There has recently been some discussion about 5.1 headphones on our forums with the opinion generally being that they are fun novelty items but no substitute for a proper surround experience. This would probably dissuade many of us from forking out for a pair so it's an extremely welcome announcement that Dolby has developed a special headphone technology, which will give a pseudo 5.1 experience, from any pair of headphones.
The technology electronically imparts the sonic signature to each virtual channel of the corresponding real channel. Put in (slightly) more simple terms, the way that you would hear sound that comes from, for example behind your left shoulder, is the 'sonic signal' which is replicated in the way the headphone plays back that signal, hence it is a virtual rear left channel. To clarify - it gives a surround sound effect by some audio wizardry through the two channels of any normal headphones. The bass ('.1') aspect of 5.1 is replicated by mixing it into the left and right channels in equal proportions.
Still sceptical? Can't blame you really - so were we. However, that changed on listening to a couple of demonstrations on the Dolby website. Click on the '5.1 on the go' logo to hear for yourself. Let us know what your impressions of Dolby Headphone in our forums.
