Virtual surround sound

I just got into audio side of pc gaming and I am lost a little bit. I want to have 5.1 speakers,
7.1 headphones and also mic plugged in at once if possible so I don't need to constantly change cables if I want to listen via speakers or headphones.
easily done but by default you can only play audio out of one at a time. by swapping your default audio device in settings you can pick which one you want to use.

Another thing is that I want to buy Audio-Technica ATH-M50x headphones.
while they are decent quality the m50 has small soundstage so everything sounds close which makes them not so good for gaming. i like mine for music but for gaming an open can like the hd558/hd598 might be better suited

I know there are 7.1 headphones but then there is no reason to have a soundcard if the sound won't be processed on it.
7.1 headphones do not exist. 7.1 headsets do but thats a different story. some are analog 7.1 (which hook up to your soundcard like speakers do) while others are usb. usb bypasses the soundcard

So my question is. Is there some setup where I can have speakers and headphones plugged at once, while having 7.1 virtual sound on headphones?
you should be able to just have both set up and swap between them by changing default devices

Do I even need 7.1 soundcard if software will do all the trick.
technically no (if you use razer virtual surround which isnt the best option) but a soundcard that supports dolby headphone or cmss3d/sbx is better for virtual surround. keep in mind that 7.1 likely refers to how many analog speakers it can send a signal to not virtual headphone

I am really confused about this. Doesn't the headphones need to be also somehow 7.1?
why? this is why its "virtual" not "true". its the same principle of dolby pro logic which turns a stereo signal into a fake surround signal to push across a whole home theater system. by changing tone, delay, echo and left right balance a stereo sound can be made to appear (be heard as) a somewhat surround sound experience. this is virtual surround and does not require anything more than normal stereo headphones

Since headphones have only two speakers can I make them work like 7.1?
just like? no. its emulated surround but even so called true surround headsets arent the best thing either. i've heard there are dead regions in the 360 spectrum so its kind of patchy. also the quality level of many cheaper drivers compared to two better ones is noticeable

I know there are TRUE 7.1 headsets, but I've seen that they suck.
for the reason i mentioned above

Then I saw few reviews about 7.1 headsets which aren't really 7.1, but they sound like it cause they somehow trick our ears, but the quality of sound is not that good since they have its own soundcard.
this is virtual surround. some have an external soundcard you can disconnect and use your own (in which case they are just stereo headphones with a mic strapped on [which is by definition a stereo headset]). or, you can convert headphones to virtual with the software and use your own mic.

So if I buy high quality headphones, can I make them work like 7.1 headsets while plugged into my 7.1 soundcard?
can you make any headphone into 5.1/7.1 virtual? yes. with your soundcard? not sure. check if your soundcard supports virtual surround sound for headphones. at worst you can still use razer virtual

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