14 DAY TRIAL // It's hard enough to enable 5.1 and 7.1 channel audio in headphones, but Sony has managed to up the ante and provide 9.1 channel digital surround support to its latest creation, the MDR-HW700DS.
Hidden by the “pressure-relieving luxury ear cushions,” the 50 mm driver units should be able to provide high-quality sound for up to 12 hours on a single battery charge.
That's right, this is a wireless set of headphones, featuring support for not one or two, but three different Wi-Fi frequencies.
In addition to the 2.4 GHz and 5.2 GHz bands, the Sony MDR-HW700DS can communicate over the 5.8 GHz band.
Although if we refer to the latter pair together as the 5 GHz band, we suppose the newcomer could pass off as a dual-band wireless item to some observers of the spec sheet.
The 9.1 channel audio effect is produced thanks to the 5.1 channel surround speaker, surround-back (2 channel) and front-high speakers (2channel).
Sony calls this is Virtualphones Technology (VPT), since the effect sounds realistic but is still digitally simulated, not real.
There is a reason that multi-speaker systems have satellites distributed around the corners of a home. 9.1 channel systems just have some extra satellites compared to 5.1 and 7.1.
Anyway, the new product happens to possess three operating modes that users can switch between: Cinema, Game and Voice.
Cinema delivers uncompressed multi-channel surround sound with no noise and interference from other devices in the home. Sony has collaborated with Academy Award winning Supervising Sound Editor Tom McCarthy, who works for Sony Pictures Entertainment.
The “Game” mode provides sound localization and balanced output on the right and left channels. It will let you know where your opponents are in a game world, for instance.
Then, there's the “Voice” mode, which enhances the clarity of speech. It's good for when you're watching a movie or TV shows (talk shows in particular). Finally, in addition to the wireless connection, you can link the device to a system or TV via HDMI.
The Sony MDR-HW700DS takes 3 hours to fill a 12-hour charge. If you want longer and are willing to sacrifice some features, you can buy the MDR-HW300K or MDR-RF811RK instead (these two have 28-hour life but none of the three surround effects). Prices aren't known, but sales should start this month (April 2014), in Europe. In case you weren't sure, yes, all the three new headsets can play uncompressed 4K audio just fine.
