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Surround Sound Headsets
PolloDiablo
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm looking to grab a good pair of headphones, preferably with a microphone attached. I'd like to get one that does surround sound, if they work right.
I was looking at the razer ones, since a friend has a pair and says they're really light and comfortable. Looking online there seems to be some confusion about them. Does the Carcharias do surround sound? Some places say it's 5.1, others say it isn't. Is the Megalodon the only one they put out with surround? Anyone have experience with either of those?
I was looking at the razer ones, since a friend has a pair and says they're really light and comfortable. Looking online there seems to be some confusion about them. Does the Carcharias do surround sound? Some places say it's 5.1, others say it isn't. Is the Megalodon the only one they put out with surround? Anyone have experience with either of those?
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AstroGaming
XBox: Loki HKD
PSN: Loki_HKD
http://steamcommunity.com/id/pablocampy
Audio source is going to be my PC. I've got a soundblaster x-fi card in there, too, if any headset needs that over usb or whatever.
Those plantronics seem good, too. I heard they were a good company. Do any of you have experience with logitech headsets? They seem to be well reviewed, too.
I haven't worn them with my glasses on yet. I will try and remember to do that tonight, i will let you know then how they feel with glasses on.
XBox: Loki HKD
PSN: Loki_HKD
XBox: Loki HKD
PSN: Loki_HKD
Note that the $249 price is with the Mixamp, which acts as both a headphone amplifier and surround sound processor (using Dolby Headphone). It's "fake" surround, which is to say done using a Head Relative Transfer Function, but it sounds more or less like the "real thing." After all, all sound enters your ears in stereo, right? You've only got two.
From what I can tell, the Razer Megalodon and Carcharias use the same headset; the Megalodon just has the surround processing hardware as well...but, as far as bass and frequency response and such, they should be equal. The Carcharias is a damn decent headset, particularly in its price range.
Now, about that Astro A40. You a PC-only gamer? I ask because, to be honest, you may not need the Astro. Or at least not the Mixamp (and the A40 headset alone, at $200, is overpriced). The Mixamp is great when used with the PS3 and Xbox360, but to be honest it's not entirely necessary on PC. Most games have a "Headphone" option that does a halfway decent HRTF surround (not quite Dolby, but good). Many soundcards have this option as well. And to even "use" the Mixamp as anything but an expensive headphone amplifier, you may even need to upgrade your sound card...you'll need one that features "Dolby Digital Live" (real-time 5.1 encoding to AC3, not just passthrough) in order to use the surround-sound processing.
At that point, I'd recommend one of a handful of decent midrange headsets, including the Carcharias, over the A40. At $200, it's not a great value ($250 for the set is better, because the Mixamp alone sells for $130 and is worth every penny for console gamers).
EDIT: Note that a DDL-capable soundcard isn't expensive. Cheap ones can be had for about $40, good ones for $80 and up. But once you're already paying $250 on a headset+surround amp....yeah. Expensive. As for that Plantronics, I think I checked that out at PAX...not bad, but not great. Can't speak to the sound, mind you, as a busy con floor isn't the place to judge that. They just felt kinda crappy...I'd honestly go with the Carcharias over those, and then upgrade (now or later) to a soundcard that can do the Dolby Headphone (or similar) output.
This is a pretty sweet feature for PC users that puts the MixAmps usefulness on par with the original functionality on Xbox. BTW the same feature works great for PS3 users.
For me, the standalone A40 has always been a tough sell, and true to that fact, ASTRO sells mostly the A40+MixAmp. If you were just in the market for a headset by itself, the A30 headset has tons more value since you'll end up taking it with you and using it all day long for your ipod, portable gaming systems, and smartphone (it has two really high-quality mics, both in-line and removable mic boom) and just general traveling around via planes, trains and automobiles since it blocks out way more outside noise than the A40. Punchier bass, too. I spec'd the A30 out to be the equivalent of the Sennheiser PC166 headset but with gaming specific and travel features that you guys would want and appreciate. That Sennheiser headset has a *superb* mic that we searched high and low to match sonically and the same element is in both the A40 and A30. That guy blocks out tons of noise (for example, if you wanted to talk to someone in the room without broadcasting into the mic, you don't even need to self-mute -- just flip up the mic boom away from your mouth and it won't activate, if you are using the A40). It's one of the main reasons the guys on the MLG main stage swear by them. There's just tons of noise in that kind of environment that you can't have in your system when you are playing for big bucks.
Anyways, the MixAmp was one of my original ideas when we started ASTRO Gaming and as an audio product it's really a swiss army knife. It's almost everything I would ever want as a gaming audio product save perhaps an absurd amount of juice. It had to run on USB power so that's a serious design constraint -- even a $99 HeadRoom headphone amp has a hell of a lot more kick since they run on way higher voltage (12V). But at the end of the day it's a fair compromise for the price--the MixAmp is so much more than just a straight headphone amp.
I'm pretty partial to the Astro stuff obviously, but I'm no longer there as a full-time employee. If you have any other questions I can give you straight answers about nearly anything, so fire away!
PSN: ScudMuffin
This is true, and quite nice (I've only recently started using this feature, never used Vent much before).
I've got A40's, A30's, a Mixamp, and I'm thinking about picking up the Mixamp 5.8 (the wireless)...so obviously I'm pretty partial to them too. The only real problem is the price; if you're on a budget, it can be a killer. Of course, I picked up A30s at PAX for $100 even, no tax no shipping, and that was a steal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826816001
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mcdermott, I'm not PC-only, but I'm overwhelmingly PC-centric. I checked, and it seems like my sound card doesn't do DDL, although from creative's site, it seems like I could buy or download a software pack that would enable it. I think. Although Storm Shadow says I wouldn't need a DDL-enabled card anymore?
What exactly is MixAmp? Without it, the headphones are basically stereo? And if they both rely on MixAmp, what's the difference between A40 and A30?
I'll look into that Corsair one, too.
So are there any good patch through adapters that I can get so I can start using my B&O earbuds again? I looked on amazon and they have a handful, but they seem to all be shit. I just need to know if there is a decent little adapter that I can plug in and give me all the functionality of the standard iPod headphones, without being a total POS.
To use the Mixamp's built-in surround capability, you need a DDL card. And yes, a lot of Creative cards have the hardware to do DDL, but they don't pay for the license on all their cards; so it's available as an additional charge. You don't "need" it. But your Mixamp will, for game audio, put out only stereo without it.
Storm Shadow was saying the Mixamp still serves a purpose, even if you're stuck with stereo (or your card's/game's built-in HRTF surround), because the Mixamp still provides a way to easily balance Game and Voice audio. So, for instance, I keep vent on one output (USB) and my game on another (SPDIF) and I can use the handy knob right on my Mixamp to turn one down and the other up. No menus, no Alt-Tab'ing, nothing. Great stuff.
The Mixamp is basically a headphone amplifier, mixer, and surround decoder. Without it, yes the A40/A30 is just a really nice stereo headset. The A40 is over-ear, the A30 is on-ear. Other than that, the other primary differences are that the A40 is an open driver (doesn't block out as much sound) while the A30 is closed (blocks out more), and the A30 has "punchier" sound.
The A40 is better, IMO, for games. I find it gives a somewhat flatter response, whereas the A30 (while punchier) is a bit muddled. Still good, mind you (wearing mine right now), but not as good.
Also, the A40 seems a little sturdier, and a little easier to repair. You can basically take the whole headset apart, and put it back together...though they won't send you repair parts, and will instead make you send the headset back (and pay two-way shipping, and if not under warranty a repair fee to boot). Which sucks if you're an idiot like me, and crack one of the plastic pieces.
However, that will seldom be an issue, because most of the pieces that see the most stress are metal. It's a pretty sturdy set. I just happened to "drop" mine (actually snagged the cable with them on my head) on a hard tile floor...and got unlucky. Still work, but now sporting a little bit of electrical tape until I can justify the full expense of fixing them.
So, long story short, even if you're happy with your card/game doing the surround effect, the Mixamp is still not a bad value. Especially if you also have an Xbox/PS3. But I'd still recommend, if it's not to pricey, eventually upgrading your card to DDL.
Lastly, funny side note: at my work, we have a hugely expensive system where multiple users will be doing high-end acoustic work while also communicating with each other and distant users. So, for this system, we need a headset with a nice frequency response, high output capability, that's comfortable for hours on end, has a high-quality noise-cancelling microphone, is durable and easily repairable, etc. And preferably a commercial off-the-shelf part.
Apparently a friend, who is on the project, opened a box and saw shiny new Astro A40 headsets. And it probably wasn't a gamer that ordered them, and either way it'd still have had to go through the contracting process.
Moral of the story: the Astro A40 is a damn fine headset.
That being said, I like the styling the of Astro stuff. I don't have a decent speaker system for, well, anything. My console stuff uses the TV speakers, and my computer is currently using some el cheapo 2.0 speakers, and a plantronics headset I got on clearance for 9 bucks (which is decent, but not great).
The best headphones I've used are iPod earbuds (which I know are not good). I do spend a lot of time playing games (PC and otherwise), and when I am on the PC, my headset is either on due to noise, or because I'm on vent, so I think a good headset is where I want to lean. Am I gimping myself if I use the headset as my speaker replacement? I'm trying to figure out where to spend my money. I like the idea of the versatility of the headset.
If I was going to get computer speakers, I'd probably opt for the Klipsch Promedia 2.1 set, which is a lot cheaper, but at this point I'm unsure.
However, once you loop in the microphone capability in an apples-to-apples comparison, they are a pretty great deal.
I'd argue that you probably can't get a better headset, for any price.
The price/performance curve is probably a little off, especially at the $200 individual headset price (compared to the $250 headset/mixamp combo). You can get headsets that are nearly as good for almost half the price. But they aren't as good. And once you add in the Mixamp (and factor in the $30 or so you save buy buying the two), the A40 system is a decent value.
Like, I think they're marginally overpriced, but there's also nothing better...so they can get away with it.
The opposite; I'd argue you're gimping yourself by using speakers. I get fantastic audio through my headset, plus in general I feel I get better positioning cues as well.
And you'll be lucky, because unlike me you aren't stuck choosing between black and white...now that the BXRs are back in stock, you can get the sexy as fuck green set. Yummmm......
Oh, and I finally broke down and bought a damn sound card. So I'm hooked up now over DDL (5.1 audio over optical). Man, what a difference. Worth every penny. I've also set up my own Ventrilo server to use with some buddies from work (before we were just using Steam's chat, which doesn't allow you to choose your output device). So I can use the Game/Voice balance on PC now. So nice.
I'll say, too, that your first time putting on a decent surround headset (any, not just the Astro) is almost disorienting. Like, the first time I fired it up I had to take the headset back off because I thought the sound was still coming through my speakers. The spatialization really is there, though you kinda get "used" to it eventually so that you don't notice it anymore. Until it's gone, that is.
EDIT: Ha, nevermind on the BXRs. I didn't notice that they're out of stock again. They come and go.
A replacement 377 would be about $25-30, the 777 (which from what I can tell is the 377 with the USB sound card) is $50, but I don't think the extra cost is worth it. My motherboard has a decent realtek onboard sound-card (asus mobo).
Is there anything that sounds good in that price range?
The mic element in both of those is best-in-class, and they are super comfy for hours on end. The sound is a bit thin compared to $100+ headsets, but those are staggeringly good for the price.
Out of curiosity, you pick up the Mixamp as well? I hope so. I'm mainly wondering if you went wired or wireless, because I'm curious how the wireless works out...I'm thinking of picking one up.
I did get the mixamp, but just the wired one. I figure if I want in the future, I can pickup the wireless. It is pretty tempting.
I want a headset for PC and PS3 gaming that preferably gives me the surround sound feel.
Those A40's are looking INCREDIBLE, but dang sauce are they expensive... I don't know if I can manage the money for them... Are there any suitable replacements or are those just the way to go?
What's the basic difference between the A40s and A30s? They both look great.
And if I'm about 10 feet away from the PS3, I should get wireless, right?
EDIT: What about these?
Does anyone have experience with those?
Does anyone have some advice on this?
I currently have the wired one and i barely use it on my PS3 or XBOX because of all the work it takes to hook it up. I don't have a receiver so i have to plug into the back of the consoles. My MixAmp is pretty much glued to my PC right now.
XBox: Loki HKD
PSN: Loki_HKD
WOO HOO
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
I got a cheap really long optical cable on Monoprice and I just route it from my consoles around the living room discretely and have the Mixamp right next to the couch. My only issue with the cords is that big plastic dongle for the quick disconnect, which is a little awkwardly placed, but other than that I don't notice the cords at all.
I'm looking into a headset and I have want for surround sound for some reason. I'm also pretty thrifty. I've narrowed my search to three:
First, and cheapest, the Creative Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Alpha. $50, generally positive reviews, good sound quality. The cheapest I can get, and looks like it's spiffy enough for me.
Second, the Creative Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Sigma Headset, which is the Alpha's bigger brother. Exact same specs, except 50mm drivers instead of 40mm, and a steel construction, rather than palstic. Apparently better ear-covers too for more comfy listening. $70.
Also at $70, the Plantronics Gamecom 777, which you guys seem to like. This one looks like it's true 5.1, rather than emulated, but most reviews said that it's hard to tell the difference anyway.
Edit: strike that. Emulated as well.
Leaning towards the Alpha at this point due to the price. I'm no audiophile, but I'd like surround sound and a decent headset. Thoughts?
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
No, most TVs will pass through audio as well, they just won't do it unmolested. You'll only get Dolby Digital off the optical of your TV from antenna sources, but you can get stereo audio (which is all the Wii does) off it as a PCM signal, no problemo.
Though some TVs still do dumb shit, like my old one that stripped the LFE channel off (it had a separate subwoofer out). Dumbasses. So check on that.
With the Astro Mixamp, you'd still be fine...it can take a straight-up stereo analog input (and will still do Dolby Pro Logic decoding on that signal, so you'd get surround off your Wii). But most other systems (the AX720, TB's X41, etc., and even the new wireless Mixamp 5.8) seem to just take the optical. So if your TV does molest the sound beyond simply downmixing to stereo, you'd be fucked.