Solo Surround

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TRUE SURROUND SOUND from headphones has been an audio holy grail for decades, but with the ever-increasing power and value of digital signal processing, we’re now getting closer to drinking from that particular chalice. JVC’s latest effort is the XP-EXT1 Personal Home Theater System, a set of wireless over-the-ear cans with a slim processor/transmitter that uses the company’s Exofield DSP processing to digitally rejigger surround-encoded soundtracks, including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, for your in-head listening pleasure.

The business end is a set of large-but-comfortable wireless headphones that require the included processor/transmitter to work—you cannot pair them with your phone or other Bluetooth source. Their nonreplaceable battery is charged via any USB power source; a cable is provided, though, oddly enough, no charging port is present on the transmitter/processor. (JVC specifies battery life at 12 hours between charges, and in a series of much shorter sessions I believe I came close