that virtual barber shop sounds just like regular stereo to me. sure i can hear him walking around, but I'm never sure if he's in front of me or behind. I'm using regular in-ears.

Conclusion

So what are we left with? To be frank, I was really looking forward to this headset, and was hoping to be blown away. The theory seemed interesting and sound, and Psyko definitely fulfilled on the directional aspect of this headset, like I said, it is an improvement over the conventional 5.1 headsets in my opinion directionality wise. And looking at the previews of the headset, I thought “Hey, with the drivers being in the headband, this can solve the…stigma 5.1 headsets have had with the low sound quality from cramming smaller drivers into the ear cups, since you could fit larger drivers into the headband, but then Psyko has taken a turn into a stigma of their own with lower sound quality due to the distortion the sound gets when it passes through those wave guides. So as I was saying, with all of this said, what do we have? As it currently stands, I would not choose this headset over the other ones currently in my arsenal. I just don’t think the sound positioning compensates enough for the loss of quality when compared to normal stereo headsets and Dolby Headphone, especially when factoring in the prices. At 300 dollars, I wanted the Psyko 5.1 to deliver better audio quality and better directional positioning over conventional 5.1 headsets, and I only found it delivered one of those. However, I do believe that the concept Psyko has created is an idea worth investing in. The directional aspect is down, but in future products, I think Psyko just needs to do some research on the distortion of sound when it’s going through those waveguides, and perhaps find a way to distort the sound right out of the gate so when that distorted sound goes through the waveguides, it sort of gets distorted…back into a viable sound…if that makes any sense. It does recreate a 5.1 system quite well…but it’s not the Polk Audio 5.1 quality I was hoping for. But give the company and the concept time to grow, and hopefully we can expect a better performing implementation for a more consumer friendly price.

I'm always interested in your reviews Steggy. I read this but didn't have the chance to truly reply until now.

I was on a massive quest to find headphones that sounded like real surround, and I have tested so many that I lost count. Out of all the ones I tested/own, the K701 (with Dolby Headphone) is easily the ones that blew me away the most.

As for true 5.1 headphones, I had the Tritton AX Pros, and was in awe at how... mediocre they were, even in giving you that surround sound feel. I bought them after reading so many reviews about how insane their surround sound positioning is, when in fact, I find the good old KSC75 to pull surround sound off better, lol.

I was interested in the Psyko, just out of morbid curiosity, so thanks for your thoughts on them. At least I know I wasn't really missing anything.

Try out the K701 or K702 with something like the Mixamp. You'll be in awe out how well they pull off surround sound.