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My new headphones and my 360

post #1 of 20
8/24/09 at 1:15am
Thread Starter 
Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I recently ordered the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 ohm. I have my XBox 360 connected to my TV with an HDMI cable (not the Microsoft one). Without a receiver, what is the best way to hook up my headphones so I can use them with the XBox?

The 360 itself has no audio out unless I buy the Microsoft HDMI cable which has a separate optical out, or if I use the component cables that have analog audio. I'd rather not use the component, and I don't want to purchase the Microsoft HDMI cable.
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post #2 of 20
8/24/09 at 4:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sovelin View Post
Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I recently ordered the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 ohm. I have my XBox 360 connected to my TV with an HDMI cable (not the Microsoft one). Without a receiver, what is the best way to hook up my headphones so I can use them with the XBox?

The 360 itself has no audio out unless I buy the Microsoft HDMI cable which has a separate optical out, or if I use the component cables that have analog audio. I'd rather not use the component, and I don't want to purchase the Microsoft HDMI cable.
I was unable to locate a standalone HDMI-to-optical audio adapter through any legitimate sources besides auction sites (where sellers will likely charge you more money than the amount that you want to pay for such an adapter). Officially, the only way you can get an HDMI-to-optical/analog audio adapter is by purchasing that Microsoft HDMI cable. However, the Xbox's digital-to-analog converter(s) for analog output isn't of the greatest quality; in fact, I have heard better from many inexpensive MP3 players.

If you don't want to buy the Microsoft HDMI cable, then you will have to switch to the component video connection in order to get an optical audio out. (Yes, your stock component cable provides an optical audio out; you just did not look thoroughly enough.) The composite cable that you'd get if you have an Arcade or one of the very newest boxes of the Elite also provides an optical audio out.

Alternatively, if your TV set has analog audio outs, you can use those to connect a headphone amp. Just be aware that the audio will go through the TV set's audio circuitry before reaching the headphones.
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post #3 of 20
8/24/09 at 11:24am
On my friend's xbox, there's an optical out on the big plastic connector of the video cable. Check for that again?
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post #4 of 20
8/24/09 at 11:29am
My Xbox I have an optical out. How long have you had yours?
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post #5 of 20
8/24/09 at 2:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LingLing1337 View Post
On my friend's xbox, there's an optical out on the big plastic connector of the video cable. Check for that again?
Quote:
Originally Posted by logwed View Post
My Xbox I have an optical out. How long have you had yours?
Actually, the OP has a non-Elite edition of the Xbox 360, which comes with neither the HDMI cable nor the audio-only dongle which connects to the port which is normally used with the stock composite/component video cable. And the OP elected to use a third-party HDMI cable. My statement also applies to the very newest Elites as well. As such, the OP would have to use the component video connection or purchase the Microsoft HDMI cable in order to get dedicated optical and analog audio outs.
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post #6 of 20
8/24/09 at 2:30pm
Thread Starter 
Unfortunately, I do not have the component cables, just the composite. I did not realize this until today, so i would have to purchase the component cables as well. I have two quick questions, though.
1) If I plug my XBox into my TV via HDMI, and I plug the composite adapter into the xbox, can I just use the phono to mini adapter with a female to female couple and plug my headphones in that way, or does the HDMI disable the other output on the xbox?
2) If I connect my headphones into my TV (and I use a portable DAC/Amp), will I get a low quality audio signal since it goes through the TV's circuitry first?

And thank you everyone for your replies!
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post #7 of 20
8/24/09 at 3:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sovelin View Post
Unfortunately, I do not have the component cables, just the composite. I did not realize this until today, so i would have to purchase the component cables as well. I have two quick questions, though.
1) If I plug my XBox into my TV via HDMI, and I plug the composite adapter into the xbox, can I just use the phono to mini adapter with a female to female couple and plug my headphones in that way, or does the HDMI disable the other output on the xbox?
2) If I connect my headphones into my TV (and I use a portable DAC/Amp), will I get a low quality audio signal since it goes through the TV's circuitry first?

And thank you everyone for your replies!
If you use a third-party HDMI cable, you can use the composite cable just for audio output.
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post #8 of 20
8/24/09 at 3:24pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eagle_Driver View Post
Actually, your composite cable should come with an optical audio output (though that output may have been unlabeled). The Xbox 360 is required to output multichannel audio out of the box, but the analog audio out supports only 2-channel stereo output. Therefore, a digital optical audio out should have been built into the plug which connects into the Xbox 360 console's component/composite cable jack.

And yes, using HDMI will disable the video portion of the combination audio/video jack. This is exactly why Microsoft (in its HDMI cable package) also provides an audio-only dongle which connects to the jack which would normally have been used for the composite/component video cable. (And yes, if you use a third-party HDMI cable, you can use the composite cable just for audio output.)
Sweet! You just made my day!
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post #9 of 20
8/24/09 at 3:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sovelin View Post
Sweet! You just made my day!
Actually, I was mostly wrong on my last post. The standard composite video cable which came with your system outputs only analog stereo audio (as you stated in your starting post). And I also stand corrected about the digital audio out on the Xbox 360: The digital audio out (and thus multichannel audio output) is only available if you purchase the Microsoft HDMI A/V cable or the Microsoft Component A/V cable or the Microsoft VGA A/V cable or the Microsoft S-Video A/V cable.

And with all new shipments of the Xbox 360 - Arcade or Elite - coming with only the composite A/V cable, this means that you'll need to buy one of Microsoft's optional A/V cables just to output audio in multichannel or digital if you have one of the very newest Xbox 360s (except for those outgoing models still left on store shelves).
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post #10 of 20
8/24/09 at 4:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by logwed View Post
My Xbox I have an optical out. How long have you had yours?
This goes back to my corrections. I gave misleading info in some of my previous posts on this subject.

As the OP stated, he has only the composite A/V cable (which Microsoft does not sell separately). That cable comes as standard equipment in all of the Xbox 360 Core and Arcade systems and in the very newest shipments of the Elite system (the one which is the 120GB console Microsoft plans to reduce to $299). With the price drop of the Elite and the phase-out of the Premium/Pro, this means that no currently manufactured Xbox 360 has HDTV capability or multichannel or digital audio out of the box. The purchase of an optional, extra-cost Microsoft A/V cable will be required for all future Xbox 360 purchases just for an optical or multichannel audio output.
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post #11 of 20
8/24/09 at 4:16pm
The cheapest option for you is to get this

Amazon.com: 6ft Premium VGA Cable w/ Digital Optical Audio Port for Microsoft Xbox 360 to TV equipment: Electronics

Works out to around 10 bucks.
If you want to use HDMI along wit this theres a minor hack invovled. You have to remove the plastic housing on the AV connector to be able to fit both the HDMI cable and the AV connector at the same time. Its no big deal and it just pops off.
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post #12 of 20
8/24/09 at 4:21pm
Quote:
this means that no currently manufactured Xbox 360 has HDTV capability or multichannel or digital audio out of the box.
Whaaaa?????

All of them now come with HDMI ports. Any HDMI cable with work on the xbox. This gives HD video and mutlichannel audio. Just no opitcal audio. Any modern receiver with HDMI inputs can decode multichannel audio from the HDMI cable.

The optical connector is becoming more and more rare these days with more HDMI ports being added to TV's and receivers and fewer digital audio inputs. This is because optical audio interface cannot handle the newer HD audio formats or even Lossless PCM for surround applications. Only the newer HDMI interface can do DTS MA or Dolby HD in bitstream or LPCM mode.
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post #13 of 20
8/24/09 at 6:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jilgiljongiljing View Post
Whaaaa?????

All of them now come with HDMI ports. Any HDMI cable with work on the xbox. This gives HD video and mutlichannel audio. Just no opitcal audio. Any modern receiver with HDMI inputs can decode multichannel audio from the HDMI cable.
What I meant by "out of the box" was "as packaged" (without having to purchase any additional cables or accessories).
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post #14 of 20
8/24/09 at 11:47pm
Microsoft completely has their head up their arse when it comes to al the different SKU's of the 360. One thing Sony gets right is the audio part. Of course, the PS3 was late to the party. Microsoft keeps changing the 360 and adding things on the fly.

That said, Sony has their head up their arse when it comes to games. Which is really why one should be buying a game console in the first place.

Definitely go for a multichannel set up. You don't need to have a full speaker rig to enjoy it either. You can opt for a cheaper all in one set up like Tritton.

TRITTON Technologies, Inc. - TRIAX900 AX 900


Or if budget's no limit, then you can go insane like I did and get a Smyth Research SVS Realiser set up. Which literally costs 20x the cost of the Tritton set up. (but sounds much much much better.)

Smyth Research


-Ed
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post #15 of 20
8/25/09 at 3:34pm
Doesn't the cable included with your 360 have optical out? Just plug that in with your HDMI, what I did was first plug in the HDMI, strip off the plastic shell to the stock cable, and plugged that in aswell, albeit not a perfect fit, completely workable xD. Therefore I could use my cheap ***** HDMI cable without having to buy Microsoft's HDMI cable
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