Shinta66

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Aug 28, 2015
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How can I use two true 7.1 surround sound headphones on one computer? Do I need multiple sound cards? If so can multiple sound cards be used at the same time? I am building a new gaming pc soon and budget is not too much of an issue for me. I pretty much just want to play my FPS with one 7.1 headset then watch movies with my friend on two 7.1 headphones. I also would like to stay with true surround over virtual surround if possible. I have looked all over Google but no one talks about multiple 7.1 headphones and mainly talks about using a splitter with regular headphones. I'm currently using that method and hate how crappy the sound quality is. It's way too quiet sounding for me.
Oh yeah I live in a apt and don't want to hook up my 7.1 system cause it will piss the neighbors off.
 
Solution
virtual audio cable might be what you need. i've heard it allows you to use two soundcards. its a bit clunky though.

the reason you get low volume is likely because the amp is not strong enough. a stronger amp would work however i'm not sure any have 7.1 amplifiers of that power (as generally they seem to have amps meant for 2.0 hifi headphones).

two usb headsets would work, same with two virtual headphones.

there are multiple channel headphone amps you could use to boost the signal from what you have now... i know they make up to 8 channel amps which arent super expensive at $100 or so for some models. again, a clunky setup and likely way more power than you would need but a possibility.

agreed, your request is not a very common...
I think the reason why nobody talks about it is because what your doing is EXTREMELY rare.

Technically you could just use either twin sound cards or use the built in sound card on the mobo and a PCIE sound card. However, you will need software to mirror two headsets because windows doesn't do that.
 
Windows doesn't treat audio like video and only allows one audio device at a time so multiple cards (or mobo + card) won't help.
If you use wireless headphones you can transmit to as many headphones as you want since your PC only sees the USB transmitter as the audio device, not the number of receivers.
 
virtual audio cable might be what you need. i've heard it allows you to use two soundcards. its a bit clunky though.

the reason you get low volume is likely because the amp is not strong enough. a stronger amp would work however i'm not sure any have 7.1 amplifiers of that power (as generally they seem to have amps meant for 2.0 hifi headphones).

two usb headsets would work, same with two virtual headphones.

there are multiple channel headphone amps you could use to boost the signal from what you have now... i know they make up to 8 channel amps which arent super expensive at $100 or so for some models. again, a clunky setup and likely way more power than you would need but a possibility.

agreed, your request is not a very common one - virtual audio cable is one of the few softwares which is going to help you so definitely give that a look.
 
Solution