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 Zalman ZM-RS6F 5.1 Surround Headphones Review Date: November 11, 2004 Reviewed by: Dwayne Sessom Sponsored by: Jab-Tech.com These are probably some of the best headphones I have ever used, especially in gaming scenerios where hearing which way your opponent is coming from can mean the difference between getting a frag or getting fragged. I am an avid LAN Party attendee and I have been known to host one here and there... so I know how important 3 dimensional sound is when playing games - especially first person shooters like Unreal Tournament 2003 or Battlefield 1942. I honestly didn't expect much when I first started testing the Zalman ZM-RS6F headphones, but the longer I used them, the more I realized what a difference they made in my game, and watching DVD moveis as well!   Click for larger view. About Zalman: Zalman Tech Co. Ltd. was founded in January 1999 based in Korea, and has developed several low-noise CPU coolers and has since registered over 20 patents and has now ventured into the audio field making the ZM-RS6F headphones we are reviewing today. Features:
The idea behind 5.1 surround headphones is to reproduce the 3D audio in a non-intrusive way, so you can enjoy surround sound without disturbing those around you with a thunderous sub and 5 satellite speakers shaking the pictures off the walls. Zalman does a fairly good job of this with the ZM-RS6F headphones. They do deliver crisp 3D highs, and a solid middle channel. Where they are lacking is the "thunderous sub" category. The Zalman ZM-RS6F 5.1 Surround headphones arrived in a nifty little bubble package that displayed how the headphones fold up into a small bundle, as well as the three audio jacks plugged into false holes. The rear of the package showed clearly that these were not your regular 2 channel headphones, rather they were intended for applications where true 5.1 channel output was available, requiring sub/center output, front left/right, and rear left/right.   Click for larger view.   Click for larger view. Although the headphones come with a pretty complete instruction manual, it isn't really necessary but always nice to have just in case! The only thing I had to figure out was which jack went to which plug, but they are all labled clearly so it wasn't hard at all to figure out, fortunately. One thing I want to mention real quick is that to fully utilize the 5.1 surround, you obviously have to have a 5.1 capable sound card in your PC such as the 5.1 Realtek audio I have onboard my ABIT IC7-MAX3. However, you can still use them as 2-channel headphones if you do not have a 5.1 card. 
 Click for larger view. After removing the Zalman headphones from their package, the quality of the workmanship that went into them was quite apparent. Zalman really thought this design through. They are built to be very solid and comfortable, and they fit that bill exceptionally. They are adjustable to almost any angle, and fit any head size from a 3 year old on up. They cup the ears firmly, but are very comfortable to wear. 
 Click for larger view. Each side of the headphones contains 3 speakers each - front, rear, and sub/center channel. Zalman has done an outstanding job of putting all these speakers in such a compact space. The ear cups are made to seat around the ear firmly enough to block out ambient sound, and do so very well. In fact, just having the headphones at medium volume, I could not hear my wife who was directly behind me talking to me. I liked it, but she apparently didn't! I tested the Zalman ZM-RS6F headphones in several different ways: 1) Gaming using Battlefield 1942, Unreal Tournament 2003, and Call of Duty. 2) Listening to MP3 music to include Rock, Rap, and Classical. 3) Watching DVD movies including the original Matrix, Armegeddon, and Terminator 2. Being an audiophile for most of my life as well as a musician, I tend to be very particular when it comes to my sound setup - whatever the application. Just to give you an idea of what I mean, my PC sound system at home consists of 4 highend 3" Altec Lansing Satellite speakers, a 4" center channel, and 2 tower speakers with 12" subs powered by a JVC 100 watt amp.  No, I'm not kidding.... I am used to benchmarking the piss out of hardware to get imperical results that you can see. So, this makes reviewing headphones a bit different. After using these headphones for several weeks, I can say that the Zalman ZM-RS6F's are definitely worth the money to any gamer who frequents LAN parties for sure. Actually being able to hear which direction your enemy is coming from gives you a clear edge. For listening to DVDs, they are good if you can't use real surround, or don't want to bother others around you. But, they don't quite give you the same ambience that a good set of 5.1 speakers will give you. There two reasons for this in my opinion - 1) They cannot reproduce the "separation" that regular speakers can when well placed in the corners of a room. And, 2) they have no where near enough bass for my liking. One of the main reasons I enjoy watching movies with 5.1 surround is the thundering bass during exposions and such. No matter what I tried to tweak the bass for the headphones, it just didn't sound that great. For listening to your favorite tunes they are, I would say, just as good as any other set of high-end headphones because most if not all MP3's are only 2 channel.  Click for a larger view. Conclusion: The Zalman ZM-RS6F 5.1 Surround headphones have one very good calling, and that is LAN party gaming or just gaming in general. They are impressive in this application, and I would venture to say that they could actually improve your game by putting you in the game - immersing you in true 5.1 surround. The fact that they fold up into a small bundle is another big plus for the LAN party goer. Beyond that, the sound they produce is good but not exceptional by any means because they simply lack good low end bass. I actually have a set of 2-channel Jensen headphones that produce much more robust low end bass than the Zalman's can produce. On overall quality, they are definitely top of the line. They feel solid and are very comfortable and adjust to just about any head size. I give the Zalman ZM-RS6F 5.1 Surround headphones a solid 4 X's.  
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