What gaming headphones to buy? - Page 80

The 595s can be had for around 150-170.

Out of the 2300+ responses in this thread (and I've read them all) this one is my favorite. And I know exactly how you feel, as I obsessed over this decision as well. I actually had buyer's remorse while driving home with the X4's, mostly due to my experience with the X2's, but now I'm giddy with delight. Just make sure you read the instructions. There are many useful tips in there, and follow the step-by-step they give on how to set up the Xbox live chat. Just do it and don't look back!

But they have a cord.....

And therefor have better sound quality.....

That is not the main reason to go with the X4's over the X3's. The X3's and lower are complete garbage. The X4's are actually pretty good. Why? Because turtle beach pulled their head out of their ass and went with Dolby Headphone Tech. for their 5.1 surround, instead of their previous multi-speaker approach for surround sound. Hell, their X3's and lower didn't even have the craptastic multi-speaker 5.1 surround, like they have in their PC line of headsets. They were just stereo.

They won't sound very good at all once my daughter has pulled the cord out of my receiver! That was why I was really interested in the wireless solution, and the X4 is finally good enough. And the optical is necessary for Dolby Digital, which is why I made the comment, but I suppose that point is somewhat hidden in my response.

I may look into the x4's once they can be had for 100-120.. Mainly for when I game at other places than home..

**calling J&R music world now to see if I can return the opened AX360's for the X4's**

I'm this far invested.. whats another $90 bucks.. (should have just ponied up the the $249 for the A40s/Mixamp combo)



I still hate you guys.

While I know my hearing is not what it used to be from being around power equipment for many years when I was younger, I feel the A40s really are good. Trying to game with the mic that comes with the 360 and listening through my HT speakers makes it difficult to understand the voices. I have been very impressed with the sound of the A40s and can hear everything much more clearly. Even though I had an issue with the mute switch, I would still recommend them. All in one solution for me.

Howdy!

I visited this thread and had help from KBI and others on headset purchases. I had decided to buy the AT700 Closed back phones with the astro mixamp and they worked wonders on my PS3.

Currently Im experiencing a bit of a problem though. I have to enable Live chat through my headphones and I find it extremely hard to hear voices when the action starts getting intense. Is there any way to adjust this besides playing with the live dials?

Btw, thanks for all the input. I love the headset setup I have. Now I just need to buy that Datel adapter somewhere to hook up the mic. I want to work out the kinks of the headphones and hearing voices first. Great recommendations from everyone so thanks alot.

I'm curious as to how the MixAmp works with the PS3 as well. I've been eyeing the A40 set up for a couple of weeks now but $250+ for the whole thing is a bit steep for me at the moment. I've already got a few sets of phones that I could start out with and upgrade if I felt the need. Any clarification people can pass along on how to make things work smoothly with the PS3 would be much appreciated. Can you still use a BT headset? I've got some Shure in-ears that I'd probably start experimenting with and then go from there. Also some Sony monitor phones that I could try. Just want to make sure I start in the right place!

No, i understood your point about Dolby Digital. But that in itself is not what makes the X4's so much better, as i previously stated, it is Dolby Headphone (DH). You can still have Dolby Digital and no DH. That is how Trittons do their 5.1 surround, and others. They support Dolby Digital, but no DH. And instead use the inferior multi-speaker setup for surround. The results being underwhelming.

J&R music allowed me to return my opened box AX360s. I didnt realize it but I paid $99 for the headphones, $10 bux for extended warranty and $10 more bucks in high azz NYC taxes. So it came up to $119 refunded. Add $130 to that and Im in Astro A40 mixamp HEAVEN!!! :0))))))))

I'm going to wait until Jan 15th to order my A40/mixamp combo. I actually want to get the rechargeable battery pack, and that is not available until 1/15.

For any headphone "noobs" like myself, my main reason for going with the Astros in the end (even tho they are really want I wanted from the start, just couldnt justify spending $250 on headphones until I heard what $100 headphones sounded like..) is that the mixamp uses Dolby Headphone 5.1 simulation technology and the ability to easily control the mix of game/voicechat. You can also take the mixamp and use it with ANY headphone and experience Dolby Headphone 5.1 sound. I absolutely love that.

I'll report back in about 3 weeks my experience with the A40s. I doubt I will be dissapointed. Every review I've read of the Astros have them rated at absolute top quality.

Fair enough. They also have 50 mm drivers instead of 40 mm, and the IR transmitter is much more powerful, which reduces or eliminates hiss, especially in smaller rooms. The dynamic chat volume is pretty cool too, but the X3 may have that as well. The whole package, IMHO, is easily worth twice the price of the X3.

That multi-speaker in the cup design always seemed incredibly stupid to me, when the sound direction can easily be simulated with a one speaker design. Why would you want 8 tiny crappy speakers when you'll get a much better result with two large good quality speakers, especially for bass. The direction simulation in the X4's is remarkable. Prior to the X4's when I heard a pack of enemy dogs in COD WaW I had about 20 seconds to live. Now I can shoot the dogs with my eyes closed. I know EXACTLY where they are, and where they're coming from. Pretty cool.

So very true. But you'd be amazed of how many people fall for that crap.


I know, it's great. I'm glad that you enjoy them so much. Not only does it help to pinpoint enemies (or dogs, lol), but the natural process of judging the location of sound (depth and proximity) and good, full, rich sound adds SO much immersion to the game. The X4's are probably the best value (price and performance) for a Dolby Headphone headset. The other headsets from TB don't even fall in the same category (no DD 5.1 and no DH). TB really did it right with the x4's. I'm glad they bit the bullet and listened to us.

Cause they been fed fud, that the 'real thing' is better then simulation..In many cases that is true, with 5.1 and headphones it's not.

I can't find the jvc 5.1 amp in canada and the 595s are like 350$can

I think I'm going with my initial choice, the a40 sound system because I wanted a decent headset with mic for my pc and xbox gaming.

But then again, what about the pc-161 + astro amp? could I use the mic over xbox live with this? and get the simulated 5.1 ?

and how both compare in term of sound quality? I can have the pc-161 for about ~100$can shipped.

I also have an onboard sound card, will it do fine?(asus p5q mobo) or I would need to also invest on a better one, like an X-Fi? Right now the xbox would be hooked via optic to the amp and my pc would be hooked via coax. Could It be both simultanously hooked like this so I would only need to connect/deconnect the cable that goes on the xbox controller for xbox live comm?

The misses ordered me the a40 headset with mixamp ZING! It isn't here yet but can't wait to try them out.

instapop. It worked well for the PS3 man. I bought a Zalman clip on mic and didn't enjoy using it too much so I used a boom mic which picked up voice remarkably with no interference. If for the PS3, your going to need an adapter for the mic plugin. I bought the Startech USB Adapter. It comes with a headphone and mic plugin which you will only need the mic for it to work



Anyone with any recommendations on my problem listed below?

I would love to be able to purchase the A40 headset and mixamp, but for $281.88 it's a really tough decisions. I think it will be more expensive next year when the state tax goes up to 10.25%.

I'll probably just end up purchasing the mixamp and using it them with my Sony MDR-V6. I still don't understand why the headphones are $200 if purchased separate from mixamp.

To make you buy the whole set.

KBI, did you ever try the senn pc-161 headset? are they any good for gaming.

No. Not into headsets.

But I should only need the adaptor if:

1. I'm using a wired mic
2. I want the voice/game dial to work properly on the Mixamp.

BUT, if I only want to get the Dolby processing and nothing else, I can still roll with a Bluetooth headset to start and just set the output to the system, much like I can do now with just a regular set of phones plugged into my receiver, correct?

Right now $129 for the Mixamp is a lot easier for me to pony up the cash for vs. nearly $300 (shipped) for the whole system (especially since I've read that the Astro headphones aren't all that hot).

Ok, I'm new to this forum, but I have taken the time to read over 30+ pages of this thread, very interesting stuff guys.

I have a question for you all, especially those of you (KBI, etc) who know this stuff inside and out, upside-down.

I held a [pick your favorite deadly] weapon up to my girlfriend's head and made her get me the complete a40/mixamp set from astro after recently becoming interested in cans for gaming/movies and some music, and reading the various stellar reviews around the net. I wish I would have found this forum first though.. I'm a bit of a perfectionist with everything I get into, and I'm now wondering if I should check out the Beyer stuff instead.

Anyway.. here's the question..

I own all the consoles, and a Yamaha v636 receiver. Despite having 3 optical ins, the Yamaha does not appear to have a way to pass through the optical (or any digital) audio signal, which leaves me with 2 options for good performance (I think).

1. Connect the mixamp directly to the console I want to use via TOSLINK. I have done this for about an hour today as my first test, and I'm not sure why, but I wasn't blown away. It was nice, but not what I expected. Granted I only tested it with Geometry Wars 2, Fallout 3, and some music. None of which probably shows the combo's strengths. But it simply sounded kinda thin or fragile compared to the 7.1 Polk separates I'm used to.

2. Connect the setup to the headphone jack on front of the Yamaha, thus utilizing Silent Cinema. BUT WAIT! Can the mixamp be used with SC? Wouldn't the SC and the DH conflict? Or should I just skip the mixamp and direct plug the cans into the Yamaha? But then I lose the nice features of the mixamp. Also not sure how the a40s would perform with SC...

So, there is my conflict. My guess is that the answer is easier than my 2 hours of pouring over the Yamaha user-guide would lead me to believe.

I would love to get some testing in with these with an ideal connection for my components, before RMAing them and trying out the Beyer's. I'm attempting to be better about needing the best of everything...even though I purchased the a40s under that impression to begin with.. sigh.

TIA

I visited this thread and had help from KBI and others on headset purchases. I had decided to buy the AT700 Closed back phones with the astro mixamp and they worked wonders on my PS3.

Currently Im experiencing a bit of a problem though. I have to enable Live chat through my headphones and I find it extremely hard to hear voices when the action starts getting intense. Is there any way to adjust this besides playing with the live dials?


InstantPop - That's something you would have to run by someone more knowledgable. I would think it would work as long as the receiver doesn't take that processing and mess with it. Not sure

That is something you will have to try. There are two ways to hook up the the mixamp to your receiev er, 1 if the mixamp doesn't have a line out..Would DH conflict with SC? More then Likely, yes..Would probably sound like a backwa HK receiver with DH ards concert hall..Both DSPs rely heavily on the reverb. I have the Yamaha V1800, and had a HK receiver Wwith DH. Overall, SC is better..Its compatible with all audio codecs that I can think of, including HD audio. Has a lot of different sound fields that you can tweak to your liking. Its much spaciousness, and is better with the channel seperations. better with 3D imaging, with a deeper front projection depth. DH gives a better sense of channel seperation. I wrote a Dolby Headphone Silent Cinema comparison. Just google it. You will find it. About the DH sounding thin? Is 5.1 set up with both consoles? And double check to see if the mixamp is et to 5.1 DH. DH does not sound thin at all.. It's probably your headphones, they play a bigger part then most realize..And never compare DH to a actual 5.1 or 7.1 system. You will be disappointed every time.

Forgive my incoherentcy..I'm typing with my PS3.

Hopefully I'll be getting another pair of my beloved DT48s..The e version with a Cardas recable and 120 OHM adapter terminated 1/4. The original connect is 4 pins for balanced use. My a version is having cable problems, and I don't really want to ship them off. These are reference studio monitor cans, and have a flat response, totally neutral.

To the guy who gave the AXPro a 4 out of 10... is it at all possible you have a bad unit?

I bought my brother the AXPro's for Christmas. I only listened to it briefly, but the bass is much improved over my AX360's. Looking at Newegg and Amazon reviews, the sound doesn't appear to be one of the weak points. I guess it depends on your needs and expectations.

I only needed something for traveling. I have a 7.1 speaker setup at home, and it's in the basement so I can game as loud as I want. The AXPro's weren't available in July when I bought them, but I'm not sure if the upgrade would be worth it for me. The AX360's fold up and only have one AC adapter, making them easier to travel with, and are half the cost of the AXPro's. For something I use 2-3 times per year, they are good enough. I wouldn't want them to be the source of my audio full time.

My brother, though, has been using his TV speakers. He doesn't have a receiver/speakers in his budget anytime soon. He also has a PS3. So, for him I thought it would be good to have something with better sound, better audio control, and compatible with both the 360 and PS3 out of the box.

Once he opened it and we were going through the instructions, I was reminded of a feature that I had forgotten about, and which you never see mentioned in the reviews. The control box has outputs for a PC speaker system. He has a 7.1 Logitech system from a PC build a couple years ago, but he no longer has a desktop PC and uses his laptop exclusively, and doesn't game on it. The speakers were stored in the closet, and we got them out and hooked it up for him. What started out for him as a surround headphone gift turned into a surround speaker gift. No, Logitech PC speakers do not an ideal home theater make, but they're better than TV speakers, and they were already bought. And he has the headphones too for when we meet at our parents' house with our consoles on holidays.

The downsides I've seen with Tritton are:

(1) Quality control. One of the speakers on my AX360's didn't work out of the box and I had to do an exchange with Amazon. The control box on my brother's AXPro was defective out of the box and I had to RMA it directly to Tritton since I bought them direct from them during the preorder special. I sent it back the Monday after Thanksgiving (gave them to him early since we were together and I wanted to make sure they worked), they received it later that week, and I still don't have the replacement. Also, you have to yell into the mic on the AXPro to be heard on the 360. Tritton says they are aware of the problem and are redesigning the mic, and will ship a replacement when they are ready. They claim it is only a problem on the 360, due to impedence or some such, but whatever it is, I'm sure the 360 has always been that way, and it was their job to design it to work with the 360, so I consider it a quality issue regardless.

(2) Availability. You can't find these in a retail store. So when the QC issues arise, you're looking at an RMA process rather than a fast and easy exchange. My local Best Buy has the TB X4's. I don't know why Tritton won't put their products out there where people can actually find them and easily exchange them.

I'll agree that a Dolby Headphone adapter plus stereo headphones is going to sound better than multiple speakers. I've tried out the DH feature of the X-Fi with a cheap set of 'phones, and it was amazing. There's a little demo in the Creative software, but I was skeptical. I figured it was easy to sound good under a controlled experiment. So I fired up Doom 3 and found a pipe with a steam leak coming up thru the middle of the floor. I walked around it in circles, and stood in front of it and spun around, and the sound of the steam leak was always dead on. The problem with this setup is the limited options and the cost. When I bought my AX360's, the X4's didn't exist. $250 for the MixAmp setup was too expensive for my vacation headphones and blew the budget for a Christmas gift for my bro. And I didn't like that the JVC adapter ran on batteries and didn't know how I'd incorporate a mic and voice chat.

If I was in an apartment and headphones were going to be my only source of surround sound for movies and games, I think the MixAmp setup would be worth it. For everyone else, I think the AXPro or X4 will do the job, depending on your specific setup and needs.