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ASTRO Mixamp x JVC SU-DH1 x Other?

post #1 of 28
9/22/10 at 11:11am
Thread Starter 

Hello. I'm looking for this kind of gear to hook up to my PS3 and use some headphones. I'm still considering which headphone to buy and I learned that depending on which model I choose, I won't be able to experience everything it has to offer without the so called amp.

 

I'm new to all this stuff, after some research, I came up with those models: the ASTRO and the JVC amps. I'm not a hardcore FPS player, but I wouldn't mind being able to "pinpoint" people through sound. I'm mostly looking for a good sound quality and being able to use the whole setup with both PS3 (games) and a Computer (movies, series, music), which is connected to my TV through a HDMI cord.

 

So, what should I do? Basically I'm looking for surround sound headphone usage. My budget is around U$150.

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post #2 of 28
9/22/10 at 11:26am

you have to choose between those two, but I think you should buy the astro mixamp if you want to chat online.

If you do really not chat online you can buy the jvc as it has DTS, mixamp supports dolby only.

I bet at some point you'll need chat, so stick with mixamp.

 

People can tell you this or that, but the true is that mixamp is the way to go.

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post #3 of 28
9/22/10 at 3:05pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for your reply. So, for movies, JVC is better, since it supports DTS, but if I choose it, I won't be able to chat.. This sounds like a big problem. As you said, at some point I'd want to chat, but the main problem lies in the Mixamp's shipping cost.

 

Ordering it from Astro's website, they want to charge me U$230, just for shipping+taxes. I'll only buy one of these if I go to the US, because paying all this money for shipping sounds a little too much.

 

I'm trying to get more info about AudioCubes shipping method, since it is quite reasonable for the JVC amp. Would you have some other suggestion, besides these models?
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by mcnoiserdc View Post

you have to choose between those two, but I think you should buy the astro mixamp if you want to chat online.

If you do really not chat online you can buy the jvc as it has DTS, mixamp supports dolby only.

I bet at some point you'll need chat, so stick with mixamp.

 

People can tell you this or that, but the true is that mixamp is the way to go.

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post #4 of 28
9/22/10 at 3:33pm

where are you from?

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post #5 of 28
9/22/10 at 4:24pm
Thread Starter 

I'm from Brazil..

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post #6 of 28
9/26/10 at 7:51pm

olá, Voce já sabe que eu estou em Portugal, lol!

olha enviei -te um pm

Well, I don't Know of any other solution. They are expensive because there are no more solutions.

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post #7 of 28
9/26/10 at 8:18pm

The JVC isn't much good as an amp, it's no better than a portable player or laptop, the SU-DH1 is basically a surround processor and nothing else. 

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post #8 of 28
9/27/10 at 5:01am
Thread Starter 


Yeah, I saw your PM and just replied it. Check you inbox later.. I hope we can work something out

Quote:
Originally Posted by mcnoiserdc View Post

olá, Voce já sabe que eu estou em Portugal, lol!

olha enviei -te um pm

Well, I don't Know of any other solution. They are expensive because there are no more solutions.



I see.. this is exactly what I was afraid of.. Could you please suggest a good headphone amp within the DH1 price range? Maybe cheaper, if possible....

 

I think I'll purchase a solid amp first, and buy a surround audio card for my PC and use it to listem to music and watch movies.. I'll forfeit playing PS3 with surround sound for now...

 

By the way, is it possible to use my PC as the Mixamp? Like connecting my PS3 to it somehow, so I can use the sound card to play sorround sound?
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ypoknons View Post

The JVC isn't much good as an amp, it's no better than a portable player or laptop, the SU-DH1 is basically a surround processor and nothing else. 

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post #9 of 28
9/27/10 at 12:08pm

I just remembered that there is now the Turtle beach DSS (dolby headphones processor), just like the mixamp but no chat capabilities.

 

If you have a sound card that decodes Optical in (dolby digital), yes you can use that to give you virtual surround either by Creative's Cmss3d or dolby headphones from asus xonar.

 

I don't know much about headphone amps. I just have the one I have because applemayhead made me a good price on it.

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post #10 of 28
9/27/10 at 9:31pm

i have been putting off getting the astro. i heard sudh1 is a piece.   if u need  dolby headphone processing, i can highly recommend the base station receiver for the wirleess ir pioneer dir 800c phones, it has a 3.5mm head out and sounds very good, even when used as a dolby surround preamp, which is nice to be able to switch from your normal source, and use the dolby surround, with news, talk, game etc. it is also dts capable.

  but if u game and chat a lot id say get the astro it gets good reviews. but i would get it  mainly for the fact you can adjust chat volume and background noise from game.

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post #11 of 28
9/27/10 at 11:42pm

I own the SU-DH1, and it's extremely good assuming you have decent amplification after it and a very flat FR set of headphones.  In other words, turn the volume down on it and let the amp do the driving.  Directly out of the DH1 THD and noise tends to rise to levels I really don't like to see, but with an amp sounds solid.

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post #12 of 28
9/28/10 at 4:44am
Thread Starter 

Thanks for your input guys. So, basically, I enjoy gaming but I don't chat a lot, just eventualy. I play all kinds of games including FPS, but I'm not that competitive, and I'd like to get an enjoyable experience rather than sound accuracy and other stuff (I don't know if I made myself clear with this statement..)

 

RockinCannoisseur, do you have any idea how much this base station receiver you mentioned costs? It is probably more expensive than Mixamp or SU-DH1, right?

 

Shike, could you give some exemple of a decent amp? How much does it cost? Is this Grado enough:?

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post #13 of 28
9/28/10 at 11:53am

Don't forget that for gaming surround is an important factor as it gives you immersion to the game.
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by loganirado View Post

Thanks for your input guys. So, basically, I enjoy gaming but I don't chat a lot, just eventualy. I play all kinds of games including FPS, but I'm not that competitive, and I'd like to get an enjoyable experience rather than sound accuracy and other stuff (I don't know if I made myself clear with this statement..)

 

RockinCannoisseur, do you have any idea how much this base station receiver you mentioned costs? It is probably more expensive than Mixamp or SU-DH1, right?

 

Shike, could you give some exemple of a decent amp? How much does it cost? Is this Grado enough:?

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post #14 of 28
9/28/10 at 5:57pm

logan

yea it is more expensive but u also get wireless digital infrared phones. the se dir 800c would set u back 200 but ive seen it go for less on ebay.   what u can do is use its head out with a 3.5mm to rca adapter chord, run that to your headamp or integrated amp, and voila u have dolby headphone and dts and dolby surround which sound quite good. plus u have a an optical,

 

coaxial and rca analog input.  i kinda think its worth it just for the base receiver, the phones are ok but are cheap and will  probably break, but they also isolate much better   u can  save the money from su dh1. i read a lot of terrible reviews,  just google it or try it out and let us know. aside from something similar to the pioneer base receiver i mentioned, i think u would have to get a full size 5.1-7.1  receiver.   although there is some cool software you can implement on your computer  ?

i haven't found many small surround sound receiver with dolby headphone, anyone else?

 

oh i just wanted to add that,  most of the content u will most likely be using will not be dts.

 

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post #15 of 28
9/29/10 at 4:28am
Thread Starter 


Indeed it is true... sorround sound is very important for immersion both in games and movies (from quality sources).

Quote:
Originally Posted by mcnoiserdc View Post

Don't forget that for gaming surround is an important factor as it gives you immersion to the game.
 


 



Thanks for your input. I'm afraind I can't afford anything more expensive than mixamp, and full size stuff sounds like heavy and big boxes to me, which means high shipping and taxes fees, which don't please my ears at all.

 

From the reviews I read about the JVC device, most people says it sounds well, and better than mixamp for movies, the only concern is to order the japanese version, since the north-american one lacks a power calbe or something like that. I'll keep researching and post here if I find something interesting.
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by RockinCannoisseur View Post

logan

yea it is more expensive but u also get wireless digital infrared phones. the se dir 800c would set u back 200 but ive seen it go for less on ebay.   what u can do is use its head out with a 3.5mm to rca adapter chord, run that to your headamp or integrated amp, and voila u have dolby headphone and dts and dolby surround which sound quite good. plus u have a an optical,

 

coaxial and rca analog input.  i kinda think its worth it just for the base receiver, the phones are ok but are cheap and will  probably break, but they also isolate much better   u can  save the money from su dh1. i read a lot of terrible reviews,  just google it or try it out and let us know. aside from something similar to the pioneer base receiver i mentioned, i think u would have to get a full size 5.1-7.1  receiver.   although there is some cool software you can implement on your computer  ?

i haven't found many small surround sound receiver with dolby headphone, anyone else?

 

oh i just wanted to add that,  most of the content u will most likely be using will not be dts.

 

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