Philip

Digital Trends has a pretty good review of the JVC SU-DH1 Dolby Headphone adaptor. This great little box takes Line In or Optical In and converts it into surround sound suitable for a set of headphones from a stereo, Dolby Prologic II, MPEG-2 AAC, Dolby Digital EX or DTS ES input (you’ll need optical in for the last 3), pretty much anything you can throw at it. Basically, it synthesises over headphones the audio equivalent as if you were in a room with a 6.1 speaker setup.

The upshot is that music over an iPod or similar is synthesised into a equivalent experience of listening to it over speakers in a room, so the reduction in listeners fatigue is well worth the cost of the JVC SU-DH1. Basically, most music is better, but not as great as listening to a club recorded or orchestral piece, it converts these so it sounds like you’re almost there listening to it live. Even if the JVC SU-DH1 did only stereo, it’d be worth the price, but it gets even better!

The JVC SU-DH1 also can process an optical input from say, a computer or DVD player such as Dolby Digital EX or DTS ES. Listening to DVD’s becomes a whole new experience compared to the lousy multi-channel to stereo mix that you get from most players. Central channel audio becomes magnificently clear, the whole sound stage opens up, allowing clear distinctions between left, right and surround channels, and LFE become much more distinct, taking advantage of the headphones as compared to the subwoofer. Basically, if you’re serious about your audio, the JVC SU-DH1 is sure to please.

Since the JVC SU-DH1 handles 6 speakers (plus subwoofer) in Dolby Digital EX and DTS ES mode you’re not missing out by having it only handle plain Dolby Digital or DTS with only a 5.1 configuration. I’ve yet to run true test files through the JVC SU-DH1, but I’d imagine they’d sound pretty amazing. You also get to use it with Dolby ProLogic II for your consoles that don’t support Dolby Digital (like the GameCube or PlayStation 2), so it’s a really good buy.

It’s not all good - there’s a few annoyances like how the Line In cord is only about 4″ long (since it’s meant to plug into an airplane seat). The output stage is a bit weak, with noise at max volume and isn’t capable of driving very high end headphones, so I wish there was an optical out as well so you could hook it to a proper headphone amplifier. It also tends to chew through AA batteries every 8 or so hours, so if you listen a lot, you’ll need rechargeables. It also tends to worsen the audio fidelity a bit as a byproduct of the processing it does. These issues are not critical, but it’s something to be aware of when you buy it for about $90 US. Yes, US. You aren’t going to get it in Australia anytime soon, unfortunately.

Anyhow, enough of me talking about it. Basically, the bottom line is once you hear what it’s like for stereo you can’t easily go back. It’s hard, trust me. Get the more professional review from Digital Trends here.