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Conclusion:

Zalman Theatre 6 Headphones

Setup:

To install plug the rear jack into the rear speaker port on your surround sound card. Then plug the front jack into the front speaker port. Finally, plug the center jack into the center speaker port.

For now, the Theatre 6 headphones can only be used on the computer. Zalman is planning to release an amplifier so the Theatre 6 can be used with a home theatre system. Zalman is also looking to release an external sound card so that the Theatre 6 can be used with notebooks.

Testing:

Zalman Theatre 6 Headphones
Click on image for larger picture

Make sure to set your speaker settings to 5.1 channels. The two test movies I watched were Underworld and Seabiscuit. For both moves the sound was clean for the most part the dialogs were really clear. During Underworld, the rear speakers were able to nicely distance the ambient sounds of rain and bullets whizzing by. For Seabiscuit, the six speakers did a decent job of handling the crowds cheering and the stomping of the horses' feet as they raced around the track. During times where there are lots of loud sounds like heavy action scenes, the main speakers tends to overpower the surround channels, but when it’s quiet, distinct surround noises show up nicely.

Movies are not the only thing on the computer that can use surround sound. To test the Theatre 6 for gaming, I played No One Lives Forever, Red Faction and WarCraft III. The two first person shooter games do not contain AC3 sound channels, so EAX was required. The Theatre 6 worked really well during these games. Most of the time, the scenes are quiet, so enemy footprints are clearly heard as well as various ambient sounds. During WarCraft III, the Theatre 6 was surprisingly active. Sounds of battles moved around as I scrolled to different areas of the map.

Finally, I tested the headphones with music. The best word I can use to describe the sound is hollow. Imagine listening to music in a hall. The midrange sounded muddy like there wasn’t any at all. Sound quality did improve a bit by fiddling with the equalizer.

When on your head for long periods of time, the Zalman headphones were very comfortable.

Conclusion:

The Theatre 6 is definitely one of a kind. Currently they are the only headphones on the market that use six actual speakers to produce surround sound. They are essential to any serious gamer or anyone who wants surround sound without setting up multiple speakers.

For watching movies, the Theatre 6 works really well, and when Zalman releases the external sound card and amplifier, they will be able to be used with laptops and home theater systems perfect for a plane ride. For anyone who wants headphones that provide real surround sound, the Theatre 6 is it.

Pros:

  • Comfortable
  • Decent spatial field
  • Foldable
  • One side cord
  • Gold plated jacks

Cons:

  • Below average music performance

Rating:

Very Good

(Ratings Possible: Terrible, Very Bad, Bad, Fair, Good, Very Good, Excellent)

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