I have to agree with you Hilbert. I hate this virtual 7.1 channel marketing strategy. In truth you will experience some kind of virtual surround sound every now and again in a game, but play that same game on a true 7.1 channel system and we will talk again. They should not call it 7.1, as that is a whole other thing in a whole. They should just call it virtual surround and that is it.

Downmix to 2.0 is always better. As owner of AKG-K701, I can say that they have 2 flaws in design. One is comfort issue and other affects life expectancy. And those reviewed headphones have both of them + there is that cable bent on head rest. At mentioned price one can get semi-studio closed headphones with much better sound clarity. At bit higher price one gets good quality studio headphones. I would not ever advice anyone to invest money into color lighting on headphones, or 5.1/7.1.

I am an audiophile and have a number of headphones including the wonderful AKG K812 Reference headphones with Double Helix Cables cable and I think we need to take into account that part of the budget went into colour changing logos, 7.1 channel electronics etc. How much was left over for quality sound? But for those who want gimmicky headphones, maybe these might fill a need? Have to say I like the glowing MSI logo on the lid of my laptop even if I can't see it myself! PS: Hilbert, the Sennheiser 800S is a great headphone but is very fussy about partnering electronics and not happy to be driven by a DAP so you are tied to a good quality mains powered headphone amp but maybe the Chord Hugo might do the trick at +£1,400 on top of the cost of the 800S?

Downmix to 2.0 is always better. As owner of AKG-K701, I can say that they have 2 flaws in design. One is comfort issue and other affects life expectancy. And those reviewed headphones have both of them + there is that cable bent on head rest. At mentioned price one can get semi-studio closed headphones with much better sound clarity. At bit higher price one gets good quality studio headphones. I would not ever advice anyone to invest money into color lighting on headphones, or 5.1/7.1.

Sell anything you can (wife, child, kidney) but upgrade to the AKG K812 Reference headphones. I bought the AKG K702 65th Anniversary headphones first and they are now sitting in a cupboard