered by the fact that these headphones do not allow any pass-through capabilities. These headphones were not purchased to *replace* my 5.1 system - they were purchased to *augment*. When it's late at night, I like to turn my speakers off and use headphones so as not to disturb the rest of the house. The plugs on these headphones assume that you will *only* be using the headphones. So, in order to have both connected, I had to have the extra expense of purchasing stereo, Y adapters for each of the connectors. That's quiet a bit of arrogance on the designers' part to assume that these headphones will completely replace a loaded, 5.1 speaker system.

There is also no volume control - at all! I normally have the sound card at a medium-high level with speakers at a medium-low level so that I have room to adjust my speakers upwards if necessary. This is very loud for the headphones. I can easily hear the audio from the headphones if they're under my desk when the speakers are off. Considering that some lower-grade headphones come with a volume slider, the lack of one on these headphones only emphasises the arrogance of the designers' assumptions that these headphones would replace, not augment, any existing 5.1 systems that you might already be using.

As for sound quality, these are not as quiet on the bass frequencies as one might expect. (And technically there are not 5.1 headphones. They're 5.0 because they don't have a subwoofer in them.) They don't have a strong, lower frequency response, but that's nothing that a slight bump of the lower frequencies of your graphic equalizer can't handle.

If you have a 5.1 system and try to use 2.0 headphones, you could potentially lose a lot of audio. Try panning around near a waterfall or helicopter in "Battlefield 2" with stereo headphones but with your audio set up to 5.1. Sound just disappears when it reaches what would be the rear channels. These headphones DEFINITELY eliminate that annoyance. I can play and hear all five channels without a problem. That alone makes these worth getting unless you actually want to change your speaker configuration every time you want to switch between speakers and headphones. No, thanks. I'll pass on that.

These headphones are not the five-channel panacea that other reviews make them out to be; but, for the price they're worth getting if you don't want to disturb the rest of the house.

Great sound, but do not buy if you are trying to use with a gaming console PS3,XBOX,etc. First You will need a sound receiver, Second the Zalman pre-amp, and then depending on the type of sound receiver you have you will have to make modifications to your wires. I had to strip my wires from the pre-amp and put them into the receiver. They are good headphones with great 5.1 sound and I dont think there is a subwoofer in them so I guess not 5.1, but surrond qaulity is great for headphones, also can wear for extended time periods without any pain 2-10 hours without discomfort . But very painfull setup process for non computer application, console gamers stay away from these unless you have some kind of knowlege on electronics.

I've been using these headphones for 3 years now. These are gaming headphones pure and simple. Yes, you can listen to music and watch movies and such but don't you have a HDTV and stereo system?

For FPS and MMORPG's you MUST have headphones and mic if you are going to be in anyway competive. These headphones were the first surround sound headphones on the market and they are still the best for the money.

Only 2 things keep these from being 5 star headphones. No volume control and no built in mic. But the Zalman mic is also very good, make sure and buy 3 or so mics as they seem to break down after a year or two of use, but for 7$ how can you complain.

These are THE gaming headphones you need. If you bought these looking for something else, maybe you should have done a little more reasearch. But for gaming purposes none of the other headphones compare, please trust me on this I've tried them all and I ALWAYS come back to my good ol' reliable Zalman's.

Zalman Headphones are a great addon for any serious gamers. You can hear pretty much anything around you while you play FPS's. I have personally tried other headsets such as the Sony MDR-700DJ's and they didnt even compare. There isnt much bass, but its such a small loss in the big picture. Make sure you get a Creative Labs LIVE 24 BIT card or any sound card with 4 plugs. Dont hesitate; they are the best. All your competitors at a LANParty will be so jealous.

If you want good dynamic range, accurate positioning, and high acoustic fidelity, buy some good speakers. If you want surround sound headphones because: no place to put surround speakers, the kids are in bed, you're going to a gaming party, or [something that makes surround speakers not work for you], then these are great. Do they sound good? Can four drivers with separate channels in one enclosure ever sound good? No, of course not. Do they work (that is, function as a surround sound delivery system)? Yes, surprisingly so.

For me it came down to gaming parties. At home (with a 5.1 speaker system) I did just fine, thankyou very much, but away from home (on stereo headphones) I found myself spinning around play shooters looking for the guy attacking me. I realized that I had come to rely upon the surround sound to let me know what was going on around me. Bought these headphones, and the difference was fanatastic. If you're a gamer that uses stereo headphones (even the ones that give so-called surround effect), you really should give these a try.

Problems: they are rather large; not necessarily heavy, at least they don't feel heavy, but you'll definitely know they're there. They are aural (completely enclose the ear), this probably makes the surround work better, but you won't hear much of anything else. Lastly, controlling the volume level of each pair of channels can be very cumbersome depending on your sound software/hardware.

If you can't do 5.1 speakers, these are the way to go. If you can, then what are you thinking!? Good sounding two channel headphones cost hundreds of dollars; these have six channels and cost $60, what do you think?

Your going to need a Soundblaster or compatible 5.1 card. If you have an onboard sound, you should have at least an nForce 2 (not sure for via chipset users). Im writing this review based on what Im using which is the nforce 2 Dolby encoder.

The sound to start is really not that good. You will have to tweak the settings to get these to sound pretty good. Another thing that I noticed, is that the rear speakers are very feint. This is because in a true 5.1 system the rear speakers are behind you by a couple feet, with these headphones its an inch. But this can also be corrected through the sound device, by balancing out the sounds. Also the high sounds are very crisp and clear. Please note that there is no external power for these headphones, just the cable to your computer. Now we got it setup, let's listen to it.

Stereo Music: Sounds pretty good, but remember there is not a lot of bass coming from this set of headphones. Highs are coming in pretty well. If you are going to use it for music only, I would recommend going with a mid range set of stereo headphones. It will be much better for you.

DVD's: This is what these were made for. Highs are coming in very clear. The explosions are a little anti-climatic. This is where you make sure that you have raised the volume of your rear speakers. So you can hear them. No doubt about it these are 5 channel headphones. You can hear every channel, and sound is good. Despite what some will say, this is no 'gimmick'.

Unreal Tournament 2004 (First person shooter): Besides the bass being muffled I actually enjoyed it. As with dvds balance your channel volumes.

Ergonomics: These headphones are VERY comfortable once you've worn them for a while. They fold up nicely too and take litte space on your desk.

PROs: 1) Very comfortable
2) They look sharp a very innovative design
3) Highs come in very clear
4) does a good job in canceling outside noise
5) Good for any 5 channel application (dvds etc)

CONs: 1)There is no volume control on the headset (a minor flaw)
2) If it maybe had another power source Zalman might have gotten more sound from the bass department.
3) Alot of tweaking that needs to be done
4) For music they are not as good as a set of stereo headphones for the same price.
5) Maybe a digital coax should have been placed here, so you wouldn't need an amplifier to hook up to a reciever, or other dolby device.

In my opinion the Pros outwiegh the Cons, just keep in mind what you are going to use it for.

These are good gaming headphones. I'm on my 3d set (well the second set went to my teenage boy). I beat the stuffing out of these things--drop them frequently, stretch them when I think they are too tight--wires get twisted in the back of my computer. Use them everynight almost. I HIGHLY recommend them. Great for gaming, good directional sound fairly comfortable, once broken in. For the price: A+.